By Passion Chu, Founder of Jarvis Virtual Assistants. Published . Last updated .
You Google "how much does a virtual assistant cost" and you get answers all over the place — $5/hr to $75/hr, packages starting at $300/month, hourly rates that vary by country, skill level, and whether you go direct or through an agency. It's genuinely confusing.
This breakdown gives you the real numbers across every VA hiring model, the hidden costs most people miss, and a clear answer on what you should actually expect to pay for the results you want.
How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost: The Full Spectrum
VA pricing splits into four main models. Here's the honest breakdown:
| Model | Hourly Rate | Full-Time Monthly | Part-Time Monthly | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jarvis (AI-trained Filipino VA) | Flat monthly package | from $2,080/mo | N/A | Ongoing ops, automation, delegation |
| Freelance VA (Upwork/Fiverr) | $8–$35/hr | $1,280–$5,600/mo | $640–$2,800/mo | One-off tasks or niche projects |
| US-based VA agency | $35–$75/hr | $5,600–$12,000/mo | $2,800–$6,000/mo | Sensitive data, executive-level work |
| Automation agency (no VA) | N/A | $3,000–$15,000/project | One-time builds only | Complex one-time buildouts |
Most business owners doing $10K–$200K/month find the sweet spot with an offshore AI-trained VA on a flat monthly package. You get full-time coverage at a fraction of the cost of a US employee, without losing quality on the tasks that actually matter.
What Jarvis Charges for a Virtual Assistant
Flat monthly packages. No placement fees. No long-term contracts.
Operations Package: $2,080/month flat
Executive Assistant Package: $2,080/month flat
Social Media & AI Visibility Package: $2,600/month flat
Every package gets you a pre-screened, AI-trained VA who knows tools like GoHighLevel, Shopify, Meta Ads, and Klaviyo before they start. No 30-day ramp. No paying for someone to learn your stack on your dime.
One D2C brand owner we work with was paying $3,200/month for a part-time US-based VA doing customer service and order management. She switched to a part-time Jarvis engagement at a fraction of that cost, same output, and used the savings to fund a second VA for her Shopify backend. See how Jarvis matches and deploys VAs within five days.
Freelance VA Pricing: Upwork, Fiverr, and Direct Hires
Freelance VAs on Upwork or OnlineJobs.ph range from $4/hr (entry-level, limited English) to $35/hr (experienced, US-based). The average Filipino VA on Upwork with 2+ years experience charges $10–$18/hr.
The catch: you handle everything. Sourcing, vetting, onboarding, training, managing, replacing if they quit. For a business owner already stretched thin, that's the cost people always underestimate. You're adding a part-time HR job on top of everything else.
Platforms also charge service fees (20% on the VA's side, sometimes 5% on yours), and payment processing adds another 3–5%. Your $12/hr VA is actually costing you more like $14–$15/hr fully loaded.
US-Based VA Agencies: When the Higher Rate Makes Sense
Agencies like BELAY, Boldly, and Time Etc charge $35–$55/hr for US-based VAs. For certain use cases — legal, financial, healthcare, executive scheduling with sensitive data — the premium is justified. You get someone with strong written English, familiarity with US business norms, and no time zone friction.
For most small business owners, though, $7,000–$9,000/month for one full-time VA is hard to justify when the same tasks can be handled for a flat $2,080/month. The VA vs full-time employee comparison often comes down to this same math.
What Most People Get Wrong About VA Pricing
The sticker rate is not the total cost. Here's what gets missed:
- Training time: An untrained VA costs you 4–8 hours of your time in week one to onboard. Multiply by $X/hour of your own time.
- Ramp period: Most VAs need 2–4 weeks before they're fully productive. You're paying for output you're not fully getting yet.
- Turnover: If your VA quits after 3 months, you start over. Re-sourcing, re-vetting, re-training. That's a real cost that doesn't show up on a rate card.
- Tool costs: Does your VA need their own Zapier account? Their own Shopify login? Their own project management seat? These add up.
Jarvis handles screening, onboarding, and replacement at no extra cost. See the full Jarvis pricing breakdown and what's included.
Free: The Delegation Audit
Not sure which tasks to hand off first or how many hours you actually need? Book a 15-min call and we'll map it out for you — no pitch, just math.
Get Your Free Audit
Which Jarvis Package Fits Your Business
Jarvis pricing is a flat monthly investment, so the real question is scope, not hours. Inbox, scheduling, and client comms point to the Executive Assistant Package. CRM, reporting, and systems work point to the Operations Package. Content and AI visibility point to the Social Media & AI Visibility Package. For comparison, a freelancer covering a similar defined scope part-time typically runs $1,200–$2,400/month.
The ROI compounds when one Specialist owns multiple systems (inbox + CRM + reporting + customer service) and builds automations that remove work entirely over time. At $2,080/month, a Jarvis package costs less than a part-time US employee including taxes and benefits.
Most clients expand their Specialist's scope within 90 days once they see what's possible. See what a full-time Jarvis VA actually handles for your type of business.
Specialized VA Roles: Pricing by Skill Set
General admin VAs are the cheapest. Specialized skills command higher rates:
- GoHighLevel VA: $12–$18/hr (with Jarvis, GHL skills are included in the flat package rate thanks to pre-training)
- Shopify VA: $12–$20/hr (product listings, orders, customer service, inventory)
- Meta Ads VA: $15–$25/hr (ad setup, reporting, creative coordination)
- Bookkeeping VA: $15–$30/hr (QuickBooks, reconciliation, invoicing)
- Cold calling VA: $10–$15/hr + performance bonuses
- Video editing VA: $10–$20/hr depending on complexity
Jarvis sources VAs for over 40 specialized roles. The pre-training on AI tools means you don't pay extra for someone who can use Claude, Make, or n8n to automate parts of their own job.
VA vs Automation Agency: The $5,000 Question
Automation agencies charge $3,000–$15,000 to build a workflow. They hand you the system and leave. If it breaks, you pay for support. If your business changes, you pay for changes.
A Jarvis VA who builds automation is a flat $2,080/month. They build the same workflow AND handle everything else — inbox, CRM, reporting, customer comms. When the workflow breaks, they fix it. When your business pivots, they adapt.
For businesses under $500K/year, a VA who builds automation beats an agency 9 out of 10 times. See how Jarvis VAs handle automation alongside their regular workload.
What a VA Actually Costs vs What It Costs to Not Have One
An agency owner we work with was spending 18 hours a week on admin — emails, scheduling, follow-ups, reporting. At her billing rate of $200/hour, that's $3,600/week or $14,400/month in lost billing capacity.
Her Jarvis VA took over 14 of those 18 hours in the first month at $2,080/month. Net recovery: $12,667/month in freed capacity. That's the math that makes the hiring decision obvious.
The question isn't "can I afford a VA?" It's "what does it cost me to keep doing this myself?" Most business owners doing $10K+/month have a clear answer once they look at the numbers. See the full Jarvis ROI case.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a virtual assistant cost per month?
A full-time VA (40 hrs/week) from a service like Jarvis is a flat monthly package from $2,080/month. Freelance VAs on Upwork or Fiverr typically cost $15–$35/hr, which is $2,400–$5,600/month for the same hours.
How much do virtual assistants charge per hour?
Freelance Filipino VAs typically charge $8–$15/hr. US-based VAs charge $25–$50/hr. Executive assistants and specialized VAs (bookkeeping, paid ads, tech) run $30–$75/hr. Jarvis skips hourly billing entirely: flat monthly packages from $2,080/month. What you actually pay depends on the tasks, not just the country.
Is it cheaper to hire a VA or a full-time employee?
A full-time US employee at $50K/year costs $60,000–$75,000 when you add employer taxes, benefits, PTO, and overhead. A full-time Jarvis VA at a flat $2,080/month runs about $24,960/year — roughly 3–4x cheaper for the same 40 hours per week.
What is a fair price for a virtual assistant?
For offshore VAs doing admin, customer service, and data entry: $8–$15/hr is fair on the open market. AI-trained VAs who can build automations and run tools like GoHighLevel or Shopify are typically sold as flat monthly packages instead, from $2,080/month through providers like Jarvis. Paying less than $8/hr usually means quality problems.
How much does a VA cost compared to an automation agency?
An automation agency charges $3,000–$15,000 per project to build a workflow. A Jarvis VA who builds and maintains the same automation costs a flat $2,080/month and can handle other tasks simultaneously. For most businesses under $500K/year, the VA path is cheaper and more flexible.
What does Jarvis charge for a virtual assistant?
Jarvis charges a flat monthly package rate, from $2,080/month. No placement fees. No long-term contracts. Operations Package: $2,080/month flat · Executive Assistant Package: $2,080/month flat · Social Media & AI Visibility Package: $2,600/month flat. All Jarvis VAs are pre-trained on AI tools and automation platforms before they start.
Stop Doing Admin at Your Billing Rate
If you're doing $10K+/month and still managing your own inbox, chasing your own leads, and building your own reports — you're paying $150–$500/hour in opportunity cost to do work a flat-rate Jarvis Specialist can handle. The math is brutal once you look at it clearly.
Book a free 15-minute call. We'll map exactly which tasks to hand off first, how many hours you actually need, and what it looks like to have a trained VA start within the week.