Most franchise owners I talk to have the same first question about hiring a VA: what does it actually cost? The answer is not always clear, because VAs are priced three different ways and the spread between them is wider than people expect. Here’s what I’ve learned running a VA inside my own franchise.
The three ways VAs are priced
VA pricing falls into one of three buckets: hourly, package (sometimes called managed), and dedicated. Each fits a different kind of franchise need.
Hourly is the simplest. You pay for hours worked, usually tracked in a timesheet or a platform dashboard. Rates run roughly $5 to $15 per hour for offshore VAs (the Philippines and India are the most common), and $25 to $75 or more per hour for US-based VAs. The offshore end works well for repeatable, documented tasks like inbox triage, calendar management, and data entry. The US-based end fits when you need someone who can call your customers, write in your brand voice, or navigate US-specific software and compliance. I personally have always felt comfortable fully leaveraging my VA assistant.
Package pricing is what most VA agencies lead with. Instead of buying hours, you buy a defined bundle of work for a flat monthly fee. A common setup is a part-time offshore package at roughly $1,000 to $2,500 per month, and a full-time offshore package at roughly $1,800 to $3,500 per month. US-based and specialized packages (marketing, bookkeeping, executive assistant) run higher. The appeal is predictability. You know what you pay every month, and the agency handles coverage, backups, and quality.
Dedicated means you hire one named person, either directly or through an agency that employs them. Direct hires in the Philippines often land at $500 to $1,200 per month for full-time work, sometimes more for specialized skills. Agency-employed dedicated VAs cost more because you’re paying for payroll, benefits, equipment, and a backup bench, and you skip the employer admin in exchange. I have been very happy with my VA at less then $1000 per month.
Offshore versus US-based: what you’re actually paying for
The price gap between offshore and US-based VAs reflects more than geography. It reflects language, time zone overlap, cultural fluency, and the cost of living where the VA sits. An offshore VA at $8 an hour can be genuinely excellent at the work. What you trade is the ease of putting them on the phone with your customers during business hours, or having them join a franchisee call without an accent.
For my franchise, the split works like this. Anything that happens behind a screen and never touches a customer goes offshore. Anything that touches a customer, a vendor, or a franchisor contact stays closer to home. That single rule keeps the cost down where it makes sense and protects the relationships that actually drive revenue.
What I actually budgeted
When I first brought a VA into my franchise, I started with a part-time offshore package at the low end of the range. The goal was to test the model before committing to a full-time person. I spent roughly $1,200 a month for the first quarter, looking for scheduling and recuriting support. Once I could see the time savings were real, I moved to a dedicated setup however I never quite got there because I did not have the right vendor who fully understood what I needed.
I’m sharing that so you have a realistic starting point for your own planning. Franchise operations differ, and your starting number will too. The cost question is really a time-savings question. A VA who costs $1,500 a month and gives you back 40 hours a month is costing you roughly $37 per reclaimed hour. If those reclaimed hours let you focus on franchise growth, vendor negotiation, or being present with your team, the math works.
Hidden costs worth knowing about
- Onboarding time. Plan for 10 to 20 hours of your own time in the first month getting a new VA up to speed on your systems, your franchise’s reporting cadence, and your preferences. That is unpaid cost on your side, even if the VA’s hours are billed.
- Tools and software seats. A VA needs access to your CRM, POS reporting, email, and scheduling tools. Some of those carry per-seat fees. Budget for it.
- Training and documentation. The first time you hand off a task, you write the process. That pays off every time after, but the first pass is real work.
- Agency versus direct tradeoff. Agencies charge a margin but cover backups, time-off, and HR. Direct hires cost less on paper and you own the management overhead.
How to pick a price model for your franchise
If you have never used a VA before, start with a part-time package for 60 to 90 days. It caps your risk, it forces you to document the work, and it tells you whether the time savings justify a bigger commitment. If you already know what you want to delegate and you want one person who learns your franchise inside out, go dedicated. If your needs swing week to week, hourly with a trusted provider keeps you flexible.
One mistake I see franchise owners make is shopping on hourly rate alone. A $6 an hour VA who needs two hours of revision on every deliverable costs more than a $12 an hour VA who gets it right the first time. Price is a signal of skill, reliability, and English fluency, especially at the offshore end. Buy outcomes, not hours.
What I’d tell another franchise owner
The real cost of a VA is the monthly fee plus your onboarding time plus any tool seats, minus the value of the hours you get back. Run that math before you commit, and run it again after 90 days. Most franchise owners I talk to find that the reclaimed hours pay for the VA several times over, as long as the work was chosen carefully.
If you can tell me what you’re trying to get off your plate, I can point you toward the right kind of VA and the right kind of pricing model for your franchise. Drop your details here and I’ll follow up.
