The cost of a virtual assistant from outside the US ranges from $5 to $30 on average. There are also expert hires, including those from the US, who charge up to $75 per hour for their expertise. The cost of a virtual assistant varies greatly based on their skills and level of experience. This factors in on top of their location and the roles you are hiring for.
In this post, we’ll give you an idea of what you can expect to pay for the help that you need. We’ve divided the cost of a virtual assistant based on three categories: basic VAs, specialists, and experts. We’ll also give you the basic criteria that fall under the three categories. This will help you to see under which category you should look based on the scope of your project or role. The rates will also help you clarify the hours that you want to hire for. This way, you can strike a balance between your budget and your deadlines.
Three Types of VAs
Here’s a short description of each category of VA. It covers what they do and their general skill levels.
Basic VAs
Basic VAs can be entry-level freelancers. They have job experience but not a lot of experience working online. Basic VAs can also be VAs who offer basic skills. They are more of the doer and follower type. You give them instructions and they execute tasks. At this level, they are not going to be making a lot of suggestions. They will also probably be asking a lot of questions if you give them complex tasks.
You can find basic VAs who are fast learners, but you’ll need to do quite a bit of training with them. You will need to guide them to follow your systems and processes. In addition, you will need to show them exactly what you want them to do for each task. These assistants are best suited for accomplishing simple tasks. Ideally, these are roles where you have systems and processes already in place for them to follow.
Specialists
Specialists are mid-level freelancers who have honed their skills. They also have a good deal of experience. Many of them have niched down and maintain a specialization. Some have a wide range of previous experience and several skills in different areas. Usually, these skills are extensions of a general area of focus. For instance, an Amazon inventory specialist may have related skills like sales data analysis, logistics, supplier outreach and communication, and purchase order design. These additional skills make them better at projecting inventory and setting up an organized system. This way, they can make sure that you maintain excellent inventory levels no matter what happens.
You won’t have to do extensive training with specialized freelancers because they already have high-level skill sets. You will, however, need to give them general guidance in terms of how you like things done. In addition, you will need to get them up to speed on what your specific targets are for their role.
Experts
Experts are freelancers with very high levels of skill and experience. They are usually consultants, strategists, and planners. These freelancers are very useful in certain cases where you need help executing the most difficult and skill-intensive tasks.
Expert-level freelancers are a good investment if you don’t have systems and processes in place. They are also great when you need help to formulate and execute a new strategy. Once they are done building everything out, you can hire specialists and basic VAs to take over and run things.
Average Cost of a Virtual Assistant
Here’s a short description of each category of VA and the general hourly rates that you can expect to pay. Below each category, you’ll find a list of tasks and an estimate of their rate ranges.
Basic VAs
The cost of a virtual assistant for basic tasks runs from around $5 to $10 per hour. Here are some examples of tasks that you can hire basic VAs to take over, and what they cost:
Basic Tasks
- General VA – responsible for handling a variety of administrative tasks like research, data entry, email, and calendar management – $5 to $8
- Inbox Management VA – responsible for managing your email inbox and responding when necessary – $5 to $8
- Calendar Management VA – responsible for managing your calendar – $5 to $8
- Data Entry – responsible for encoding and consolidating your gathered data into one platform – $4 to $6
- Web Researcher – responsible for conducting internet research on your behalf, making sure that the curated information will be easy for you to read and understand – $5 to $10
- Customer Service VA – responsible for responding to repetitive customer queries, requests, issues, etc. through email and chat – $5 to $8
- Blog Manager – responsible for managing company blogs, including formatting and publishing blog articles – $6 to $10
- Podcast Outreach VA – knows the podcast industry well and knows how to find podcasts related to your business, reach out, and get you booked as a guest – $5 to $8
- Influencer Outreach VA – responsible for researching influencers within your business niche, finding their contact information, and reaching out to talk about a feature or a possible collaboration – $6 to $10
- Link Builder – skilled in off-page SEO and the latest link building strategies – $6 to $10
- Dropshipping VA – responsible for managing the day to day operations of your dropshipping store, including placing orders, sourcing products, following up with suppliers, etc. – $6 to $10
- Shopify VA responsible for managing the day to day operations of your Shopify store – $6 to $10
- Product Researcher – knowledgeable in researching products to sell, including researching what is being talked about on social media, anticipating up and coming products, etc. – $6 to $10
Specialists
The cost of a virtual assistant for specialized tasks runs from around $10 to $30 per hour. Note that this range includes hires from countries like the US, UK, and Canada. For example, you can find a mid-level Executive Assistant from the Philippines for $8-15 per hour, but the same from the US would be around $15-25 per hour. For the purposes of this post, we’ll give you rates from outside the US.
Here are some examples of tasks that you can hire specialists to take over, and what they cost:
Specialist Tasks
- Executive Assistant – responsible for organizing and making your life easier, including fixing and managing your schedule, booking your flights, responding to emails, taking notes during your meetings, taking phone calls, and even running virtual errands for you – $8 to $15
- Translation VA – responsible for translating documents from one language to another, such as Amazon EU paperwork and listings – $7 to $20
- Bookkeeping VA – responsible for helping you to keep track of your business’ financials and will be responsible for updating the books for your accountant – $7 to $15
- Team Leader VA – responsible for managing your team of VAs, creating reports, creating SOPs, streamlining operations, etc. – $8 to $12
- Project Manager – responsible for managing key client projects from beginning to end – $8 to $15
- Real Estate VA – a specialist in the Real Estate industry who is knowledgeable in finding property details, cold calling, lead generation, data entry, and more – $8 to $12
- Onboarding Assistant – responsible for handling the onboarding process of new clients from doing a walkthrough of your system thru a video call to sending and following up on documents needed – $8 to $12
- Customer Service VA – responsible for responding to higher-level customer queries, requests, issues, etc. through email, chat, and call – $8 to $12
- Digital Marketing VA – highly skilled in various aspects of online marketing including SEO, SMM, paid ads, content marketing, and more; responsible for planning, implementing, and overseeing all your company’s digital marketing efforts – $10 to $20
- Content Manager responsible for editing and optimizing posts, and managing your company’s content calendar, and liaising with other marketing teams to ensure your website’s content aligns with the campaigns that are currently being launched – $8 to $12
- PPC VA – a specialist in PPC ads who can help build and manage all your company’s paid ad campaigns – $10 to $20
- Facebook Ads VA – a specialist in paid Facebook ads who has the skills to plan, implement, and manage Facebook ad campaigns – $10 to $20
- SEO VA – very skilled in handling the SEO of your company’s website, responsible for optimizing your website, formulating a strategy to get your pages and blog posts to rank, and implement these plans – $8 to $20
- Email Marketing VA – responsible for creating and sending out newsletters, email sequences, promotional emails, and monitoring metrics, and adjusting strategies based on results – $7 to $12
- Web Designer – skilled in designing the layout and functionality of a website – $15 to $30
- Web Developer – skilled in building websites from scratch or from a mock-up created by a website designer – $15 to $30
- Amazon Seller Central VA – knows all the ins and out of running an Amazon shop, responsible for managing the daily operations of your Amazon store – $8 to $12
- Inventory Manager – knowledgeable in monitoring the inventory of your online store and reordering stock when needed – $7 to $12
- Product Listing VA – responsible for publishing product listings on your e-commerce platform, possibly required to write the product descriptions as well – $7 to $12
- Podcast Editor – experienced in editing video recordings to turn them into engaging podcast episodes – $7 to $12
- Video Editor – responsible for editing your video clips – $6 to $12
- Copywriter, Content Writer – a specialist in creating written content like engaging website and email copy, blog posts, and various forms of content, including marketing content for landing pages and specialized long-form content, possibly responsible for all aspects of the content process including planning, proofing, fact-checking, and sometimes even publishing – $7 to $25
- Audio Editor responsible for taking audio files to edit and polish before final mixing, very useful for podcasters, YouTube influencers, and businesses that use video and audio marketing materials – $8 to $15
- Graphic Designer responsible for creating custom graphics for you and collateral needed for various purposes like landing pages, website builds, featured images, social media posts, etc. – $8 to $15
Experts
The cost of an expert runs from around $30 to as much as $75 per hour or more. Note that this range includes hires from countries like the US, UK, and Canada. For example, you can find an Organic Facebook Marketing Expert from the Philippines for $30-40 per hour, but the same from the US might range from $45-55 per hour. For the purposes of this post, we’ll give you rates from outside the US.
Here are some examples of tasks that you can hire experts to set up for you, and what they cost:
Expert Tasks
- eCommerce Consulting – online arbitrage, drop shipping, marketplace-specific planning, Amazon private label – $40 to $50
- Marketing & Strategy – SEO, PPC, Facebook Ads campaign creation, social media, and email marketing campaign planning – $30 to $40
- Conversion Rate Optimization – $30 to $40
- Excel – Vlookup, Macros, custom reports – $30 to $40
- Amazon Merch – product photography optimization, store design and optimization – $30 to $40
- High-End Custom Programming & Development – $40 to $60
- Management – independent control over website builds, blogs, complete eCommerce operations – $30 to $40
Final Thoughts
Now you have a better idea of what you’re looking at in terms of skill level and the cost of a virtual assistant to make it all happen. Of course, the rate ranges listed here are estimates based on what we’ve hired out for at Outsource School and what we’ve seen from profiles and other peoples’ experiences. You can always adjust based on your budget and what you need to hire for as opposed to doing the work in-house. These ranges are just to give you an overview.
When you list out the different tasks that you want to pass off, think about the levels of skill and experience that you need to get the jobs done right. You always want to avoid going for the lower end if you have high expectations for the outcome. Consider as well the time and effort you are willing to invest in the person to reach your goals.
Would you like to know how to be certain who your next hire should be? Or maybe you are having a hard time deciding what parts of your business can be outsourced with virtual assistants, right now. We can help you answer these questions, and help you to discover what new systems you should add to scale your business faster. Set up a free hiring consultation with us at Outsource School today – simply book here!
