India is top-of-mind when many people think of outsourcing, and indeed the country is home to many top-rated virtual assistant companies.
Advantages of Virtual Assistants in India
Indian VAs are professional, polite, and educated.
Although India is a developing country, it has several modern technology hubs and already has more English speakers than the US.
There is massive business process outsourcing (BPO) infrastructure, and most Indian VAs work in these types of offices. This is in contrast to the Philippines, where these companies exist, but many more VAs work from home.
What draws most customers to India for hiring is the lower cost compared to the US or Europe.
And due to the time zone differences (usually about a 12 hour flip from the US), India affords the unique advantage of being able to staff around the clock. It’s a rewarding feeling knowing that work is getting done as you sleep!
But despite the popularity and long history of outsourcing to India — or perhaps because of it — there are different “flavors” and different specialties depending on your needs.
| Tasks Expert | Wing Assistant | TaskVirtual | eLuminous | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | ||||
| Established | 2017 | 2018 | 2016 | 2002 |
| Hourly Rate | $4.50-$9.50 | $6.878.75 | $6.24-15 | $7.00 |
| Minimum Package | $95 for 10 hours | $699 for 80 hours | Pay as you go for $15 | $140 for 20 hours |
| Dedicated Assistant | ||||
| Best For | Business Owners Entrepreneurs Professionals |
Small & Medium Business Owners, IT Services, Marketing Agencies, SaaS | Data Entry, Digital Marketing, Website design & development, Administrative Work, Customer Service | Development Real Estate E-Commerce Marketing |
| Team Access | ||||
| Free Trial | *For limited range of services | |||
| Special Offer | 10 hours free w/ code VAA10 | N/A | Free Trial $10 for 10 hours. Valid for 1 month. | 20% off first month (mention VAA) |
| Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
*Well, it’s a $1.
Drawbacks to Hiring Virtual Assistants in India
Truth be told, a lot of these companies offer roughly the same things at roughly the same price, to the point that even I have a hard time telling them apart.
The most-often cited complaint about hiring Indian virtual assistants that I hear is the language barrier.
Even though English is widely spoken, it’s probably a little different than the English you and I speak. This can lead to miscommunications and frustrations in delegating tasks.
Where I’ve seen the best results is in having a very specific process and instructions to plug someone into. You want to give your assistant the best chance for success, and make it easy for them to come to you for clarifications.
The time zone difference can also present a challenge. I’ve had more than a few late night meetings to communicate with team members during their shift!
Again, clear communication is key. I use a lot of screen-capture videos to demonstrate the process and what I’d like to get done.
How Much Do Virtual Assistants in India Cost?
Among the companies featured on Virtual Assistant Assistant, you’ll find a range of rates, usually from $5-15 an hour.
Compared with hiring a virtual assistant in the US, those are obviously very attractive prices.
In general here’s what you’ll find:
- The bigger the client the VA firm is targeting, the more you’ll pay. These are state-of-the-art business processing outsourcing companies that serve Fortune 500 clients.
- The newer the company, the less you’ll pay. Companies often price low to attract new customers and build a client base.
- The more hours (or more staff) you commit too, the less you’ll pay.
For example, if you need a full-time virtual assistant, your effective hourly rate will be a much better deal than if you just need someone for 20 hours a month.
That’s because the company now knows that person’s salary is “spoken for” instead of needing to source several clients to keep them busy and cover their fixed costs.
My Experience Working with Virtual Assistants in India
I’ve hired several virtual assistants from India for a wide variety of projects.
In fact, my first “taste” of outsourcing was through Guru.com, and even though my main point of contact was just half an hour away from me in Virginia, the rest of his web development team was half a world away in India.
I worked with that team for almost a decade, but the biggest frustration was the time-lag in communication. I’d get some website changes back or an email update, fire off my feedback, and have to wait at least 12 hours for a response.
I’ve also worked with companies like My Tasker for more routine administrative tasks like database maintenance, website help, and CRM management. (Because they had teams working the night shift, the time zone wasn’t much of an issue.)
For freelance help, India can be an attractive place to look because of the rates. I haven’t had a full-time assistant from India but currently work with a specialized freelancer to manage some social media for me.
Which Indian Virtual Assistant Company Should You Choose?
The good news is that because of the robust VA economy, you have several options to choose from ranging from low-cost task-based services all the way up to full-time dedicated assistants — and everything in between.
Check out the reviews below to see which option is right for you.
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UPDATE: It appears Everfront Virtual Assistant is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives or see below. If you own this listing or this information is incorrect, contact me here. Everfront Virtual Assistant is a professional virtual assistant provider based […]
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UPDATE: It appears Team Launcher is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. TeamLauncher.com is a virtual employee service with locations in Miami, India, and the Philippines. Their claim to fame is the ability to source qualified new […]
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Tasks Everyday is a virtual assistant company based in Mumbai, India and Cebu, Philippines. The company was founded in 2003, and now employs more than 250 virtual assistants who help clients all around the world. As an early mover in […]
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Wing Assistant is a virtual assistant company specializing in connecting businesses, startups, and execs with experienced, dedicated virtual assistants. The company is headquartered in Berkeley, CA. Their virtual assistants are distributed across the Philippines, India, Hong Kong, and North America. […]
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Hire My Assistants is a virtual assistant company located in Mumbai, India. Their team is comprised of professionals in areas of expertise including administrative services, office assistance, customer service, online services, professional services, web marketing, web design and development. HMA prides […]
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UPDATE: MMF InfoTech has become unresponsive and the below information may be outdated. MMF InfoTech is a virtual assistant company based in Indore, India. They also have a sales office in New York, but all their virtual assistants work out […]
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Talent Gurus is an outsourcing company in Hyderabad, India. The firm is a subsidiary of Sai People Solutions, Inc., a business with more than 20 years of experience in offshore staffing. Where Sai was focused on Fortune 500 companies and […]
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UrBackOffices is a virtual assistant company based in Bangladesh, and the company was founded in 2014. They don’t offer the usual wide range of virtual assistant services you’d expect from a virtual assistant company, instead specializing in providing virtual assistants […]
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As you probably guessed from the name, Virtual Assistants India is an India-based VA company. The company was founded in 2012, and today they serve clients worldwide and handles a multitude of tasks including General Administration, Bookkeeping, Sales and Marketing, Call Center, Website Development, […]
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20four7VA (EconMobile LLC dba 20four7VA) is an American-owned virtual staffing agency licensed and insured in Maryland, USA. Their staff and virtual assistants (VAs) are based all over the world and work remotely. Read on for a detailed 20four7VA review. 20four7VA […]
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Brickwork India is probably the most famous of all virtual assistant companies. Brickwork India was featured prominently and favorably in two bestselling books: Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat, and Timothy Ferriss’ The 4-Hour Work Week. Started as a 5 […]
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Taskbarge is a virtual assistant company in Bangalore, India. They were founded in 2011 by CEO Chaitanya Krishna, who assembled a small team to start serving clients on their own. Taskbarge has grown slowly over the last couple years, investing […]
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UPDATE: It appears Indian Virtual Assistant is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives or see below. If you own this listing or this information is incorrect, contact me here. Indian Virtual Assistant is a virtual assistant company based in […]
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Get Virtual Services is a complete virtual assistant service provider in Mumbai, India. The company began in 2009, and has grown to serve a variety of clients around the world. The company works with industry-trained virtual assistants who specialize in […]
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Vaspect is an India-based virtual assistant company. The company was founded in 2018, they specialize in providing a wide range of virtual assistant services and have grown to a team of 50+. About Vaspect Vaspect is a young company in […]
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UPDATE: It appears Renots is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives or see below. If you own this listing or this information is incorrect, contact me here. Renots is an India-based virtual assistant company operating out of Mumbai. The […]
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UPDATE: It appears Web Virtual Assistants is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives or see below. If you own this listing or this information is incorrect, contact me here. Web Virtual Assistants is a virtual assistant company based in […]
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UPDATE: It appears Task Affair is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. Task Affair is one of the newest virtual assistant companies on the landscape, having only started operations earlier in 2015. However, the team behind the company […]
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UPDATE: It appears Genie Desk is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. Genie Desk is Kolkata, India based virtual assistant company. The company was founded in 2012 and began sourcing clients through a variety of the freelance […]
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UPDATE: It appears RushMore VA is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. RushMore VA is a virtual assistant company in Kolkata, India. They’ve been providing affordable overseas assistance since 2010. Their modern facility allows them to perform […]