Virtual assistant agencies: what to check before hiring

What to take away

Eight agencies, their model, and who each suits

Eight real firms are worth checking before you call. Rates move, so confirm current numbers with the agency itself. Each of the eight publishes enough about its model, delivery country and billing for a US buyer to compare it with the others; firms with no public model detail were left out.

Boldly and Virtual Coworker publish enough detail to compare against the rows above, which matters if you hire outside the US.

None of the eight publishes an overage rate or an unused-hour rule on a page a buyer can reach. Ask for both in writing before you pay a deposit:

Please confirm three things in writing before we start. First, the rate that applies once I pass the hours included in my plan. Second, whether unused hours carry over to the next month or expire at the end of the billing period. Third, whether either rule changes at renewal. If you publish these rules, send me the page.

At Fancy Hands the unit is a request rather than an hour, so ask what happens to requests you do not use in a month. A reply with a number and a carry-over rule is a company you can budget with.

Benchmark a quote against typical ranges. We compiled these from publicly listed agency plan rates and the BLS wage data cited above, using the May 2024 estimates published in April 2025.

In most markets a full-time offshore assistant runs $1,300 to $2,500 a month, and US-based assistant plans work out to $30 to $75 an hour. Skill, hours and backup cover drive the spread.

The checklist, in the order that saves time

Work down. Each item changes what you ask next.

What the public record proves, and what it does not

The SBA business guide is a reasonable orientation to the registration layers you are reading through, which helps you interpret what a filing does and does not prove.

What no checklist reaches

You cannot read an agency's cost base, so you cannot read its price. An agency hiring in a different market has a different floor.

Use BLS occupational wage estimates for the metro where the agency appears to hire. If their published rate sits below the local wage floor plus overhead, something in the arrangement is different from what the sales page says.

You also cannot read the worker arrangement from outside, and it changes cost materially. Two agencies describing identical teams may be operating quite differently.

Where a check suggests a change of direction rather than a tactical fix, the readiness tests belong in the expansion and market guide. The staffing depth behind continuity sits in the hiring and training guide, and what you promise a buyer about it belongs in the sales and proposal guide.

Common questions

Should I sign up to a competitor's service to see how it works?

People do it. It tells you about their sales process and their first month, which is genuinely informative, and it costs a working person real time. Decide with that in mind.

Is it worth studying very large agencies?

For process and documentation, occasionally. For pricing, staffing and positioning, rarely, because none of their constraints are yours. A Belay or Athena rate reflects a cost base you do not share.

What single signal is most predictive?

Whether they state what happens when the assigned person is away. Agencies that answer it clearly tend to run everything else the same way.

How do I find out who my competitors actually are?

Ask every buyer who else they are speaking to. That list is more accurate than any directory and it costs one question.