A virtual assistant company is simply a firm that provides outsourcing services.
Many are located internationally (India and the Philippines are popular spots), but you’ll find a growing number of virtual assistant companies in the US and Europe.
Why’s that?
Well, the demand for qualified remote workers just continues to increase! Over the next 10 years, hiring managers expect nearly 40% of their workforce to be working remotely.
As more companies get on board with the idea of a virtual team, that means the virtual assistant industry is booming — and that’s great news for you.
Advantages of Working With a Virtual Assistant Company
There are several advantages of hiring through an established VA company vs. making a direct hire, and especially over making a local hire.
Recruiting
First, the company does the bulk of the recruiting and screening legwork for you, which can be a huge time saver.
As the demand for remote work has increased, so has the supply. And I get that. I mean, I’ve been working from home for over 10 years — it’s awesome.
But what that means for virtual assistant companies is that they can afford to be extremely picky with who they bring on board. In fact, on my VA company sites, you’ll find material on their hiring process and how they only accept the top 1-3% of candidates.
If you’ve ever tried to make a traditional job posting and screen candidates, you know that recruiting is incredibly time-consuming.
Backups and Replacements
Next, if and when your VA leaves, gets sick, or gets promoted, you’re not scrambling to replace them.
You’ll still have to train your new worker, but at least you won’t have to go out and source them completely on your own.
A Team of Assistants Under One Virtual Roof
And finally, many virtual assistant companies offer a cool hybrid model where you have a dedicated assistant for most of your tasks, but have access to the company’s broader talent pool for more specialized requests.
This allows you to amplify your productivity and keep all the communication and delegation under one roof.
Simple Accounting
Hiring through a VA company can also make for a simpler relationship come tax time too.
The fees you pay to the firm are a quick line-item deductible expense and you don’t have to stress about whether a freelance contractor you hired is technically an employee in the eyes of the IRS.
Here’s a quick profile of some of the top-rated companies. You can check them out or browse the full directory below.
| Online VA Team | Time Etc | Remote CoWorker | Tasks Expert | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Established | 2014 | 2007 | 2013 | 2017 |
| Location | USA and The Philippines | USA and UK | USA | US and India |
| Customer Rating | ||||
| Hourly Rate | $7+ | $27-29 | $5.99-8.00 | $4.50 |
| Minimum Package | $250 for 20 hours | $390 for 10 hours | $139 for 20 hours | $169 for 20 hours |
| Dedicated Assistant | ||||
| Team Access | ||||
| Rollover Hours | *Per policy | |||
| Free Trial | ||||
| Learn More | Learn More | Learn More | Learn More |
Drawbacks to Virtual Assistant Companies
The biggest disadvantage I see to working with virtual assistant companies is you’re paying a premium for:
- Their recruiting and training
- Their company overhead and infrastructure
- A management layer
In each case, those might not be a huge benefit for you. You could potentially go out and find a better skills and cultural fit by hiring directly.
The training an assistant receives through a company will probably be helpful — but it might not be directly applicable to your business.
If your VA is working from a dedicated call-center type of office, the rent, electricity, equipment, and Internet are all baked into your price.
And finally, virtual assistant companies have a management layer you’re also paying for — but unless something goes wrong — you might not need.
How Much do Virtual Assistant Companies Cost?
You’ll find virtual assistant companies with task-based plans starting around $30 a month. For that price, you’ll be able to delegate a handful of small requests.
Dedicated services begin in the $100-300 a month range for part-time support.
Overseas, you can hire a full-time VA through a virtual assistant company for $800-1500 a month. For assistants in the US or Western Europe, you can easily spend double or triple that.
My Experience with Virtual Assistant Companies
I’ve worked with several virtual assistant companies over the last decade, starting with my first dedicated assistant from Pakistan.
These companies, and increasingly specialized virtual agencies, are an important part of my virtual assistant “stack.”
(A specialist agency is a company that does just ONE thing, like graphic design, podcast editing, or bookkeeping.)
What I see as the biggest benefits are the team access and the VA replacement.
Over the last few years, there have been quite a few instances of my assistant getting promoted or taking a new job. And instead of me being stranded and stuck without support, a new qualified VA took their place seamlessly. In one case, I didn’t even know the change had happened for a couple weeks!
And similarly, when a company has lots of different skills under one roof, it’s been really helpful to send over a random request and have that taken care of.
For example, maybe your regular assistant does social media and content marketing for you — but you occasionally need some technical website stuff done. It’s a big time saver to just have one company able to handle it.
Which Virtual Assistant Company is Right For You?
What you should look for in a VA company, aside from positive customer reviews, is:
- professionalism (can you picture this person or company working for you?)
- response time (did they reply promptly to your inquiry?)
- price (will the work justify the expense?)
Related: 13 Questions to Ask a Virtual Assistant Company
Check out the top-rated VA companies below, see what other customers have to say, and narrow down your options.
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Extend Your Team is a virtual assistant company specializing in providing experienced virtual assistants to small and medium-sized companies all over the world. The company is headquartered in the US, and all of their assistants are based in the Philippines. […]
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Brilliant Apples is a family-run, Guatemala-based virtual assistant company supplying remote administrative assistance to busy executives. The company is headquartered in Guatemala City. This is where Brilliant Apples’ team is based, they offer support in both English and Spanish across […]
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ADAZA is a marketplace that helps connect independent sales professionals with new companies looking to utilize freelance sales reps to accelerate their growth and reach new markets. The company was formed by four software veterans in 2015 and is backed […]
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Work Hero is a company that provides support and maintenance plans at a flat monthly rate for WordPress users. The company is headquartered in Austin, TX, and also has support staff based remotely around the world in locations like Brazil, […]
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UPDATE: As of 2019, Xilium has widened its scope to providing solutions for medical enterprise groups. Xilium is a virtual assistant company with administrative offices in Minnesota, and offices and virtual assistant staff in the Philippines. They provide a wide […]
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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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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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VAhut is a newer virtual assistant company in China, but they may not have survived their first year. I reached out to them on two occasions and never got a response. The company is based out of Hangzhou, a city with […]
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Pepper VA is a virtual assistant company specializing in providing virtual assistants at competitive rates to small and medium-sized businesses all over the world. The company is based in the Philippines, with offices in Manila and Davao City. Most of […]
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MicroSourcing is an offshore and outsourcing solutions provider based in the Philippines. They help companies start up operations in the Philippines by supplying modern workspaces and recruiting staff. They started operations in 2006, and currently have the capacity to provide […]
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ShoreAgents is a virtual assistant company specializing in providing virtual assistants to businesses in the real estate industry. The company is headquartered in the Philippines and all of their staff work out of their offices in the same location. About […]
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One Concierge is a US-based luxury personal assistant company offering a range of high-end concierge services both domestically and internationally. They operate on a membership model, giving you access to more than 150 concierge services, access to over 50,000 events […]
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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 […]
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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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Helpware is a virtual assistant provider and customer service support company. They help clients build and manage remote customer support teams and offer a range of tools to help businesses streamline their workflow processes. The company was founded in 2015. […]
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InoVA Local is a virtual assistant company providing virtual assistants based in the US and Canada to small and medium-sized business owners. They focus mainly on working with local businesses. InoVA Local offers a cost-effective solution for local businesses to […]
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Virtual Assistant Talent is well-known virtual assistant company in the Philippines. The firm was founded in 2010 by John Davern, Jr., a human resources professional and real estate investor. The company specializes in helping busy entrepreneurs maximize their time with […]
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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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24H Virtual is a 24/7 virtual receptionist, live call answering, and virtual assistant provider working with small to medium-sized businesses all over the world. The company is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Their agents are based in Canada, the US, the […]