How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost?
Proper delegation of tasks is essential in businesses for the attainment of large-scale success. At the same time, delegation is also one of the challenges, as it is not easy to get the right people with the right skills. Many business owners have to go through lengthy interviews without being able to find suitable candidates to run the business.
In this case, outsourcing tasks to a virtual assistant is the best business decision, but the cost involved in hiring a virtual assistant is a major concern.
This guide shall arm you with the knowledge to either save time or money if you happen to be an entrepreneur or find cost-effective support if you happen to be a business owner.
Cost to Hire a Virtual Assistant
The cost of hiring a virtual assistant will vary depending on location, experience, and specialization. So you may expect to pay anywhere between $15 an hour and $50 an hour when hiring a virtual assistant. Virtual assistants with specific industry knowledge may charge at a higher rate.
Factors that Affect the Cost of Virtual Assistant
Type of Job
Anyone from one person to an entire team can hire a virtual assistant. There are so many low-level positions—some that can be even in customer services and administration, other sales and marketing-specific. If it is something one can do from their home, there certainly are talented VAs who would be right with assisting you. Let’s discuss what a virtual assistant does for a company.
A virtual assistant can assist in administrative work such as marketing, customer service, real estate development, and sales. Cost would depend on your location, experience, or type of work being assigned.
- Administrative work is between $15 and $50 per hour
- Marketing averages about $20 to $50 per hour
- Marketing averages about $20 to $50 per hour
- Real Estate Development Tasks: $20-$40
- Sales Assistants: $20-$40 per hour
Sometimes, there may be special cases where some virtual assistants can offer bundles or commission-based compensation plans supporting sales.
Years or Level of Experience
Like any other job, experience and level of skill in handling a job are another important factor. Hourly rates of a virtual assistant also go higher based on their experience. Despite higher hourly rates, it is always better to hire virtual assistants with more experience, as they’re able to handle tasks more efficiently.
Type of Employment
There is also the cost factor, which depends on whether you hire a virtual assistant to work part-time or full-time. Virtual assistants hired to work on an hourly basis are paid by the hour, and the virtual assistant cost per hour can vary depending on their skills and experience. These are perfect for businesses that have minimal demands.
Full-time virtual assistants are paid based on a monthly rate and are ideal for companies that have varied administrative requirements.
Location of Virtual Assistant
The cost of a virtual assistant varies based on location. For example, the offshore virtual assistant cost may seem cheap due to lower labor costs, but this can bring challenges like varying time zones and differences in work culture.
A virtual assistant based in a country like the US is always better to hire, even if they cost a little more since they come with proficiency in language, share a time zone, understand the work culture and business practices and provide better customer service.
Service Model
Virtual assistants can be hired through three service models: freelance, managed, and agency.
- Freelance: The freelance model allows the client to hire independent VAs for a certain job. It is flexible and cheap.
- Managed: In the managed model, it will be a third-party agency managing the recruitment of the VA, the training, and the supervision. Therefore, one is able to know how much they are supposed to pay. It provides full support.
- Agency: The agency model involves hiring a professional agency. It usually has different types of skills and competencies. They usually operate on a flat fee or tiered model.
How to Get a Virtual Assistant at the Best Cost?
Since your business can only be successful from the ethics of work, experience and expertise, it is always more advisable to opt for some balance of cost and the value a virtual assistant adds to your organization. It is always suggested that you weigh out the pros and cons based on the factors discussed above and make a decision with the value it contributes according to your budget.
Conclusion
Grit Virtual Assistants offers cost-effective virtual assistant services led by top local remote professionals who are also aware of the different needs of a business. We hope this article helps you make decisions that meet your needs and budget.