If you have ever typed this question into Google you probably got a dozen answers that disagree with each other. Some sites say three dollars an hour. Others say fifteen. Both can be true, and the gap mostly comes down to how you hire and what is bundled into the number you are quoted.
I run delegateit, so I obviously have a horse in this race. I am going to give you the outside numbers first, with links, and then tell you where we land and why.
What the published rates say
The most even handed breakdown I have found is the Fairshore pay guide. It is careful to say that most of the sources it quotes come from companies that sell hiring services, and it shows each source separately instead of blending them into one tidy figure. I like that.
According to that guide, a general virtual assistant hired directly in the Philippines earns somewhere between $3 and $12 an hour depending on experience. Published agency prices for the same kind of work start around $7 an hour and run to roughly $10. Executive assistants through an agency land in the $8 to $15 range, and bookkeepers sit around $8 to $13.
Another agency, iFOVS, publishes its own table with executive assistants between $11 and $18 an hour through an agency and specialist roles from $14 upward. Again, that is a provider talking about its own market, so read it with that in mind.
So the honest answer is a range. A brand new generalist you find yourself on a job board can be very cheap. An experienced executive assistant or someone with real bookkeeping or billing experience costs more, and an agency adds its own margin on top.
Why direct hiring looks cheaper than it is
When you hire someone directly the hourly rate is only part of the bill. You are also the recruiter and the HR department. You write the job post and run the interviews. If the person disappears after three weeks you start all over again with nothing to show for it.
There is also the boring admin. Someone has to handle payment transfers and keep records. Someone has to decide what happens during local holidays or when the power goes out in your assistant's neighborhood. None of that shows up in a $5 an hour rate, and all of it lands on your desk.
For some owners that trade is worth it. If you enjoy hiring and you have time to manage the person closely, going direct can save real money. Most owners I talk to are trying to get time back though, and taking on a part time recruiting job defeats the point.
What an agency rate should include
When you compare agency quotes, the number on the page only means something once you know what sits behind it. Before you sign with anyone, us included, ask about these things in writing.
- Who does the recruiting and screening, and do you get to interview the finalists yourself
- Whether payroll and local employment costs are included or billed on top
- What happens if the person is not a good fit, and whether a replacement costs anything
- Whether there is a named person on the agency side you can go to when something is off
- How long the contract runs and what notice you need to give to leave
Two quotes that look $2 an hour apart can end up the same price once you line these up. A cheap quote with a twelve month lock in and paid replacements is not a bargain if the first hire does not work out.
Where delegateit lands
Our Assistant plan starts at $1,500 a month for full time work, which is about 160 hours. That works out to a little under $9.40 an hour. Part time starts at $900 a month for about 80 hours, or around $11.25 an hour, since part time seats carry the same fixed overhead spread over fewer hours.
Our Specialist plan starts at $2,200 a month full time. That is for people with experience in a specific field such as bookkeeping or medical billing, and it works out to roughly $13.75 an hour.
If you need several seats with a team lead, our Team plan is quoted after a quick call since it depends on the mix of roles.
Here is what that monthly rate covers on our side. We recruit and test candidates, and you interview the finalists yourself and make the pick. We handle payroll and HR. Every client gets a dedicated client success manager. There are no placement fees and no setup fees, and everything is month to month with 30 days notice. If the person is not the right fit we replace them and keep recruiting until you are happy. That guarantee is a replacement promise and it does not refund time already worked. You can read the full guarantee terms if you want the details.
You can also play with our cost estimator to see what a mix of seats would run at our starting rates.
How to figure out what you should spend
I would skip the hourly rate comparison for a minute and start with the work instead. Write down everything you did last week that someone else could have done with a laptop and a bit of training. Inbox cleanup, scheduling, invoices, chasing vendors, updating the CRM. Then estimate the hours.
If that list adds up to fifteen or twenty hours a week, part time is probably the right starting point. If it is closer to forty, or if the list keeps growing every time you look at it, a full time seat usually makes more sense and costs less per hour.
Then think about the role level. A generalist can handle admin and scheduling well. If the work touches your books or insurance claims or anything where a mistake costs money, it is worth paying for someone who has done that specific job before.
Questions to ask before you hire anyone
Whoever you go with, a few questions will tell you a lot about how it will go.
Ask how they test candidates. A real answer involves skills tests and live interviews on top of a resume review. Ask what hours the person will work and how much overlap you get with your own day. Ask how they handle access to your accounts and whether staff sign confidentiality agreements. Ask what happens in the first two weeks, because that is where most placements succeed or fail.
And ask what the provider does when it goes wrong. Every staffing company looks great when the hire is a fit. The difference shows up when it is not.
The short version
A Filipino virtual assistant can cost anywhere from a few dollars an hour hired directly to the high teens through an agency for specialized work. Direct hiring is cheapest on paper and most expensive in your own time. Agency pricing makes sense when it covers recruiting and payroll and a real replacement promise.
If you want to talk through what your list of tasks would cost with us, book a free call. We will give you a straight answer, including when you would be better off doing it yourself.