How much does a virtual assistant cost ? - is the question of many but the answer is not certain.
More global businesses are recognizing the value of hiring a virtual assistant, but they can not move forward with the idea due to cost constraints.
There are many things to consider before setting the budget to hire a virtual assistant. This article intends to guide you through the detailed cost of hiring a virtual assistant.
Different companies have different expectations of virtual assistant services. The cost solely depends on the requirements. Besides, a virtual assistant can save you approximately 70% of your overhead costs.
How?
Let’s say, you need to hire someone to take care of the data entry tasks of your organization. You are confused about whether you should outsource a virtual assistant or types of equipment full -time types of equipment on-site employees. Let me list down the costs for you.
Virtual Assistant | On-site employee |
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The comparison makes it clear that hiring a virtual assistant costs less than hiring a full-time
employee. Keep reading to learn details about the cost of hiring a virtual assistant.
Virtual Assistant Cost Comparison Chart
A general virtual assistant in the United States may charge you $10-$60 per hour based on the type of service. If you consider offshoring, the cost may be lower. Emerging business process outsourcing countries like the Philippines, Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh can offer you virtual assistant services at a cheaper rate. Here is the cost comparison chart of virtual assistant assistants of different service to find how much does a virtual assistant cost.
Note: All the costs are approximated based on the United States market
Types of Services | Description | Cost Per Hour ( US Market ) |
Real Estate Virtual Assistant | A real estate virtual assistant is required to have certain industry knowledge. The cost of hiring differs due to the specialized qualifications. | $35 - $45 / Hour |
Virtual Administrative Assistant | From data entry to schedule management, a virtual administrative assistant can carry out all the routine tasks you have on your plate that don’t require your expertise. | $18 - $35 / Hour |
Data Entry Virtual Assistant | A data entry virtual assistant sorts, curates, and manages all the data of a company. | $8 - $25 / Hour |
Website Management Virtual Assistant | A website management virtual assistant makes sure all the tasks related to your website are performed seamlessly. | $20 - $40 / Hour |
Research Virtual Assistant | A research virtual assistant helps to conduct parts of the research work on behalf of the researchers. It helps to get fast, deliverable results. | $20 - 35 / Hour |
eCommerce Virtual Assistant | The cost of an eCommerce virtual assistant depends on the products and sales volume of the business. | $17 - $50 / Hour |
Graphic Design Virtual Assistant | Graphic design is a broad field. A graphic design virtual assistant may charge based on the number of designs, locations, and expertise. | $25 - $100 / Hour |
Amazon FBA Virtual Assistant | Amazon provides the Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) service to enable independent sellers to automate their order fulfillment and shipping processes. Amazon VA and Amazon FBA cost approximately the same. | $22 - $100 / Hour |
Accounting & Bookkeeping VA | Accounting and bookkeeping in VA require specialized skills. Thus, the cost of hiring differs from other VAs. | $30 - $90 / Hour |
Digital Marketing Virtual Assistant | A virtual assistant for digital marketing remotely handles marketing tasks for a business. Hiring a digital marketing VA is cheaper than hiring onsite marketing executives. | $20 - $80 / Hour |
Healthcare Virtual Assistant | Professional healthcare VAs are able to revolutionize traditional healthcare systems. It costs only $6 if you wish to outsource to ASL BPO. | $10 - $90 / Hour |
Travel Virtual Assistant | A travel VA hiring cost may differ subject to who is hiring- an individual or an agency. | $8 - $25 / Hour |
Virtual Customer Support Assistant | Customer support comes in different varieties, like live chat, cold calling, email support, etc. All of these services have different pricing systems. | $8 - $25 / Hour |
Appointment Management Virtual Assistant | This type of VA is similar to virtual administrative assistants. | $8 - $25 / Hour |
Expense Management Virtual Assistant | Expense management VAs have tasks similar to accounting and bookkeeping VAs. They just have lesser responsibilities. | $30 - $90 / Hour |
Human Resource Virtual Assistant | HR virtual assistants help the HR department run smoothly. They help you get and manage candidates from a global talent pool. | $17 - $50 / Hour |
Factors Affecting the Cost of a Virtual Assistant
Experience
Experience gives an employee many reasons to be remarkable. The more experience your VA has, the more likely he/she will be able to deal with the upcoming challenges. It will open up more opportunities for your growth.
Thus, hiring an experienced VA might cost you a bit over your budget. In the long run, they will use their experience to get your jobs done professionally, error-free, and with maximum return.
Service/Skills
The type of service you require from your VA also affects the cost of hiring a virtual assistant. For example, the cost of hiring a virtual assistant for data entry purposes and the cost of hiring for technical jobs differ. VAs with technical skills require better pay.
Location
Location affects the cost of virtual assistants as there is a huge regional economic gap around the world. Your VA may charge you based on the cost of living in her city.
For example, virtual assistants from Bangladesh cost less than virtual assistants from the United States because of the comparatively lower living costs in Bangladesh.
Types of Pricing Plans for a Virtual Assistant
Hour-based Pricing Plan
Pay per hour is the most popular virtual assistant pricing plan. You only pay for the hours that your VA has worked for you. Per-hour payment for a virtual assistant in the United States starts at $20- $100.
Project-based Pricing Plan
Project-based VAs have no fixed price. They charge based on the time, duration, and requirements of the project. Your VA will have a time contract to work on the project within a certain range of payment. You can also pay your project-based VA on a pay-per-hour basis.
Full-time VA Pricing Plan
If you have regular repetitive tasks, you should hire a full-time VA. A full-time VA in the United States costs $1200-$5000/month. They work as per usual office hours and standards.
ASL BPO VA Pricing Plan
ASL BPO has the most affordable virtual assistant services pricing plan. They offer both hour-based and full-time VA pricing plans. You can pick whichever option you prefer. Moreover, the business outsourcing provider company also has customized plans on demand.
In addition to affordability, ASL BPO has a few other reasons which make us one of the most reliable service providers in this sector. Want to know why?
Free Virtual Assistant Cost Calculation Sheet
Virtual Assistants Vs On-Site Employees: Which one is cheaper?
A virtual assistant is undoubtedly a cheaper option compared to an in-house employee. After the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, most companies adopted remote or hybrid working methods. The pandemic has taught employers one common thing: having on-site employees can be a burden sometimes.
Many businesses had no remote working setups. They still had to pay their employees because of the full-time employment contract. Even after the pandemic, people no longer want to go back to that traditional office system.
Learn about the facts that make virtual assistants a cheaper option than on-site employees.
Pay Per Hour Pricing
You do not have to pay for your employees' leisure hours. Pay only for the time your assistant has worked for you. You can not have this flexibility with an on-site full-time employee.
Replacement flexibility
You may not be able to terminate full-time employees even if they are underperforming. You keep paying their salaries but receive no outcome. When it comes to virtual assistants, you can replace them at any time.
No Training Cost
You do not have to arrange any training sessions for the virtual assistants. They offer their services based on their expertise. Thus, they do not require any training, unlike on-site employees. You will save on training costs.
How to Calculate The Cost of a Virtual Assistant?
To determine the cost of a virtual assistant, first, you have to fix a base pay rate. The base pay depends on whether you are going to pay your virtual assistant based on the time frame, expertise, or project-based. The most preferred one is the hourly pay. Let us show you an example,
Step 1: The Base Rate of an Hour
Hour: 8 hours/ day
Budget: $10
Weekend: 2 days
Monthly Budget: $1760/ Mo
Step 2: Count Overhead Costs
Media free ( If you hire from a marketplace)
For example, Upwork charges 3% administration and processing costs from the overall payment.
Training cost ( If you hire an individual VA through a job posting. You have to count the time to train them properly. They will still get the hourly payment making it an overhead cost).
No overhead cost. ( If you hire from a BPO)
For example, ASL BPO has no processing fee. Besides, they have an in-house training facility for the VAs. You will not be spending on training either.
Step 3: Calculate Post-Hiring Costs
If your VA works for you more than the contractual or fixed hour, the extra hours will be calculated as overtime. You have to pay the overtime allowance accordingly
Step 4: Formula to Calculate the Cost of a Virtual Assistant
The Cost According to The Data Provided:
$10* 176 hours = $ 1760.00
(+) Overhead cost 3% = $52.80
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Budget of hiring= $ 1812.80
(+) Overtime ( 5 hours) = $50
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The total cost of a VA = $ 1862.80
Number of VA = 2
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Total budget= $ 3725.60
[ Postscript: Do not panic if you see the cost of hiring a virtual assistant exceeds your budget. Most companies offer discounts on full-time virtual assistant pricing. ]
Some Well-known Virtual Assistant Providers and Costs
Here you can find a few of the virtual service providers and the cost of their services.
Hire a Cost-Effective VA from ASL BPO
After reading this article, you should already know that a virtual assistant does not cost much in 2024. You just have to pick the best virtual assistant service, provider. ASL BPO is the most affordable virtual assistant provider. Want to have a 7-days free trial with our virtual assistant services? Contact us to get in touch.