Money · 5 min read
What a VA actually costs, with our fee included
Most cost comparisons in this industry quietly leave out the agency's own margin. Here is the whole number.
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Offshore hiring is cheaper. That is a function of currency and cost of living, not of paying someone badly, and any comparison that hides the intermediary's cut is not worth reading. So: the calculator below includes our fee in the year-one total.
What it actually costs
Run the numbers on your own role
Year-one totals, with our fee included in the maths, not left out of it.
How you’d hire
First 12 months
- Hiring locally
- $50,400
- Salary via MTC
- $11,400
- Placement fee (one-time)
- $1,500
You keep
$37,500
74% less than the same role hired locally, everything in.
Local comparison figures are indicative averages for English-speaking markets. Your actual costs will differ.
What is in the number, and what is not
| Included | Not included |
|---|---|
| The candidate's salary, paid to them | Your own time managing them |
| Our placement fee, or the monthly management fee | Software licences and tool seats |
| On Managed: payroll, statutory benefits, equipment, cover | Any bonus or commission you choose to pay |
| Local taxes or obligations specific to your jurisdiction |
Where the savings actually come from
- Salary differential, the largest component by far, and the least interesting
- No office cost, no equipment cost on the Managed plan
- No recruitment cost on subsequent hires if the first one works out
- Lower turnover, if you pay properly. Replacing someone costs more than the difference ever saved
When it does not pay off
It does not pay off if you cannot fill the hours, if nobody has time to onboard them, or if the work genuinely needs someone in the room. Those are all real, and all worth establishing before you spend anything.