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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UPDATE: It appears Taskbugs 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. Taskbugs is a virtual assistant company with offices in the US and […]
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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: Sidekicks has pivoted to a “different type of business model.” Please consider one of these alternatives. Sidekicks enables entrepreneurs and business owners to quickly hire and build their own virtual teams. The company does this by connecting clients with hand-picked […]
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Virtual Assistant Canada is a Canada-based virtual assistant company. They have offices and virtual assistants in three locations; Vancouver and Port Alberni in Canada, and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. About Virtual Assistant Canada With virtual assistants across their offices in Canada […]
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Don’t Panic Management was founded in 2011 with a simple goal in mind: to help busy entrepreneurs, creatives, authors, and thought leaders get back to the work that brings them joy and purpose. Don’t Panic’s team of US-based virtual assistants […]
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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: MobileWorks Premier is now LeadGenius, a specialized service offering lead generation for B2B sales and marketing teams. Please consider one of these alternatives. MobileWorks is a California-based outsourcing company that was founded in 2011. Specifically, they brand themselves as […]
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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 […]
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Update: It appears Virtual Assistant Staffing is out of business. Please see our full list of virtual assistant companies for well-rated alternatives. Virtual Assistant Staffing is a unique virtual assistant company based out of Seattle. However, don’t expect to see […]
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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 GlobeTask is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. GlobeTask is an Israeli outsourcing company, staffed primarily by American expatriates. The company was founded in 2007 by Joshua Last. GlobeTask offers a range of services, […]
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UPDATE: It appears Virtual Valley 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. Virtual Valley is a UK-based virtual assistant company specializng in connecting […]
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UPDATE: It appears Virtual Hires is out of business. Please consider one of these alternatives. Virtual Hires is a remote-staffing agency based in the Philippines. Since 2008, they have specialized in providing full-time virtual employees in four categories: writers, virtual […]
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myVA360 is an international Virtual Assistance agency, based in the US. They offer a wide range of virtual services such as Executive Assistance, Social Media, Digital Marketing, Graphic Design and others. About myVA360 The company was founded by CEO Jelena […]
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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 VirtuNeeds 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. VirtuNeeds is a US-based virtual assistant company that provides virtual assistants to […]
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Somebody 2 Hire is a virtual assistant company in the Philippines with a large number of virtual assistants ready to handle administrative, customer service, and marketing tasks. Founded in 2013, they pride themselves on having virtual assistants with a wide […]