Virtual Legal Assistant Cost in 2026: $6 to $30/hr Across 8 Options
November 10, 2026
Published hourly rates for a dedicated virtual legal assistant run about $6 to $10 an hour in 2026 (Invedus $5.76 on its full-time plan, Virtustant from $8 all-in, VirtualTask360 $8.74 to $9.98, Virtual Legal Assistants from $10), against $30.24 an hour in wages alone for an in-house paralegal or legal assistant (BLS). For intake only, per-call services such as Smith.ai charge $7 to $10 a call.
Every third-party price below was read on the provider’s own pricing page on 10 November 2026. Virtustant figures are first-party pricing and search data.
A virtual legal assistant is a remote professional who handles a law firm’s drafting from templates, case-file updates, scheduling, client intake and filing logistics under attorney supervision. What you pay depends less on the title than on how the work is sold:
Rows are sorted by the lowest effective hourly rate each service publishes; per-call and per-minute services, which do not sell hours, go last. Plans marked as general virtual assistant plans are the provider’s standard plans, not a legal-specific rate card.
| Service | Model | Published price | Effective hourly rate | Terms the page states |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Invedus | Monthly or hourly plan (general VA plans) | $999 a month full-time (40+ hours a week); $7.99 an hour part-time (10+ hours a week) | $5.76 full-time; $7.99 part-time | Part-time is pay as you go |
| Remote Leverage | Recruiter; you hire the person directly | Talent at $6 to $10 an hour, plus a flat hiring fee (amount not published) | $6.00 to $10.00, plus the fee | No contracts; 12-month free replacement guarantee |
| Wing Assistant | Managed plan (general VA plans) | $699 a month for 80 hours; $999 for 160 hours | $6.24 to $8.74 | No long-term contract |
| Virtustant | Remote staffing agency | From $8 an hour all-in: about $640 a month at 20 hours a week, $1,280 full-time | $8.00 | Zero placement fees; month-to-month; lifetime replacement guarantee |
| VirtualTask360 | Monthly hour bundle | $399 for 40 hours; $749 for 80; $1,399 for 160 | $8.74 to $9.98 | No setup fee; cancel with 30 days’ notice; unused hours do not roll over |
| Virtual Legal Assistants | Legal VA agency, Latin America | From $10 an hour on its homepage and pricing text (the pricing page title says $12); averages of $1,499 a month part-time and $2,499 full-time | From $10.00 (hours behind the averages not published) | Monthly rolling; no deposit, no placement fee |
| Smith.ai | Per-call receptionist and intake | $300 for 30 calls; $810 for 90; $2,100 for 300 | $7.00 to $10.00 a call | Month-to-month; no setup fee; basic intake questions included |
| Ruby | Per-minute receptionist | $250 for 50 minutes; $395 for 100; $720 for 200; $1,725 for 500 | $3.45 to $5.00 a minute | No setup fees |
| In-house paralegal or legal assistant (US baseline) | Salary | BLS median pay $62,890 a year (May 2025) | $30.24 in wages, before taxes and benefits | Hiring, payroll and benefits stay with the firm |
For what the in-house option costs once benefits are added, and how the BLS figure compares by role, see paralegal vs legal assistant. For general (non-legal) assistant pricing across models, see virtual assistant cost in 2026.
The useful question is not what the assistant costs, but how many attorney hours it has to free to cover that cost. Divide the monthly cost by your billable rate. If the assistant frees at least that many billable hours a month, it pays for itself; everything above that is margin back to the firm. We call this the Two-Hour Test, because at common rates a part-time seat breaks even at about two recovered hours a month.
The billable rates below are examples, not market data: replace them with your own.
| Option | Monthly cost | Break-even at $200/hr | At $300/hr | At $400/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtustant, 20 hours a week | $640 | 3.2 hours | 2.1 hours | 1.6 hours |
| VirtualTask360, 80 hours | $749 | 3.7 hours | 2.5 hours | 1.9 hours |
| Virtustant, full-time | $1,280 | 6.4 hours | 4.3 hours | 3.2 hours |
| Virtual Legal Assistants, full-time average | $2,499 | 12.5 hours | 8.3 hours | 6.2 hours |
| In-house paralegal or legal assistant, wages only | $5,241 | 26.2 hours | 17.5 hours | 13.1 hours |
The in-house figure is the BLS median of $62,890 divided by 12, before payroll taxes and benefits, so the real break-even is higher. Two cautions: recovered time only counts if the attorney bills it or uses it to take more matters, and drafted work still needs attorney review, which belongs on the cost side.
If the job is mostly answering and screening new callers, compare the per-call price with a dedicated intake seat. Smith.ai charges $300 for 30 calls ($11.50 for each call over) and $810 for 90 calls ($10.50 over). A full-time dedicated intake specialist through Virtustant costs about $1,280 a month at $8 an hour.
Per-call services keep two real advantages: coverage outside business hours and no one to manage. A seat keeps the caller inside your own case management software, can book consultations and run conflict-check requests, and can work in Spanish. For a closer look at the answering side, see law firm answering services and legal intake services.
We read the 25 most recent legal searches opened by US firms through Virtustant, from May to November 2026. This is what they asked for:
| What the records show | Count |
|---|---|
| Legal assistant (including bilingual and personal injury case work) | 12 of 25 |
| Paralegal | 6 of 25 |
| Combined paralegal and legal assistant | 2 of 25 |
| Legal intake | 5 of 25 |
| Part-time, among the 19 that stated hours (mostly 20 hours a week or 4-hour blocks) | 10 of 19 |
| Full-time, among the 19 that stated hours | 9 of 19 |
| Eastern time named | 10 of 19 with a time zone |
| Pacific time named | 5 of 19 |
| Central or Mountain time named | 4 of 19 |
| Marked hired | 17 of 25 |
Two patterns matter for cost. Half the firms bought part-time hours, which is where an hourly seat beats a monthly package with a fixed minimum. And most worked on Eastern time, which a legal assistant in Latin America covers inside a normal local workday. For the tasks behind 47 completed legal placements (document drafting in 24, case management in 23), see law firm virtual assistant: what 47 placements did.
A virtual legal assistant can draft from templates, update case files, manage calendars and deadlines, run client intake, schedule consultations, prepare filings for review and coordinate with court staff. Under ABA Model Rule 5.3, the attorney stays responsible for that work. Legal advice, accepting a matter, setting the fee, deciding a conflict and signing pleadings are never delegated.
Paralegal work, such as legal research and first drafts of substantive documents, costs more because it needs more training and more review. Price it as a paralegal profile, not as an assistant, and budget the attorney’s review time. Our legal assistant interview questions help test for the difference.
| Your situation | Best fit | Budget at published prices |
|---|---|---|
| Under about 100 intake calls a month, or after-hours coverage | A per-call or per-minute service (e.g., Smith.ai, Ruby) | $250 to $810 a month at low volume |
| 10 to 20 hours a week of drafting, scheduling and file updates | A part-time dedicated seat or an hour bundle (e.g., Virtustant, VirtualTask360) | About $640 to $749 a month |
| Full-time support inside your case management software, on US hours | A dedicated seat through a remote staffing agency (e.g., Virtustant) | About $1,280 a month at $8 an hour |
| Spanish-speaking clients | A bilingual legal assistant from Latin America (e.g., Virtustant, Virtual Legal Assistants) | From $8 to $10 an hour |
| Legal research and substantive drafting | A paralegal profile, with attorney review budgeted | Quoted by scope |
For the wider set of legal staffing models, including temporary and permanent placement, see 10 legal staffing solutions compared.
Virtustant is a remote staffing agency that places vetted, bilingual legal professionals from Latin America with US law firms. Legal virtual assistants start at $8 an hour all-in, about $640 a month at 20 hours a week and $1,280 full-time. Paralegals and legal intake specialists are quoted on the discovery call. There are zero placement fees, terms are month-to-month, and every placement carries a lifetime replacement guarantee with no time cap.
A shortlist of 3 to 5 vetted candidates arrives within 48 hours of your first call, and your hire can start in 72 hours. See pricing, the legal industry page, or book a call.
Published hourly rates for a dedicated virtual legal assistant run about $6 to $10 an hour in 2026: Invedus works out to $5.76 on its full-time plan, Virtustant starts at $8 an hour all-in, VirtualTask360 runs $8.74 to $9.98 and Virtual Legal Assistants starts at $10. An in-house paralegal or legal assistant earns a BLS median of $30.24 an hour in wages alone.
At published prices, about $399 to $2,499 a month depending on hours: VirtualTask360 is $399 for 40 hours and $1,399 for 160, Virtustant is about $640 at 20 hours a week and $1,280 full-time, and Virtual Legal Assistants reports averages of $1,499 part-time and $2,499 full-time.
Usually, because paralegal work needs more legal training and more attorney review. Through Virtustant, legal virtual assistants start at $8 an hour all-in and paralegal roles are quoted on the discovery call, after the scope is clear.
At low volume, yes. Smith.ai charges $300 for 30 calls and $810 for 90. Past about 115 to 135 intake calls a month, a full-time dedicated intake specialist through Virtustant ($1,280 a month) costs less than those per-call plans, and works inside your own case management software.
The attorney does. ABA Model Rule 5.3 makes lawyers responsible for the work of nonlawyer assistants, so legal advice, accepting a matter, setting fees and signing pleadings stay with the attorney, and drafted work goes through attorney review.
Through Virtustant, a shortlist of 3 to 5 vetted, bilingual candidates arrives within 48 hours of the first call, and the hire can start in 72 hours, with zero placement fees and month-to-month terms.
