Freelance Virtual Assistant
Hourly Rate in 2026
What virtual assistants actually charge - by experience level, by project, and what you need to charge to hit your own income target.
Last reviewed July 21, 2026 · US market
Virtual assistance is the freelance field with the widest gap between what the market pays and what people charge. General admin is priced globally and compresses hard; specialised operational support - someone who owns a system rather than completes tasks - is a different market that most VAs never move into.
Freelance virtual assistant rates by experience level
| Experience | Hourly band | Typical work |
|---|---|---|
| Entry - general admin | $12-$25 | Inbox, scheduling, data entry |
| Mid - experienced | $25-$45 | Project coordination, CRM |
| Senior - executive assistant | $45-$80 | Owns calendar, travel, comms |
| Specialist / OBM | $60-$125 | Operations, systems, hiring |
Median across the field: $32/hour. Bands describe what independent virtual assistants bill clients in the US market - not salary equivalents. How these figures are built.
What you need to charge to hit your income goal
Market bands tell you what is normal. They do not tell you what works for you - that depends on your expenses, your tax rate, and how much of your week is actually billable. Fill in your own numbers:
Runs entirely in your browser - nothing is sent anywhere. For a project-by-project view including platform fees, scope creep, and per-client profitability, use the full rate calculator.
Typical virtual assistant project fees
| Engagement | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Monthly part-time retainer (20h) | $500 - $1,600/mo |
| Monthly retainer (40h) | $1,000 - $3,000/mo |
| Systems setup project | $800 - $5,000 |
| Online business manager | $2,500 - $9,000/mo |
What actually moves a virtual assistant's rate
Tool ownership
A VA who administers HubSpot, Notion, or a fulfilment stack - rather than working inside them - prices two to three times higher, because replacing them is disruptive.
Decision authority
Executing a checklist and owning an outcome are different products. The move from "task doer" to "runs this function" is the single largest rate jump available in this field.
Retainer packaging
Prepaid monthly blocks with a use-it-or-lose-it clause protect income and stop the calendar filling with unpredictable small requests.
Niche specialism
VAs who know one industry deeply - real estate transaction coordination, podcast production, e-commerce ops - escape the general-admin price floor entirely.
Pricing mistakes that cost virtual assistants the most
- Competing on hourly price against a global general-admin market.
- Billing only "task time" while absorbing context-switching and client communication.
- Allowing scope to drift from the agreed function into everything the client dislikes doing.
Each of these shows up the same way: a rate that looks fine on paper and a bank balance that disagrees. The project calculator exposes the gap by pricing the unpaid hours alongside the billed ones.
Is your current rate actually working?
Put a real project through Loomrate and see your true take-home hourly rate after tax reserves, platform fees, overhead, and the hours you never invoiced.
Analyse a project - freeFrequently asked questions
What is a typical virtual assistant hourly rate?
US-based general VAs commonly bill $25-$45/hour, experienced executive assistants $45-$80, and online business managers $60-$125. General admin priced against a global market sits far lower, which is why specialisation matters more here than in most fields.
How do I raise my VA rate?
Move from tasks to ownership. Take responsibility for a defined function - inbox zero, CRM hygiene, launch coordination - with an agreed outcome, then price the function rather than the hours. Rate increases follow the change in what you are selling.
Should a VA charge hourly or by retainer?
Retainer, in most cases. Monthly prepaid blocks smooth income, reduce admin, and reflect the reality that availability itself has value. Hourly billing is reasonable for new clients until the workload pattern is clear.
What is an OBM and why does it pay more?
An online business manager runs operations - systems, contractors, processes, metrics - rather than executing tasks. It pays $2,500-$9,000/month because it removes management load from the owner rather than adding a task-taker.
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How we built these numbers. Bands are US-market estimates synthesised from public salary aggregators, marketplace rate data, and published industry pricing surveys, then cross-checked against typical project fees. They describe what independent freelancers bill clients, and they are wide on purpose - experience, niche, location, and client type move real rates more than any single average suggests. Treat them as a sanity check on your own numbers, not as a quote. Read the full methodology.