How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost?

The question I am most frequently asked is “how much does a Virtual Assistant cost?” I always “hate” this question because I wholeheartedly believe a Virtual Assistant is not a cost, but rather an investment, but I will address that at another time.

I don’t know how many times I have seen RFPs (Request for Proposals) come through the Virtual Assistant Associations job boards where the amount of money being offered is a fraction of what should be offered. In the same regard, I have seen entrepreneurs pay way too much for Virtual Assistants.

I have a very strong opinion when it comes to pricing and Virtual Assistants and I want to stress this is my opinion only, but it is based on the experience of what works and what should be expected!

Virtual Assistants range in price from $25 to $75 per hour and everything in between (in fact I have even seen Virtual Assistants that charge more than this and also some who charge less than this)! But to me, pricing is all relative …

I believe we need to stop making decisions based on hourly costs of a VA. Instead, I encourage you to figure out your budget and figure out your list of tasks and do one of two things:

A – Here is my list of tasks, approximately how much do you think that will ‘cost’ me each month on average

B – Here is my budget, here is my list – how much of that list can I get each month for my business within my budget constraints.

This will allow you to compare apples to apples so to speak. The problem with Virtual Assistants and pricing is often due to inexperience as a business owner some pick a number from the air or as I’ve seen most charge a price because that seems to be what everyone else is charging.

Consider this … if I find you a $25 per hour VA and they take 4 hours to do a project a $75 an hour VA would take an hour to complete – who is further ahead??

Stop making decisions based on hourly prices. Use one of my two strategies and please do your due diligence. If you are considering working with a Virtual Assistant ask them how long on average is takes them to do a newsletter as an example.

I know as a Virtual Assistant I used to scare people away when I told them I charge $75 per hour, but on average it takes me 30 minutes to an hour to do a newsletter. I have worked with a Virtual Assistant before who was charging $25 per hour and it took them almost 3 hours each time to do the newsletter. Bottom line, don’t be afraid to ask how long it takes them to do projects or better yet ask their existing clients if they feel the time charged each month for tasks is fair based on the hourly rate.

One last point I would like to make … I am not at all suggesting higher priced VAs are faster at getting things done. I know $25 per hour VAs that are really fast and $75 per hour VAs who are not! All I am suggesting is please, please do your homework!