Virtual Assistant Cost in 2026: $7 to $65/hr Across 5 Models
September 25, 2026
What a virtual assistant costs in 2026 depends on the hiring model: a freelance marketplace (e.g., Upwork, $10 to $20/hr per its own cost page), a US package service (e.g., Time etc at $36 to $39/hr, Boldly at $65/hr, or Prialto at $1,600 per 55-hour unit), or a remote staffing agency with Latin American talent in US time zones (e.g., Virtustant, starting at $7/hr all-in). In Virtustant's H1 2026 Rate Report, the median client-side rate for a virtual assistant was $10.10/hr (n=24), about $1,616 a month at 160 hours.
Compare the total monthly client cost at the hours you expect to buy. This guide uses explicit 80-hour and 160-hour monthly billing examples to make hourly rates, package minimums and fixed fees easier to compare; request the actual quote for your schedule.
Third-party prices are the ones each provider publishes on its own site, read on 26 October 2026. Virtustant commercial examples use current published starting prices by role and explicit billed hours; medians come from the H1 2026 placement cohort defined in the linked rate report. Looking for hourly rates by country and experience level instead of pricing models? Our guide to how much a virtual assistant costs covers rates in depth.
Each row names one provider at the price it publishes on its own site, read on 26 October 2026, sorted by hourly cost from lowest to highest. Our side-by-side comparison of 22 staffing providers lists each one's published terms.
| Pricing model | How you pay | Pricing context and example assumptions | Effective per hour | What you still carry |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Remote staffing agency, Latin America in US time zones (e.g., Virtustant) | One hourly rate, billed for the hours scheduled | Starting at $7/hr all-in; median client-side rate $10.10/hr for virtual assistants (H1 2026, n=24); no placement fee | From $7/hr for virtual assistants | Day-to-day direction of the work |
| Freelance marketplace (e.g., Upwork) | Tracked hours, paid through the platform | Virtual assistants typically $10 to $20/hr on Upwork's own cost page, plus a Basic-plan client fee of up to 7.99% | $10.80 to $21.60 using the maximum 7.99% Basic fee | Vetting, backup, replacement, contracts |
| In-house US administrative assistant | Salary plus benefits | Median wage $22.86/hr for secretaries and administrative assistants (BLS, May 2025) | $22.86 per hour in wages alone; benefits add about 30% of compensation on top | Recruiting, payroll taxes, equipment, turnover |
| Managed units (e.g., Prialto) | Monthly units of 55 hours | $1,600 per unit on its plan card ($1,500 in its FAQ); full-time from $3,600 a month; 90-day minimum per unit; $250 setup, waived on a 1-year agreement | $29.09 per unit hour at $1,600 | The 90-day minimum |
| Block-of-hours package (e.g., Time etc) | Prepaid monthly plan of 10 to 60 hours | $390 for 10 hours up to $2,160 for 60 hours; unused hours roll over on the 20-hour plan and up | $36 to $39 | Scope must fit the plan hours |
| Premium package (e.g., Boldly) | Monthly plan in 20-hour steps | $2,600 for 40 hours up to $6,500 for 100 hours; 40-hour minimum | $65 ($79 for specialist tasks) | The 40-hour minimum |
Effective hourly rates divide the published monthly price by the plan's hours. The in-house figure is the BLS median wage for secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical and executive (OEWS, May 2025); wages were 70.0% and benefits 30.0% of private-industry compensation costs in June 2026 (BLS, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation), so the fully loaded cost is higher. Upwork's Client Marketplace Fee policy lists a Basic-plan fee of up to 7.99%. The arithmetic examples use that maximum; the applicable fee and any contract initiation fee should be confirmed before hiring. Virtustant examples use the published virtual-assistant starting offer; current role prices and the scoped quote determine the total client cost.
You find a freelancer on a marketplace, agree an hourly rate, and pay for tracked time. The rate is the freelancer's, and the platform adds its fee on top: Upwork's Client Marketplace Fee policy lists a Basic-plan fee of up to 7.99% (3% for eligible US clients paying by bank account), and a contract initiation fee of $0.99 to $14.99 per new contract on Basic. Fixed-price projects work the same way, priced per deliverable instead of per hour, and fit one-off work better than ongoing support.
It is the most flexible model and the one that leaves the most with you. Vetting, backup cover and replacement are your job, and every new hire restarts the search.
A subscription service sells a monthly bucket of hours. Time etc, a US service, publishes four plans: 10 hours for $390, 20 for $760, 40 for $1,480 and 60 for $2,160, with larger plans quoted on consultation. That is $39 an hour on the smallest plan and $36 on the largest. Boldly publishes plans from 40 to 100 hours at $65 an hour, $79 an hour for specialist work such as project management or design, and a 40-hour monthly minimum.
Packages suit work that is steady but small. The trade-off is that the price per hour rises as the plan shrinks, which is covered below.
A managed provider sells fixed units of capacity. Prialto publishes $1,600 a month for a 55-hour unit on its plan card ($1,500 in its FAQ), a full-time dedicated assistant from $3,600 a month at three or more units, a 90-day minimum per unit, and a $250 setup fee that is waived on a 1-year agreement. Per unit hour that is $29.09; at the full-time tier of 165 hours it falls to about $21.82.
Hiring directly means a salary plus everything that rides on it. The BLS puts the median wage for secretaries and administrative assistants (except legal, medical and executive) at $22.86 an hour in May 2025, about $47,550 a year at 2,080 paid hours, and $76,590 a year for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants. Benefits were 30.0% of private-industry compensation costs in June 2026, so the median administrative hire costs about $67,900 a year, roughly $5,660 a month, before recruiting, equipment and the cost of an empty seat while you search. Our breakdown of cost per hire shows how that vacancy line adds up.
A remote staffing agency places a dedicated remote professional and bills one hourly rate with payroll, contracts and the paperwork included. That is Virtustant's model: Virtustant, a remote staffing agency that places Latin American virtual assistants in US time zones, publishes an all-in rate starting at $7/hr, with no placement fee, a shortlist in 48 hours and lifetime replacement. In its H1 2026 Rate Report, the median client-side rate for a virtual assistant was $10.10/hr (n=24). Candidates come from the top 1% of applicants: 100% apply, 22% clear the recruiter screen, 9% pass cognitive (IQ), skills and English testing, 3% reach a live interview, 1% are hired. Other roles have their own published starting prices and are quoted for the scope required.
Staffing agencies charge in very different ways, from one-time placement fees to recurring markups. Our guide to what staffing agencies charge compares them, and freelance vs agency vs managed VA covers who does what in each model.
Pricing pages use different blocks of hours. Convert every quote to the schedule you need and make the billing assumption explicit. The examples below use 80 and 160 billed hours per month, rather than implying that every month contains exactly four weeks.
| Illustrative billed hours per month | VA starting price | Starting-price cost example |
|---|---|---|
| 80 | $7/hr all-in | $560 |
| 160 | $7/hr all-in | $1,120 |
Budgeting examples use the published $7/hr virtual-assistant starting price multiplied by explicit billed hours. Confirm the quote and actual billing schedule. Current cohort definitions are maintained in the 2026 nearshore rate report.
So the fair way to compare quotes is to price each one at 20 and at 40 hours a week and look at the monthly total. Here is every model on this page at those two points, using 80 and 160 hours a month (four weeks).
| Pricing model | 20 hours a week (80 h/month) | 40 hours a week (160 h/month) |
|---|---|---|
| Remote staffing agency (e.g., Virtustant), VA starting price $7/hr all-in | From $560 | From $1,120 |
| Freelance marketplace (e.g., Upwork), illustrative $14.50/hr (Upfirst median of 201 Upwork VA profiles) + maximum 7.99% Basic fee | $1,252.68 | $2,505.37 |
| In-house US administrative assistant | Not comparable | About $3,658 in wages alone ($22.86 × 160 paid hours), before benefits |
| Managed units (e.g., Prialto), $1,600 per 55 hours | $3,200 (two units, 110 hours of capacity) | From $3,600 (full-time tier, 165+ hours) |
| Block-of-hours package (e.g., Time etc), $36 to $39/hr | No published plan; largest is 60 hours for $2,160 | Quoted on consultation |
| Premium package (e.g., Boldly), $65/hr | $5,200 | Quoted on request (160+ hours) |
Two things jump out. At 20 hours a week, the unit model sells you 110 hours to cover 80, and the four-plan package tops out at 60. At 40 hours a week, two of the four third-party models stop publishing a price at all. If a model has no clean price at 20 and 40 hours a week, it is priced for a buyer who does not exist in most of the market.
Package pricing rewards volume. On the four-plan US service above, an hour costs $39 on the 10-hour plan and $36 on the 60-hour plan, so a small buyer pays about 8% more per hour for the same work.
All-in hourly staffing is quoted for the role and schedule. Compare the quote at the actual weekly hours and responsibilities required. A smaller schedule does not by itself establish a higher or lower hourly rate; request both options and compare the total client cost. Fixed monthly platform fees are spread over fewer hours on a smaller schedule. The 2026 nearshore rate report defines the current research cohort; a cohort distribution does not replace a role-specific quote.
The practical takeaway: if you only need 20 hours, a model that charges you less per hour for buying more is steering you toward hours you do not need. Buy the hours the work requires and check that the rate holds at that size.
Roles have different starting prices. Browse the roles we hire for each current starting price. The table lists current published offers next to the median client-side rate for each role in Virtustant's H1 2026 Rate Report (441 placement starts, January to June 2026); confirm experience, responsibilities and schedule when requesting the total client quote.
| Role | Published starting price (total client rate) | Median client-side rate, H1 2026 (n) |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual assistant | From $7/hr all-in | $10.10/hr (n=24) |
| Executive assistant | From $8.50/hr all-in | $12.00/hr (n=24) |
| Appointment setter | From $8/hr all-in | $10.73/hr (n=22) |
| Social media manager | From $8/hr all-in | $12.00/hr (n=31) |
| Cold caller | Quote for the responsibilities and schedule | Not reported |
| Recruiter | Quote for the responsibilities and schedule | Not reported |
| Sales development rep (SDR/BDR) | From $8/hr all-in | $12.41/hr (n=32) |
| Legal assistant or paralegal | Quote for the responsibilities and schedule | Not reported |
| Customer service representative | From $7/hr all-in | $10.83/hr (n=12) |
| Graphic designer | From $8/hr all-in | Not reported |
| Bookkeeper | From $8.50/hr all-in | $12.85/hr (n=7, small sample) |
| Dispatcher | Quote for the responsibilities and schedule | $9.00/hr (n=10) |
| Administrative assistant | Quote for the responsibilities and schedule | $9.50/hr (n=17) |
Starting prices are scoped to the role, experience and schedule. Medians are client-side rate benchmarks for the H1 2026 cohort, not a quote; for cohort definitions and research findings, see the 2026 nearshore rate report and US vs LATAM salary guide.
SDR rates start at $8/hr all-in; the rate is scoped to the role. See the sales development representative role page for current pricing. The final total client price depends on the agreed scope.
Source: current published Virtustant role offers and the H1 2026 Rate Report. Related reading: pricing page. Our guide to virtual assistant tasks breaks down what to delegate first, and bookkeeper pricing goes deeper on the finance seat.
Our video walks through the same data for assistants hired from Latin America:
Low hourly rates are easy to find. An analysis of 201 Upwork virtual assistant profiles, updated in May 2026, found a median of $14.50 an hour and an average of $20.50, with rates from $5 to $89 an hour. Half the profiles sat under $15, 18% between $15 and $30, and 32% above $30. US-based assistants had a median of $38 an hour against $11 for overseas assistants (Source data on VA rate distributions).
That spread is why buyers arrive anchored low. In one of our September 2026 discovery calls, a buyer raised a concern that our rates were higher than the $6 to $10 an hour their own research had found. Their research was not wrong. It was measuring the sticker, not the month.
The number that decides the month is the effective rate:
Effective rate = (hourly rate × hours billed + platform, setup and processing fees + your time spent vetting, managing and replacing) ÷ hours of useful work delivered.
A $10 freelancer who takes three weeks to find and leaves after two months can cost more per useful hour than a $13 professional who stays, because the search and the ramp are billed to you either way. That is also why speed belongs in the price comparison: Virtustant sends a shortlist within 48 hours of your first call, and your hire can start in 72 hours. Our analysis of time to hire shows how that compares with published benchmarks.
Overlap is also where working with professionals in Latin America earns its keep: the benefits of nearshore staffing for US teams come from sharing the business day, not from the rate alone. For additional hiring context, see our fair pay strategies for remote LATAM hires and the published 2026 nearshore rate report.
If your business does not run a monthly operating budget yet, a simple monthly template is the fastest way to get started with budgeting before you add a new recurring line. Then add these lines for the assistant:
Worked example at the published virtual-assistant starting price: $7 × 80 billed hours = $560, and $7 × 160 billed hours = $1,120. There is no separate recruitment or placement fee. Your total client quote depends on the role, responsibilities and agreed schedule. Related reading: pricing page.
Against a US in-house hire, the published $7/hr starting rate is under a third of the $22.86 median hourly wage for US secretaries and administrative assistants (BLS, May 2025), before benefits.
Everything else, meaning ongoing work at 20 or 40 hours a week during US business hours, is where an all-in rate is easiest to compare and hardest to beat. See how it works on our virtual assistant services page.
It depends on the hiring model: a freelance marketplace (e.g., Upwork, $10 to $20/hr per its own cost page), a US package service (e.g., Time etc, from $36/hr), or a remote staffing agency with Latin American talent in US time zones (e.g., Virtustant, starting at $7/hr all-in). At Virtustant's $7/hr starting price, 80 billed hours cost $560 and 160 billed hours cost $1,120. Compare those examples with an actual role quote and include any platform fees when assessing a marketplace alternative.
It depends on the model. Upwork lists $10 to $20/hr for virtual assistants on its marketplace, before its client fee; US package services such as Time etc and Boldly publish $36 to $65/hr; Virtustant virtual assistants start at $7/hr all-in, with a median client-side rate of $10.10/hr in its H1 2026 Rate Report (n=24). The final total client quote depends on responsibilities, experience and schedule.
Hourly pricing bills tracked or scheduled hours at a set rate. Package pricing sells a prepaid monthly block of hours, such as 10, 20, 40 or 60, and usually charges more per hour on the smaller plans: Time etc goes from $39 an hour at 10 hours to $36 at 60.
Only if you use the hours. A retainer or unit plan fixes the monthly price, so the effective rate rises for every hour you do not use. Compare the monthly total at your real schedule, 20 or 40 hours a week, rather than the headline rate.
On package plans, smaller plans can carry a higher hourly price. For hourly staffing, compare the quoted rate at the schedules you need and ask which support or fixed charges are included. The size of the schedule alone does not establish the final hourly rate.
At the $7/hr virtual-assistant starting price, 160 billed hours cost $1,120; at the $10.10/hr median client-side rate in Virtustant's H1 2026 Rate Report (n=24), about $1,616. The managed-unit and US in-house examples above use different cost structures. Compare the actual quote, hours and included responsibilities before deciding.
Check for marketplace client fees (up to 7.99% on Upwork Basic, plus $0.99 to $14.99 per new contract on the Basic plan), setup fees ($250 per unit at Prialto), card processing fees (2.9% at Boldly), minimum terms and placement fees. Virtustant charges no placement fee.
Virtustant, a remote staffing agency, bills one total client hourly rate with payroll, contracts and the paperwork included and no recruitment or placement fee. Virtual-assistant rates start at $7/hr all-in; confirm the final quote for the role and scheduled hours.
Virtustant sends a shortlist within 48 hours. Your hire can start in 72 hours.
Tell us the role and the schedule, and we will send a shortlist within 48 hours with one all-in rate and no placement fee. Start on our pricing page, see our staffing services, or book a call at Virtustant.
