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 Lifenzyme is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. Lifenzyme is a virtual assistant company based in Bangalore, India. They got their start in 2008, and have been helping clients with remote tasks ever since. […]
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UPDATE: It appears It’s VA Time is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. It’s VA Time (ItsVAtime.com) is a virtual assistant company in Bangalore India. They’re relatively new to the scene (late 2013 / early 2014) with […]
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UPDATE: It appears Trade Virtual Services is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. Trade Virtual Services is a small but growing virtual assistant and outsourced marketing company in India. They were founded in 2011 by a couple […]
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UPDATE: It appears IconAssist 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. IconAssist Services is an Indian-based virtual assistant company. The company is headed […]
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UPDATE: It appears Virtual Clouding is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. Virtual Clouding is virtual assistant outsourcing company in India. The business was founded in 2009 as a labor force “cloud” service to go alongside the […]
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Personiv is a US-based business process outsourcing (BPO) company. Their headquarters is in Austin, TX, while their assistants are based in their offices in the Philippines and India–allowing them to offer competitive rates. They specialize in creating custom solutions for […]
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UPDATE: It appears Athandz Research is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. Athandz Research is a Sri Lankan based company specializing in carrying out customized research and business intelligence. The company has been in operation since 2003. […]
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UPDATE: It appears Buizoffic is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. Buizoffiz is a virtual assistant company based in Chennai, India. They are a relatively new company in the virtual assistant space, starting operations in March of […]
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Xceed Agents is a virtual assistant and full-service outsourcing company based in Noida, India. Founded in 2008, the company has grown beyond the normal virtual assistant business model and expanded into a wide variety of service types. In addition to […]
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Are you looking for reliable, high-skilled virtual assistants to help streamline your business operations? Whether you’re a small business owner, entrepreneur, or part of a larger organization, Somewhere.com offers a solution that meets the growing demands of today’s fast-paced, globalized […]
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Noon Dalton is a virtual assistant and business process outsourcing company in India, with call center support in the Philippines and a front-end sales offices in Florida and New York. The company gets its very-non-SEO name from its two co-founders, […]
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Intellect Outsource is an India-based virtual assistant company specializing in providing assistants skilled in supporting eCommerce businesses of all sizes. They have been in business for more than 10 years and are based in Thrissur, South India. About Intellect Outsource […]
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UPDATE: As of mid-2020, it appears Exicon is offline. Please see below for alternatives. Exicon Assistant is a virtual assistant company based in Mumbai, India. They provide virtual assistant services to businesses of all sizes and specialize in graphic design […]
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UPDATE: It appears Cloud Assistant Pro is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives, or see below. Cloud Assistant Pro is an India-based virtual assistant company and they have been operating since June 2015. Their virtual assistants are […]
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When looking for experienced, high-quality, and diligent virtual assistants in India, there can be no doubt that a Dedicated VA is the best choice. Dedicated VA is a division of Vooraf Technology Pvt. Ltd., and has set itself apart by […]
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My Business Assistant is an outsourcing company aimed at helping small to medium sized businesses streamline their processes. The theory goes that if business can free up time, money, and resources spent on non-core processes, it usually makes sense to […]
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Xpertspool (a wordplay on experts pool) is a global outsourcing agency. They provide “Xperts” as they call their workforce to small and medium-sized businesses all over the world. The company is headquartered in the US, and its Xperts are based […]
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Fusion Business Solutions is a virtual assistant company based in India, with registered offices in the UK and the US. The company has been operating since 2006, and they say their goal is to, “help busy individuals and entrepreneurs meet […]
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Assign Your Task is a virtual assistant company providing services to small and medium-sized businesses all over the globe. The company has been operating since 2015, and all of their virtual assistants are based in their offices in Mumbai, India. […]
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eComVA is a virtual assistant company specializing in providing virtual assistants to eCommerce businesses of all sizes around the world. The company is headquartered in India, and they also have offices in Switzerland, UK, Australia, and the US. About eComVA […]