Virtual executive assistants run from about $10 to $19 an hour offshore and $65 at a U.S.-based agency; at VirtueStaff, an experienced EA you choose is $15 an hour, about $2,600 a month, against about $45 an hour for an in-house EA once taxes and benefits are counted.
Short answer
A virtual executive assistant costs about $10 to $19 an hour from an offshore company’s published packages and $65 an hour from a U.S.-based agency. At VirtueStaff, an experienced executive assistant you choose yourself is $15 an hour, about $2,600 a month full-time, with nothing upfront. An in-house U.S. executive assistant costs about $45 an hour with taxes and benefits.
A good executive assistant doesn’t just save you time. They protect it: your calendar reflects your priorities, your inbox stops running your day, and the details between meetings get handled before you think of them. The question is what that costs, and what you get at each price.
We’re VirtueStaff, a remote staffing company in Gilbert, Arizona, rated 4.9 out of 5 from 32 Google reviews. We place experienced executive assistants with U.S. founders, executives and growing teams. This guide puts published prices side by side with the cost of an in-house EA, and shows what each level of assistant actually takes off your plate.
In this guide
- What does a virtual executive assistant cost?
- What does each level of assistant handle?
- What does a great executive assistant do in a week?
- How does a virtual EA compare with an in-house EA?
- Who can you hire through VirtueStaff?
- Can you trust an assistant with your inbox?
- What does VirtueStaff cost for an executive assistant?
- Frequently asked questions
What does a virtual executive assistant cost?
About $10 to $19 an hour offshore, about $65 an hour from a U.S.-based agency, and about $45 an hour for an in-house EA once taxes and benefits are counted.
| Option | Published price | Per hour | Who chooses your EA |
|---|---|---|---|
| VirtueStaff Executive Assistant | $15 an hour full-time, about $2,600 a month; $16 part-time from 20 hours a week, about $1,387 a month; nothing upfront | $15 to $16 | You, from 2–4 finalists per round |
| Stealth Agents | $1,600 a month (4+ years’ experience), $2,400 (7+ years) or $3,000 (10+ years) for 160 hours, plus an onboarding fee and a three-month commitment | About $10 to $19, plus the fee | They match you with an assistant |
| Boldly (U.S.-based) | $2,600 for 40 hours a month, up to $6,500 for 100 hours | $65 | You meet the assistant they recommend |
| In-house U.S. executive assistant | U.S. median wage $36.82 an hour, plus payroll taxes and benefits: about $93,600 a year | About $45 | You |
Prices are as each company published them (Stealth Agents read 23 October 2026, Boldly 27 October 2026) and change; check before you buy. The in-house figure uses the May 2025 national median wage for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants, plus Social Security and Medicare, federal unemployment tax, and insurance and retirement at 14.5% of pay, the same method as our virtual assistant cost guide.
What does each level of assistant handle?
The higher the level, the more they take ownership of, rather than just complete. Pick the level by how much of your day you want to hand over, not by the title.
| Level | VirtueStaff rate (full-time) | What they handle |
|---|---|---|
| Virtual assistant | $12 an hour, about $2,080 a month | Defined tasks: inbox triage, scheduling, data entry, research, CRM updates |
| Executive assistant | $15 an hour, about $2,600 a month | Owns your calendar and inbox, meeting prep and follow-ups, travel, reports and projects; protects your time and keeps the details moving |
| Specialist | $15 an hour, about $2,600 a month | Runs a function: operations, projects, marketing, finance support; for leaders who need someone to own an area, not assist with it |
If your inbox and calendar are running your day, you need an executive assistant. If you mostly need tasks done, a virtual assistant is enough; our post on what a virtual assistant costs covers that level.
What does a great executive assistant do in a week?
They handle everything around you so you can do the work only you can do. An example week for a founder’s full-time EA; yours will follow your priorities:
| What your EA handles | |
|---|---|
| Every morning | Clears and sorts your inbox, drafts replies for your review, flags the three things that need you today |
| Calendar | Books and reshuffles meetings around your priorities, protects focus time, confirms every meeting the day before |
| Before meetings | Sends you a one-page brief: who, why, last conversation, what you want out of it |
| After meetings | Writes up the notes, sends the follow-ups, tracks every promise until it’s done |
| Travel and life admin | Books flights and hotels, handles expenses, keeps personal errands from leaking into your workday |
| Projects | Chases deadlines across your team and reports where things stand each Friday |
Our executive clients reclaim 10 to 30 or more hours a week by handing this work off.
How does a virtual EA compare with an in-house EA?
About a third of the cost for the same inbox, calendar and follow-up work, with a few trade-offs worth naming.
| In-house executive assistant | VirtueStaff executive assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | About $93,600 a year with taxes and benefits | $31,200 a year full-time, no payroll taxes or benefits on your side |
| Hiring | Your search, your interviews | We screen; you interview 2–4 finalists and choose |
| Can run errands in person | Yes | No; they book and coordinate them |
| Works your hours | Yes | Yes, in your time zone |
| If it doesn’t work out | A new search | Replaced at no cost, at any time, for any reason |
If you need someone in the office to greet visitors or run errands by hand, hire locally. If the job lives in your email, calendar and tools, a virtual EA does it for about a third of the cost.
Who can you hire through VirtueStaff?
Experienced executive assistants, not entry-level help. They’re based offshore, recruited primarily in the Philippines, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Pakistan, Africa and India, and work your U.S. business hours. Our candidates include experienced executive assistants, chiefs of staff and senior admin professionals with U.S., U.K., Australian and Canadian executive support experience: strong communicators who think ahead and solve problems before they reach you.
Every candidate goes through seven screening steps, from a resume screen and an English and accent screen to a specialized evaluation for the role and your own interview. Over 5,000 candidates are screened per week, and only the top 1% are presented to clients. You interview 2–4 finalists per round, for as many rounds as you need, and choose; most clients find an assistant they really like within one or two rounds. Candidates can be ready to interview in as little as 3 days, and a new hire can start in as few as 5 days from the first call.
Here’s what that looks like at our clients:
- McCarthy Law, an estate planning firm in Rhode Island, started with one executive assistant and grew to a six-person remote team.
- Leak Science, a leak detection company in the Phoenix Valley, has had the same remote office manager since August 2024. With her running the office, the owner now spends just three to five hours a week on the business.
We treat her like an executive, not like a virtual assistant.
Aspen West, Leak Science
Can you trust an assistant with your inbox?
Yes, with the right setup, and you stay in control. Every VirtueStaff hire signs a contract with us that includes an NDA and confidentiality clause covering your business. On your side:
- Give your EA their own login or delegated access to your email and calendar, never your password.
- Decide what they send on your behalf and what they draft for your approval.
- Turn on two-factor authentication everywhere.
- Share passwords for other tools through a password manager, so you can revoke them in one click.
You set the priorities and the rules, the same as with anyone on your team. A dedicated success manager, your point person at VirtueStaff, supports you and your EA, with coaching if you need it.
What does VirtueStaff cost for an executive assistant?
$15 an hour full-time, about $2,600 a month, with no setup, onboarding or upfront costs. Part-time is $16 an hour from 20 hours a week, about $1,387 a month. Every plan includes:
- Your own executive assistant who works only for you, in your time zone and during your business hours.
- Month-to-month terms for a single hire.
- Extra hours at the same flat rate as long as your assistant agrees, with no overtime surcharge.
- The Perfect-Fit Guarantee: we replace your assistant at no cost, at any time, for any reason, and pause billing while you interview the replacement.
We’re not the cheapest option, and we don’t try to be. We hold a high bar, pay the people we place above industry standards, up to 8x their local salaries, and support both you and your assistant, because the person running your day should be someone you can rely on for years. Every rate is on our pricing page.
Do this week
For three days, write down every email, meeting change and follow-up you handled that someone else could have. Multiply by what an hour of your time is worth. That’s what your calendar and inbox are costing you now.
Frequently asked questions
At VirtueStaff, an experienced virtual executive assistant is $15 an hour, about $2,600 a month full-time, or $16 an hour part-time from 20 hours a week. Elsewhere, Stealth Agents’ published packages work out to about $10 to $19 an hour, and Boldly, a U.S.-based agency, charges $65 an hour.
At the U.S. median wage of $36.82 an hour, an in-house executive assistant costs about $93,600 a year once payroll taxes and benefits are added, about $45 an hour.
Scope and seniority. A virtual assistant handles defined tasks like scheduling and data entry; an executive assistant owns your calendar and inbox, prepares you for meetings, follows up, manages travel and keeps projects moving. At VirtueStaff, assistants start at $12 an hour and executive assistants at $15.
Yes. At VirtueStaff, part-time is $16 an hour with a 20-hour weekly minimum, about $1,387 a month, for an assistant who works only for you.
Yes. You interview 2–4 finalists per round, for as many rounds as you need, and choose. Most clients find an assistant they really like within one or two rounds.
Our Perfect-Fit Guarantee covers it at any time, for any reason. We pause billing, set up a new interview round, and you choose the replacement. The replacement never costs you anything.
Tell us how you work, and we’ll bring you the top 1% to choose from. See how our executive assistants work.
Sources
- Published pricing: Stealth Agents, read 23 October 2026; Boldly, read 27 October 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, national median wage for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants (43-6011); Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, June 2026; IRS Topic 751 and Topic 759.
- VirtueStaff on Google: 4.9 out of 5 from 32 reviews, Google Maps, read 2 November 2026.
- VirtueStaff, pricing, executive assistants and client results.
