How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost? 2026 Pricing by Hiring Model
July 22, 2026 · Borderless Recruit Team
How much does a virtual assistant cost in 2026? The answer depends less on the assistant and more on the hiring model you choose. A US employee, a US freelancer, an offshore freelancer, and a dedicated offshore employee can all do similar work — at monthly costs that differ by thousands of dollars. Here is the full breakdown, with real numbers.
The short answer
In 2026, a dedicated full-time virtual assistant hired through an offshore staffing agency costs from $875 per month. A comparable US executive assistant runs $4,200–$5,800 in salary, plus roughly 30% more in payroll taxes, benefits, and equipment — about $5,500–$7,500 per month all-in. Freelancers fall in between, billed hourly.
Virtual assistant cost by hiring model
There are four realistic ways to get admin, inbox, calendar, and operations support in 2026. Each comes with a very different price tag — and a very different set of things included in that price.
| Hiring model | Typical monthly cost | What you actually get |
|---|---|---|
| US full-time employee | $5,500–$7,500 all-in ($4,200–$5,800 salary + ~30% employer costs) | Full-time dedicated employee; you handle recruiting, payroll, benefits, HR, and equipment |
| US freelancer | $25–$50/hr (roughly $4,300–$8,600 for full-time hours) | Experienced help, hourly billing, no employer costs — but split attention and no long-term commitment |
| Offshore freelancer (platforms) | $8–$15/hr (roughly $1,400–$2,600 for full-time hours) | Cheapest hourly rate; no vetting, fragmented attention across clients, high churn |
| Dedicated offshore employee (agency) | From $875 flat | Full-time employee on your US hours; agency handles recruiting, contracts, payroll, and HR; one monthly invoice |
US full-time employee: $5,500–$7,500 per month all-in
The salary is only the starting point. A US executive assistant earning $4,200–$5,800 per month gross costs you roughly 30% more once you add payroll taxes, health benefits, equipment, software seats, and office overhead. Annualized, that is $66,000–$90,000 for one admin hire — before recruiting fees or the weeks it takes to fill the seat.
US freelancer: $25–$50 per hour
US-based freelance assistants bill $25–$50 per hour. For 20 hours a week you are at $2,200–$4,300 per month; for full-time coverage you can exceed the cost of an employee. You avoid payroll and benefits, but you are one client among several, and your access ends the moment a bigger client appears.
Offshore freelancer: $8–$15 per hour
Freelancer platforms advertise offshore VAs at $8–$15 per hour. The rate is real. The problem is everything around it: nobody vetted the person, they are juggling three to five clients, and turnover is constant. The cheap hourly rate hides expensive gaps — more on that below.
Dedicated offshore employee: from $875 per month
The fourth model is a dedicated full-time employee from the Philippines or Latin America, placed through a staffing agency. At Borderless Recruit, a full-time executive assistant starts at $875 per month. That is not an hourly rate with hours to track — it is one flat monthly invoice for a vetted employee who works your US business hours and works only for you.
What is included at each price
Comparing sticker prices is misleading, because the models bundle very different things. With a US employee, the salary excludes recruiting, onboarding, benefits administration, and compliance — that is all your job, and it is where the extra ~30% goes. With freelancers, the hourly rate is the whole deal: no vetting, no backup, no management layer, no guarantee.
With a dedicated offshore employee through an agency, the monthly fee covers recruiting, live English interviews, skills testing, contracts, payroll, and ongoing HR. Candidates pass a personality and reliability assessment plus a hands-on professional skills test before you ever see them — only a small fraction of applicants make it through. You interview two or three finalists, pick one, and your assistant typically starts within about two weeks. If the hire does not work out, you get a free replacement and a refund for days not worked.
What moves the price up or down
Within each model, three variables set where you land in the range. First, scope: pure inbox-and-calendar work sits at the bottom; add CRM management, reporting, billing support, or customer-facing communication and you move up. Second, experience: an assistant who has already supported a US founder for years costs more than a first-timer and pays for the difference in the first month. Third, hours and timezone: full-time coverage on US business hours costs more than async, work-whenever help — and is worth more, because you get answers during your day, not overnight.
Note what does not move the price in the dedicated-employee model: workload spikes. A flat $875 per month means a heavy week costs the same as a light one, which is exactly when hourly billing punishes you most.
The hidden costs of cheap options
The $8-per-hour freelancer looks unbeatable on paper. In practice, three costs never show up on the invoice:
Churn. Platform freelancers leave for a slightly better gig with zero notice. Every departure costs you weeks of re-hiring and re-training — time you bill to yourself at your own hourly value.
Fragmented attention. A freelancer serving five clients is never fully in your business. Tasks queue behind other people's deadlines, response times stretch, and context evaporates between sessions. You end up re-explaining the same processes monthly.
No vetting. A profile and a star rating are not an interview. When you skip screening, you run the screening yourself — through failed hires. Two or three bad picks at $10 per hour cost more than one good dedicated hire at $875 per month.
When full-time beats hourly
Hourly help makes sense below roughly 15 hours of support per week. Above that line, the math flips fast. At $30 per hour, 30 hours a week is $3,900 per month — more than four times the cost of a dedicated full-time assistant who gives you 40 hours, on your schedule, with no meter running.
Full-time also changes what you can delegate. An hourly VA gets discrete tasks; a full-time assistant owns processes — your inbox, your calendar, your CRM hygiene, your reporting. Ownership is what actually buys back your week, and it only happens when someone works for you and no one else. Borderless Recruit fills the same model for other roles too — customer support reps from $875, bookkeepers from $1,200, designers from $1,200 — see the full list of roles and pricing.
The annual savings math
Take a mid-range US admin hire: $5,000 per month in salary, plus ~30% employer costs, is about $6,500 per month — $78,000 per year. A dedicated offshore executive assistant at $875 per month is $10,500 per year. The difference is roughly $67,000 per year, per seat — over $65,000 in annual savings for one role, doing the same core work on the same US hours.
Multiply that across two or three support roles and the savings fund an entire additional hire. You can run the numbers for your own roles and salary assumptions with our savings calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a virtual assistant cost per month in 2026?
A dedicated full-time offshore virtual assistant costs from $875 per month through an agency. US freelancers run $25–$50 per hour, offshore platform freelancers $8–$15 per hour, and a US employee costs $5,500–$7,500 per month once you add ~30% employer costs to salary.
Is a full-time virtual assistant worth it for a small business?
If you need more than about 15 hours of support a week, yes. At typical hourly rates, part-time help quickly costs more than a dedicated $875-per-month employee — and a full-time assistant can own entire processes instead of one-off tasks.
What is included in the $875 monthly fee?
A vetted full-time employee working your US hours, plus recruiting, contracts, payroll, and HR handled by the agency. You pay one monthly invoice. If the hire does not work out, you get a free replacement and a refund for days not worked.
How fast can I hire a virtual assistant?
Through Borderless Recruit, you get a shortlist of vetted candidates within days, interview two or three finalists, and your assistant typically starts within 10–14 business days — about two weeks from kickoff to first day.
Ready to see exact candidates and pricing for your role? Contact us and get a vetted shortlist within days.