Time etc Pricing in 2026: Every Plan, What the Terms Add, and the Monthly Hours Where a Dedicated Assistant Costs Less
October 23, 2026
Time etc sells monthly blocks of assistant hours: $390 for 10 hours ($39 an hour), $760 for 20 hours ($38), $1,480 for 40 hours ($37) and $2,160 for 60 hours ($36), as listed on its pricing page on October 23, 2026. Plans renew monthly, there is no setup fee, the assistant is US-based, and plans above 60 hours are quoted on a consultation. The extra-hour rate is not published.
This guide lists what Time etc publishes on its pricing page, FAQ and terms, turns each plan into yearly and weekly numbers, and finds the monthly workload at which a dedicated assistant costs less. Virtustant is a remote staffing agency and one of the routes compared, so we stick to published facts and show every calculation. For the model-by-model comparison, see Virtustant vs Time etc.
What Time etc's own pages say, quoted as of October 23, 2026:
| Item | What Time etc says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Plans | Ten hours, $390/month ("That's $39 per hour"); twenty hours, $760 ($38); forty hours, $1480 ($37); sixty hours, $2160 ($36). | Pricing page |
| Larger plans | "We also do bigger plans - book a consultation to find out more." No price is published above 60 hours. | Pricing page |
| How plans work | "Your plan will renew automatically every month. You can easily change your plan or add extra hours to cover busy months." | Pricing page FAQ |
| Unused hours | "The hours you don't use simply roll-over into your next month." The 20-, 40- and 60-hour plan cards list "Unused hours rollover"; the 10-hour card does not. | Pricing page |
| Extra hours | No rate published. The terms call them "Hourly Charges," agreed with the client "by means of the Website." | Terms |
| Setup fee | "There's no setup fee. Just pay for your first month to get started." | Pricing page FAQ |
| Billing | Paid in advance by card or PayPal on the same day each month; time is tracked with "to-the-second" billing. | Terms 9.4, Pricing page |
| Cancellation | Pricing FAQ: "there's no notice period and one email or call to our team is all it takes." Terms 14.2: notice "of not less than one full Monthly Subscription Charge period." | Pricing page FAQ, Terms |
| Free trial | "Send us your first task and one of our virtual assistants will do it for free. No credit card required." | Pricing page |
| Guarantee | "Lifetime satisfaction guarantee." The terms say refunds are at Time etc's sole discretion. | Pricing page, Terms 8 |
| Who does the work | "Dedicated, experienced assistant, based in the U.S.," engaged as an independent contractor "contracted to us, not to you." Extra assistants and team sharing are free. | Pricing page, Terms 1.5 |
| Team plans | For staff errands: $290/month for 10 hours (15 people), $560 for 20 (30), $1,080 for 40 (75). | Teams page |
Not published: the extra-hour rate, plans above 60 hours, any cap on rolled-over hours or what happens to them on cancellation, and whether the 10-hour plan rolls over. The "Time etc vs hiring" table on the same page lists "$380+" a month; the lowest plan card is $390, which is what we use.
Per year is the monthly price times 12; hours per week are monthly hours times 12 divided by 52.
| Plan | Per month | Per hour | Per year | About hours per week | Cost of each added hour vs the plan below |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 hours | $390 | $39 | $4,680 | 2.3 | — |
| 20 hours | $760 | $38 | $9,120 | 4.6 | $37 |
| 40 hours | $1,480 | $37 | $17,760 | 9.2 | $36 |
| 60 hours | $2,160 | $36 | $25,920 | 13.8 | $34 |
The pricing FAQ says there is no notice period. Clause 14.2 of the terms requires notice "of not less than one full Monthly Subscription Charge period," and notice given mid-period ends the agreement "on the Billday following the Billday which follows the date on which notice is given." Read literally, that is one more monthly charge, $760 on the 20-hour plan. Ask which rule applies to you, in writing.
You can add hours "to cover busy months," at a rate agreed through your account. When a task will exceed the time budget you set, Time etc says how much more time it needs and you decide whether to buy it.
The terms bar hiring the assistant during the agreement and for nine months after, unless you pay a Transfer Fee of "50% of the annualised figure of gross fees billed by that Freelancer" or keep the assistant through Time etc for twelve more months. Example: one assistant billing a full 20-hour plan for a year ($9,120) means a $4,560 fee; a 40-hour plan ($17,760), $8,880. Clause 9.5 also lets Time etc raise prices with advance written notice, and you may then terminate within 10 days.
Five questions to put in writing. (1) The extra-hour rate. (2) Any cap on rolled-over hours, and their fate if you downgrade or cancel. (3) Whether the 10-hour plan rolls over. (4) Your notice period. (5) The price above 60 hours.
Time etc bills the time its assistant spends on your tasks, to the second. A dedicated professional bills a schedule, 20 or 40 hours a week on your hours. So the question is not which hourly rate is lower but how many hours of real work you have each month.
We call the answer the Bucket Crossover: the monthly hours of work at which a Time etc plan costs as much as a dedicated seat. Formula: the seat's monthly cost divided by Time etc's rate ($39 down to $36). Below it, the bucket is the smaller bill; above it, the seat costs less and the rest of its schedule is spare capacity.
| Dedicated seat (Virtustant) | Monthly cost | Bucket Crossover (cost ÷ $39 to cost ÷ $36) | Scheduled hours the seat gives you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual assistant, 20 hours a week, $7/hr starting rate | $560 | 14.4 to 15.6 hours | 80 |
| Virtual assistant, 20 hours a week, $10.10/hr H1 2026 median | $808 | 20.7 to 22.4 hours | 80 |
| Virtual assistant, full time, $7/hr starting rate | $1,120 | 28.7 to 31.1 hours | 160 |
| Virtual assistant, full time, $10.10/hr H1 2026 median | $1,616 | 41.4 to 44.9 hours | 160 |
| Executive assistant, full time, $12.00/hr H1 2026 median | $1,920 | 49.2 to 53.3 hours | 160 |
In plan terms, the 10-hour plan ($390) costs less than every seat in the table. The 20-hour plan ($760) sits between a 20-hour-a-week seat at $7 ($560) and one at the $10.10 median ($808). The 40-hour plan ($1,480) costs less only than the full-time seats at the median ($1,616 and $1,920), and the 60-hour plan ($2,160) costs more than every seat, including a full-time executive assistant at the median ($1,920).
Put the other way round, the $1,480 that buys 40 Time etc hours buys about 147 scheduled hours at the $10.10 median. The caveat, which Time etc makes on its pricing page: a scheduled hour is not always a fully used hour. That is why the test starts from your real workload, not a schedule.
Where real workloads land: of 25 virtual assistant positions Virtustant filled between August 24 and September 30, 2026, 14 were part time with a median of 20 hours a week, about 80 hours a month (full breakdown here). That is 1.3 times the largest published Time etc plan.
The rule. If you can list more than about 21 hours of recurring work a month, roughly 5 hours a week, price a dedicated part-time seat before you buy a bucket. If your work fits in 10 hours, the $390 plan is the smaller bill.
The same assistant need at three workloads. Upwork and Deel add a fee to a rate you negotiate, so they appear as formulas.
| Route | How you pay | 40 hours a month | 80 hours a month (20 a week) | 160 hours a month (full time) | Who is in the seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time etc | Monthly plan, paid in advance | $1,480 (40-hour plan) | Not published ($2,880 at $36, example only) | Not published ($5,760 at $36, example only) | US-based contractor of Time etc |
| Upwork | Freelancer rate plus a marketplace fee of up to 7.99% on Basic (3% for qualifying US bank accounts) | Rate × 40 + fee | Rate × 80 + fee | Rate × 160 + fee | A freelancer you vet |
| Deel (contractor plan) | Pay you set, plus from $49 per contractor per month | Pay + $49 | Pay + $49 | Pay + $49 | A contractor you vet |
| US in-house admin assistant | BLS median $23.23/hr plus 30% benefits = $33.19/hr | $1,327.43 | $2,654.86 | $5,309.71 | Your employee |
| Virtustant virtual assistant | All-in from $7/hr; $10.10/hr H1 2026 median | Scoped on the discovery call | $560 to $808 | $1,120 to $1,616 | A dedicated professional on your hours |
Upwork terms from its client marketplace fee article and Deel terms from its pricing page, both read October 23, 2026. See Deel pricing in 2026 and Upwork alternatives.
Worth noticing: Time etc's $36 to $39 per billed hour is above the loaded hourly cost of a median US administrative assistant ($33.19) and close to the median wage of a US executive assistant ($36.82 before benefits). A US hire is paid for every scheduled hour, including leave; Time etc bills only time spent on your tasks.
Time etc is a weaker fit for a real seat. Its terms say the client "is not entitled to direct or control the work of any Freelancer, nor impose any specific time of day or location," which matters if you need someone on your phones or calendar at set hours. It is also weaker above the Bucket Crossover, above 60 hours a month, for Spanish-English coverage or specialist roles, or if you may hire the assistant directly later. If you are comparing other hour-based services, see Belay pricing and Wishup pricing, built with the same method.
Virtustant is a remote staffing agency. We recruit a dedicated, bilingual professional from Latin America who works your hours and is directed by you, at one all-in hourly rate. Starting rates: virtual assistants and customer service from $7/hr; executive assistants and bookkeepers from $8.50/hr; SDRs, appointment setters, social media managers, designers and developers from $8/hr. See the virtual assistant and executive assistant role pages and pricing. From the rate report: in Virtustant's H1 2026 placement data (441 starts, January to June 2026), the median client-side rate for a virtual assistant was $10.10/hr (n=24) and for an executive assistant $12.00/hr (n=24).
Shortlist in 48 hours. Start in 72 hours. You get a shortlist of 3 to 5 vetted candidates within 48 hours of your first call, and your hire can start in 72 hours. The vetting funnel: 100% apply, 22% clear the recruiter screen, 9% pass cognitive (IQ), skills and English testing, 3% reach a live interview, 1% are hired, which is what we mean by the top 1%.
After the hire, your account manager is the main point of contact and coordinates onboarding, the start date, tools access and a first-week plan, then follows up during the first weeks. You direct the day-to-day work. Virtustant handles payroll, paperwork and everything administrative on the professional's side. Terms are month-to-month with zero placement fees, a lifetime replacement guarantee and one weekly invoice per placement. How Virtustant makes money: if you pay your agent $10/hr, we give them $9 and keep the dollar in the middle. Virtustant is rated 4.9/5 on G2 and 4.5/5 on Trustpilot.
Related: how much a virtual assistant costs, virtual assistant rates and compare agencies. Ready to price a role? Book a discovery call.
Time etc lists four monthly plans as of October 2026: $390 for 10 hours, $760 for 20, $1,480 for 40 and $2,160 for 60. That is $39 down to $36 an hour, or $4,680 to $25,920 a year. Plans renew monthly, there is no setup fee, and plans above 60 hours are quoted on a consultation.
Time etc publishes $39 an hour on the 10-hour plan, $38 on 20 hours, $37 on 40 hours and $36 on 60 hours, a 7.7% spread. The rate for extra hours beyond your plan is not published; its terms say it is agreed with you through your account.
Time etc's pricing FAQ says unused hours roll over to the next month. The 20-, 40- and 60-hour plan cards list "Unused hours rollover"; the 10-hour card does not. No page states a cap or what happens to banked hours if you downgrade or cancel, so confirm all three in writing.
There is no setup fee; you pay the first month to start, in advance, by card or PayPal. The pricing FAQ says there is no notice period to cancel, while clause 14.2 of the terms requires notice of at least one full monthly billing period. Ask which applies to you.
Time etc does not publish an overage rate. You can add extra hours for busy months at a rate agreed through your account. For reference, the hours added between published plans cost $37, $36 and $34 each, so moving up a plan can cost less than buying extras.
Time etc's terms bar direct hiring during the agreement and for nine months after, unless you pay a transfer fee of 50% of the assistant's annualised gross fees or keep the assistant through Time etc for twelve more months. On a full year of the 40-hour plan ($17,760), the fee would be $8,880.
Time etc says its assistants are based in the US, average 12 years of experience, and that 2% of applicants are approved. Its terms describe them as independent contractors engaged by Time etc and say the client cannot set the time of day or location of the work.
When your real workload passes the Bucket Crossover: a seat's monthly cost divided by Time etc's $36 to $39 rate. A 20-hour-a-week Virtustant virtual assistant at the H1 2026 median of $10.10/hr costs $808 a month, equal to about 21 to 22 Time etc hours, and gives you 80 scheduled hours.
