The virtual assistant industry is growing in Europe and in the UK in particular. There are a variety of task-based and dedicated services available.
Advantages of Virtual Assistants in Europe
With a population of over 700 million people, there’s no shortage of talent in the UK and Europe.
You’ll find a well-educated workforce that’s becoming more and more open to the idea of remote work arrangements.
There are several big advantages to working with a European virtual assistant or VA company.
First, if you’ll be able to find support for your business from someone in the same (or nearby) time-zone. The bulk of the continent shares a common time zone, with the UK and Portugal an hour behind, and the Eastern European countries an hour ahead.
Hiring the best Europe and UK Virtual Assistants close to home also eliminates the language barrier you might find with virtual assistants in India or the Philippines.
But perhaps the biggest advantages are the speed of implementation and avoiding bureaucratic headaches and employer burdens that often come with hiring traditional staff in Europe.
By hiring freelancers or contracting with virtual assistant companies, you can on-board qualified new assistants quickly and account for them as a simple line-item expense. A friend of mine in France built his remote team in that way, explaining that employment regulations for hiring staff locally were prohibitively complex and expensive.
And one final thing to note is that while many UK and European assistants command premium rates, Eastern Europe is home to many talented and affordable options.
| Boldly | Time Etc | FreeeUp | SmartPA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Customer Rating | ||||
| Established | 2009 | 2007 | 2015 | 2008 |
| Hourly Rate | €35-43 | £23-26 | €5-40 | £22-30 |
| Minimum Package | €430 for 10 hours | £270 for 10 hours | Varies | £300 for 10 hours |
| Dedicated Assistant | ||||
| Minimum VA Experience | 7 years | 5 years | Varies | Varies |
| Team Access | ||||
| Rollover Hours | ||||
| Free Trial | ||||
| Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Drawbacks to Hiring Europe and UK Virtual Assistants
As you know, European virtual assistants are almost universally more expensive than their Asian counterparts.
The exception is in Eastern Europe, where the cost of living is lower, education is still strong, and you can find more affordable virtual support. In fact, one of my first hires was a freelancer from Macedonia!
Certain companies are also required to charge VAT at 20% or more, which is a significant additional cost of doing business. It pays to double check before signing up.
And if you’re hiring across borders, the language difference could be an issue, though from my experience, English seems to be a common denominator.
How Much Do The Best Europe and UK Virtual Assistants Cost?
In Eastern Europe, you’ll find rates as low as $7 (around 6€ or £5.50) an hour.
In the UK and Western Europe, those are going to be much higher. Think in the range of £20-30 an hour or more.
Naturally, hires through virtual assistant companies tend to cost a little more than work-from-home freelancers, just due to the additional company support and overhead.
My Experience Working with Virtual Assistants in Europe
As an American, my experience with VAs in Europe is somewhat limited. Like I mentioned, I worked with an awesome freelance virtual assistant from Macedonia for a couple years. We originally connected through Elance (now Upwork).
When I posted the job, I was surprised to get any responses or bids back from Europe, but her cover letter really impressed me. Her rate was probably double what I might have paid in the Philippines, but it was still in my budget and well worth it.
In the UK, I’ve worked with freelance writers, book editors, and even a web developer for a quick project.
I’ve also turned to countries like Ukraine in attempting to recruit technical assistants like web developers and software developers.
Which European Virtual Assistant Company Should You Choose?
Choosing “the best” European virtual assistant service is always going to be a bit subjective. The best option for you will depend on your specific needs, budget, and growth strategy.
You can go the premium route, and hire through well-established firms like Time Etc or Worldwide 101. These companies have been around for a long time, and have proven processes in place for both vetting assistants and placing them with clients. In particular, Worldwide 101 specializes in dual-language support.
You can go the budget route, opting for a VA company in Eastern Europe like Baltic Assist. This will have a lot of the same advantages of working through an agency, but at a lower cost.
Or you can you go for more of the do-it-yourself method, hiring through a freelance platform like Upwork or FreeeUp. In the case of FreeeUp, they also pre-vet applicants and claim to only accept “the top 1%”.
If you’re based in Europe or just need some local help, here are the top-rated VA companies I would check out first.
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Mint Lifestyle Partners is a virtual concierge service aimed at high-powered high-lifestyle individuals. The UK-based company was founded in 2010, and also maintains an office in Dubai. Mint specializes in lifestyle assistance, originally created to serve the needs of the […]
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Taskerly Virtual Assistants is a UK-based virtual assistant company providing a wide range of virtual assistant services. They are open to working with clients all over the world, but their assistants work in the UK time zone. The company has […]
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Mindy Support is a business process outsourcing company with offices across Ukraine. They have been in operation since 2014 and work with small, medium-sized and large businesses across the EU and US. The company was founded by a group of […]
Looking for professional multilingual BPO services to reshape the way you run your business? OWorkers have over 10 years experience in offering unique solutions that improve interaction with clients and simplify processes. Their committed staff is available to assist you […]
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Ataraxis Hiring the right virtual assistant (VA) can be transformative for businesses by freeing up time, reducing costs, and scaling operations. But sifting through freelancer marketplaces or vetting candidates globally is time-consuming and risky. Ataraxis solves this by offering pre-vetted, […]
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SmartPA is a UK-based virtual assistant company specializing in providing virtual assistants to businesses of all sizes all over the world. SmartPA is headquartered in Edinburgh, Scotland, and their accredited assistants work remotely across the UK, with hubs across the […]
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AnswerConnect is a live answering service based in Portland, US. They provide virtual receptionist services so you always have someone available 24/7 to answer your calls, respond to live chat messages, and schedule appointments. AnswerConnect helps you maximize your ROI […]
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Dynamite Jobs is an online platform aggregating and sharing the best remote jobs from hundreds of sources, posting over 300 new remote jobs each week. If you’re looking for a position where you can work remotely or if you’re a […]
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JH Virtual Assistant is a UK-Based virtual assistant company that provides virtual PAs and administrative support to companies across the UK. The company is headquartered in Fife, Scotland, and their assistants work remotely all over the UK. About JH Virtual […]
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UPDATE: It appears TayStone BPO is offline and no longer operating. Please see below for some Time Etc, OnlineJobs.ph, or Task Bullet as alternatives. TayStone BPO is a business-class virtual assistant company, providing virtual assistants for entrepreneurs and small businesses […]
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UPDATE: It appears Hubberly 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. Hubberly is a virtual assistant company based in the UK with their […]
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x.ai is a tool that helps you and your team share ideal availability and schedule meetings. About x.ai Founded in 2014, x.ai is a productivity tool powered by artificial intelligence that lets you schedule meetings effortlessly. We believe it should […]
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UPDATE: It appears DoneTown 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. DoneTown is a virtual assistant company with their headquarters based in Los […]
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UPDATE: It appears TimelyPA 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. TimelyPA is a UK based virtual assistant company that provides […]
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European Virtual Assistant (EVA) offers topnotch services from dedicated (Executive) Virtual Assistants following Swiss standards. The agency was established in 2014 in Switzerland. The big idea behind it is to support European Businesses out of Europe, providing multilingual (English, German, […]
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Pink Spaghetti is a virtual assistant company based in the UK. They describe their business as giving busy people, both business and domestic, a 25th hour in the day by taking some of your workloads off your hands. The company […]
FYXER is a UK-based virtual assistant company. They have been in business since 2014 and provide experienced remote virtual assistants to small and medium size businesses. Their assistants are based in the UK (and maybe in the US soon) and […]