A virtual assistant costs roughly $10 to $50 an hour in 2026, depending on how you hire and how experienced the person is. Full time, that's about $1,700 to $8,700 a month, against roughly $5,780 a month for a U.S. administrative assistant once benefits are counted.
The hourly rate is only part of the price. What you pay depends on who finds the person, who employs them, and what happens if it doesn't work out. Below are the real numbers for each way to hire, with sources.
What does a virtual assistant cost per month?
Here is what one full-time assistant (40 hours a week) costs each month under the four common ways to hire.
How you hire | Typical rate | Full time, per month | What the price includes |
|---|---|---|---|
Freelancer on a marketplace | $10–$20/hour (Upwork's stated median range) | $1,730–$3,470 | The person's time. You screen, contract, and pay them yourself. |
Experienced North American freelancer | $38–$50+/hour for executive-level support | $6,590–$8,670 | The person's time, with deep experience. |
Staffing agency, Latin America (BA Performance) | $1,920/month full time | $1,920 | Vetting, U.S. contract and payroll, replacement if it's not a fit. |
U.S. administrative assistant, employee | $47,540/year median salary | About $5,780 | Salary plus benefits. Recruiting costs are extra. |
Monthly freelancer figures assume 173 working hours a month. The U.S. figure adds employer benefit costs to the median salary (see sources).
Why do virtual assistant rates vary so much?
Four things move the price.
Experience and scope. Data entry and inbox triage cost less than executive support. Upwork's own rate table for experienced North American freelancers runs from $12–$20 an hour for administrative work to $38–$50 or more for executive assistants.
Location. Where the assistant lives sets their cost of living, and with it their rate. It also sets their time zone, which decides whether they work while you do.
Who does the hiring work. On a marketplace, you write the job post, screen applicants, and run interviews. An agency does that before you meet anyone, and the price includes it.
Who employs them. If you contract a freelancer abroad, the contract, payments, and compliance are yours. With an agency acting as the employer, they're handled for you.
What costs come on top of the hourly rate?
The rate is the visible cost. These are the ones buyers miss.
Your time to hire. Writing the post, reading applications, and running interviews takes hours you could spend on the work you hired help for.
A bad hire. If the person doesn't work out, you lose the weeks you spent training them and start the search over.
Coverage gaps. When a solo freelancer is sick or on vacation, the work stops.
Platform and payment fees. Marketplaces charge fees on each contract, and international payments can add more.
Management time. Any assistant needs clear direction in the first month. Plan for it whichever way you hire.
How much does a virtual assistant from Latin America cost?
At BA Performance, a bilingual virtual assistant from Latin America costs $960 a month for 20 hours a week, or $1,920 full time. The price is all-in: vetting, a U.S. contract and invoice, payroll and compliance, and a replacement at no extra cost if the hire isn't right.
That's 67% less than the full cost of a U.S. administrative assistant. It is not the cheapest option per hour; a freelancer at the low end of the marketplace range can cost the same or less. The difference is what the price includes.
From our placements: One of our clients was losing about 30 hours a month to recurring admin and operations work, time that should have gone into running the business. We placed a dedicated operations and admin professional from Latin America who took that work over. The client got those 30 hours back every month, at a fraction of what a U.S. hire would have cost.
Is a Latin American virtual assistant worth it compared with other regions?
The main reason U.S. companies hire in Latin America is the time zone. Assistants based in GMT-5 work the same hours as the U.S. East Coast and overlap most of the West Coast day, so a question asked at 10 a.m. gets answered at 10 a.m.
The second reason is language. A bilingual assistant can handle English and Spanish communication, which matters if any of your customers, vendors, or team speak Spanish.
Assistants in Asia can cost less per hour. The trade-off is that much of their day falls overnight for a U.S. team, so work arrives the next morning instead of during the day.
How do you choose the right option?
Choose a freelancer if you have time to screen candidates, need a short project done, and can absorb a bad hire.
Choose a staffing agency if you want someone vetted, a single U.S. contract, and a replacement guarantee, and you plan to keep the person long term.
Choose a U.S. employee if the role needs someone in your office, or local knowledge that can't be done remotely.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a part-time virtual assistant cost? On a marketplace, a part-time assistant at 20 hours a week costs roughly $870 to $1,730 a month at $10–$20 an hour. Through BA Performance it's $960 a month, all-in.
Do I pay benefits or payroll taxes for a virtual assistant? Not if you hire through an agency that acts as the employer, or a freelancer working as an independent contractor. The agency or the contractor handles them. Confirm the arrangement in your contract.
Is there a minimum contract? It depends on the provider. Ask before you sign, and ask what happens if the hire doesn't work out.
Can a virtual assistant work U.S. business hours? Yes, if they live in a nearby time zone. Assistants in Latin America typically work the U.S. day without overnight shifts.
See what a vetted virtual assistant would cost for your team. Book a 30-minute discovery call or read about hiring a virtual assistant from Latin America.
Sources
Virtual assistant hourly rates, Upwork. Median range of $10–$20 an hour; experienced North American rate table.
Secretaries and administrative assistants, Occupational Outlook Handbook, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 wage data. Median of $47,540 for administrative assistants.
Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Benefits are 31.5% of total compensation for full-time private-industry workers.