Key takeaways
- Marketplace VAs run $5–$12/hr; managed offshore runs $19–$25/hr; US-based agencies run $35–$60/hr.
- Add 20–40% of a manager's time to any unmanaged hire — that's the real cost gap.
- Turnover is the biggest hidden expense: re-hiring and re-training wipes out a year of rate savings.
- Compare fully-loaded cost per useful output hour, not the rate card.
The three pricing tiers
Freelance marketplaces sit at $5–$12/hr. You get access and nothing else — no vetting guarantee, no payroll handling, no replacement coverage. Managed offshore staffing sits at $19–$25/hr and bundles vetting, payroll, compliance, training and replacement. US-based VA agencies sit at $35–$60/hr, largely reflecting US labor cost rather than better outcomes.
The costs that don't appear on the invoice
- Ramp time: 20–60 hours of your team's time before a hire is productive
- Rework: mistakes caught late cost far more than the hour that produced them
- Management: unmanaged hires typically consume 20–40% of a supervisor's week
- Turnover: replacing a churned VA costs the equivalent of one to two months of billing
- Compliance: misclassification exposure on direct offshore contracts
A worked example
Take a 40-hour support role. Option A: a $9/hr marketplace contractor is $1,560/month, plus roughly 8 hours a week of your ops manager's time (at a $45/hr loaded cost, that's $1,440/month) — call it $3,000 all-in, with replacement risk on you.
Option B: managed placement at a flat monthly rate with under an hour a week of oversight lands close in total cost, with vetting, payroll, coaching and a replacement guarantee included. The rate card says Option A is 60% cheaper. The ledger disagrees.
When the cheapest option is genuinely right
If the work is a one-off project, fully scripted, and you have a manager with real capacity to supervise, a marketplace contractor is the correct call. Managed staffing earns its premium on recurring roles that touch customers, money or systems of record.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a virtual assistant cost per hour?
- Freelance marketplaces run $5–$12/hr, managed offshore staffing $19–$25/hr, and US-based agencies $35–$60/hr. The spread reflects vetting rigor, management overhead and who absorbs replacement risk.
- Is a monthly retainer cheaper than hourly?
- Usually yes for consistent workloads. Our dedicated monthly placement rate works out roughly 15% below the equivalent hourly rate because the schedule is predictable.
- Are there hidden fees when hiring a VA?
- Watch for placement fees charged as a percentage of salary, mandatory software fees, minimum-hour blocks, and overage rates. We charge no percentage placement fee; a $250 finder fee applies to short engagements and is waived at four months or more.
Want this handled instead of researched?
Tell us the role and the hours. We'll come back with a shortlist of vetted professionals and an exact monthly cost.