Hire a VA directly or through an agency? 3 routes compared

Hiring direct is the cheapest route for the same worker. It’s also the route where every mistake is yours: the search, the vetting, the paperwork and the restart.

Last updated: September 2026

The cheapest route is only cheap if the first hire works.

One of our clients, Titan Roofing & Construction, learned that on other roles. They had often hired the first candidate who interviewed well, and when it didn’t work out, they had to start over. Every restart costs the search again, the training again and the weeks in between. This guide compares the three routes on what a first hire actually costs you: money, vetting, the restart, the paperwork and your time.

How do the three routes compare?

Direct costs the least and asks the most. An agency costs more and takes the recruiting and paperwork off your hands.

	Hire directly (OnlineJobs.ph or Upwork)	Offshore agency (our terms at VirtueStaff)	U.S. VA agency (Boldly as the example)
What you pay	The worker’s rate, which you negotiate, plus OnlineJobs.ph at $69 or $99 a month while you recruit, or Upwork’s 5% of each payment (3% for eligible U.S. clients paying from a checking account) and $0.99 to $14.99 per new contract	$12 an hour full-time (about $2,080 a month) or $13 part-time; executive assistants $15	From $2,600 a month for 40 hours (about $65 an hour)
Who finds and vets candidates	You. Upwork verifies identity and location; OnlineJobs.ph Premium adds background data checks	We do, in seven screening steps; you interview the finalists	The agency; you meet the recommended assistant before subscribing
If the hire doesn’t work out	You recruit again. OnlineJobs.ph refunds your subscription if you’re unhappy within 30 days of upgrading	A replacement free of charge if the hire isn’t a good fit, with a trial period included	Another assistant, and a refund of the month’s fees if you’re not satisfied
Payment and paperwork	OnlineJobs.ph: you pay the worker and handle tax forms. Upwork: you pay Upwork, which collects the freelancer’s tax forms	We handle payroll and international legal requirements	The agency employs the assistant
Your time	The most: recruiting, paying, and starting over if needed	Interviewing, onboarding, training and daily management	Onboarding and daily direction
How fast you can start	As fast as you can recruit	Candidates ready to interview in as little as 3 days; a start in as few as 5 days from the first call	Boldly says days rather than months

The offshore column shows our own published terms: we’re VirtueStaff, a remote staffing company in Gilbert, Arizona. Other agencies’ rates and guarantees differ. Boldly is the U.S. example because they publish their prices.

What does each route really cost?

For the same worker, hiring direct is the cheapest route, because no agency margin sits on top of their pay. The platform still charges.

OnlineJobs.ph. OnlineJobs.ph is a job site for workers in the Philippines. Contacting or hiring anyone takes a paid plan: Pro at $69 a month or Premium at $99 ($299 or $349 if paid yearly). They add no markup to the salary, and you can cancel once you’ve hired. Their free EasyPay tool pays workers through Payoneer or PayPal; paying by credit card adds 3% to 4%.

Upwork. Upwork charges a marketplace fee on every payment to a freelancer: 5% on their Basic plan, or 3% for eligible U.S. clients paying from a checking account. Each new contract also carries a one-time initiation fee of $0.99 to $14.99. So $1,000 of work costs you $1,050, or $1,030 with the discount, plus that fee. An Upwork help article still gives the Basic fee as “up to 7.99%”, so check the fee shown before you pay.

Offshore agency. We charge a flat hourly rate. A full-time VirtueStaff Assistant is $12 an hour: 40 hours a week, about $2,080 a month. Part-time is $13 an hour, with a 20-hour weekly minimum, about $1,127 a month. Executive assistants are $15 an hour, about $2,600 a month full-time. Extra hours the hire agrees to bill at the same rate, raises and bonuses go 100% to the hire, and contracts are month-to-month.

U.S. agency. Boldly lists plans from 40 hours a month for $2,600, about $65 an hour, up to 100 hours for $6,500. They say their U.S.-based staff have 10 to 15 years of experience.

The First-Good-Interview Trap: who vets the candidates?

When you hire directly, you do. That’s where most of the risk lives.

We call it the First-Good-Interview Trap: hiring the first candidate who interviews well because the search is exhausting, then starting over when the job reveals what the interview didn’t. It’s not a problem with direct hiring itself. It’s what happens when one busy person does all the screening alone. Titan fell into it on earlier roles. For their first remote hire, a finance role, we presented several pre-vetted candidates to interview side by side instead.

We were able to filter that out in the beginning, and it’s been really successful for us.

Joey, Titan Roofing & Construction

The platforms help at the edges. Upwork verifies each freelancer’s identity and location and shows reviews and work history. OnlineJobs.ph’s Premium plan adds unlimited background data checks and AI matching. Judging skills, English and reliability is still your job.

Our screen has seven steps: a resume screen, an English screen, a skill assessment, an internal interview, a technology evaluation, a specialized evaluation, and your own interview. Candidates are sourced globally. A U.S. agency also recruits for you; Boldly has you meet the assistant they recommend before you subscribe.

What happens if the hire leaves or doesn’t work out?

With direct hiring, you start over. With an agency, someone else does most of the restart.

On OnlineJobs.ph, starting over means a paid plan again. Their money-back guarantee refunds your subscription if you’re unhappy within 30 days of upgrading, one refund per customer, but it doesn’t find you a new worker. On Upwork you end the contract and post again, with a new initiation fee on the Basic plan; their payment protection means you pay only for approved work.

Our Perfect-Fit Guarantee covers a hire who isn’t a good fit: we find a replacement free of charge, with a trial period included. A dedicated success manager supports each client. Boldly says a skills or personality mismatch is resolved by assigning another assistant, and they refund the month’s fees if you’re not satisfied.

Who handles payment and paperwork?

On OnlineJobs.ph, you pay the worker yourself and keep the records. On Upwork, you pay Upwork; freelancers submit their tax forms to Upwork, which says you don’t file 1099s for freelancers paid through them.

We handle payroll and international legal requirements, and the hire remains an independent contractor with us, not with you. Boldly’s U.S.-based staff are their own employees, so Boldly runs the payroll.

Do you need a W-8BEN or a 1099 when you hire someone abroad directly?

Usually a W-8BEN, not a 1099, for a foreign contractor who works entirely abroad. If you pay a worker abroad yourself, as on OnlineJobs.ph, that paperwork is yours. For a contractor who isn’t a U.S. citizen or resident and works entirely outside the United States, IRS guidance says:

• Source. Where the services are performed decides the source of the income, regardless of where the contract was made or where you pay (Publication 515). Work done entirely abroad is foreign-source income.
• Withholding. The 30% withholding on payments to foreign persons applies to U.S.-source income, such as pay for services performed in the United States (Publication 515). Pay for work done entirely abroad generally falls outside it.
• Form W-8BEN. The IRS suggests asking a foreign payee for the appropriate Form W-8. For an individual, that’s Form W-8BEN, a certificate of foreign status. The contractor gives it to you, not to the IRS (instructions). Keep it on file.
• Form 1099. Foreign persons who provide a Form W-8BEN are exempt from Form 1099 reporting and backup withholding (IRS).
• Exceptions. For a U.S. citizen or resident, even one living abroad, the IRS suggests Form W-9 instead. Work done in the United States is U.S.-source, and the IRS says nonemployee compensation paid to nonresident aliens is reported on Form 1042-S, and withholding may be required.

This is general information, not tax advice. Confirm your own situation with your accountant before the first payment.

How much of your own time will each route take?

Direct hiring takes the most. You write the post, read applications, interview, test, set up payment and collect the W-8BEN, then train and manage.

An agency takes recruiting off your plate, but not managing. With us, you interview the finalists, then onboard, train and manage the hire day to day. Mark Chapman at Willmeng Construction, a Phoenix commercial contractor and another of our clients, had used international outsourcing before and knew the model worked only with a partner who could consistently deliver top-tier people. Willmeng has added seven hires through us in accounting, IT and people operations since February 2026. His advice:

It’s all about the partner. But you’ve got to invest the time to share your vision and train them. You’re paying a partner to find the right people, but you still have to put in just as much time as any new hire, or it’s not going to work.

Mark Chapman, Willmeng Construction

A U.S. agency asks the same of you. Whichever route you choose, the first 30 days decide most of the outcome; our onboarding playbooks show how three of our clients run them.

How fast can you start?

Direct hiring moves as fast as you do. OnlineJobs.ph approves job posts instantly on paid plans; free posts take two days. Upwork says their AI hiring agent can shortlist applicants to your post in under six hours, with limited access on the Basic plan.

Our candidates can be ready to interview in as little as 3 days, and a hire can start in as few as 5 days from the first call. Boldly says they cut hiring time from months to days.

Which should you choose for your first hire?

Pick the route whose worst case you can live with.

• Hire directly if budget comes first and you have the time and confidence to recruit, test, pay and manage. It’s the cheapest route, and the restart is on you.
• Use an offshore agency if you want a dedicated full-time or part-time hire who works only for you, in your time zone, at a flat rate, and you’d rather spend your time training than recruiting.
• Use a U.S. agency if the assistant must be in the United States, or you need fewer than 20 hours a week, our minimum.

Not sure which role to hire first? Run the Hallway Test on your team before you pick a route. If the first job is your inbox, our guide to handing email to an assistant shows how to do it in four phases.

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