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Virtual Assistant Cost UK: What Does a VA Really Cost? (2026 Pricing Guide)

By TalentDock Editorial Team · Updated 19 September 2026 · 5 min read

Quick answer

Virtual assistant cost UK businesses pay ranges from about £10 to £50 an hour depending on experience, with most UK freelancers charging £25-£35 an hour and agencies £30-£40. A full-time in-house assistant costs roughly £2,800-£3,200 a month all in, while a dedicated offshore VA through TalentDock starts from £1,195 a month.

The headline numbers

Virtual assistant rates in the UK at a glance

Hourly rates are the first thing most buyers compare, but they hide big differences in what you actually get. The table shows typical 2026 ranges by route and converts them to a full-time equivalent of about 160 hours a month.

Virtual assistant cost UK by route (2026, full-time equivalent)
Route	Hourly rate	Monthly at 160 hours	Who it suits
UK freelance VA	£25-£35	£4,000-£5,600	Small, flexible workloads
UK agency VA	£30-£40	£4,800-£6,400	Managed cover with UK hours
Offshore marketplace VA	£4-£8	£640-£1,280	Buyers happy to vet and manage alone
In-house UK assistant	n/a	£2,800-£3,200	Full-time, on-site or hybrid
TalentDock dedicated offshore VA	n/a	From £1,195, all-in	Full-time, managed, UK-aligned hours

UK freelance and agency figures come from Teambuild Consultancy’s 2026 UK guide. Executively’s UK guide gives a wider spread by seniority: £10-£15 an hour at entry level, £15-£25 at mid level and £25-£50 or more for experts. Offshore marketplace rates are typical headline figures and exclude the vetting, contracts and replacement work you take on yourself.

By experience

How VA rates change with experience

Entry level

About £10-£15 an hour. Suits data entry, basic scheduling and inbox sorting with close supervision.

Mid level

About £15-£25 an hour. Suits independent diary management, research, CRM upkeep and customer emails.

Expert or specialist

About £25-£50 or more an hour. Suits executive support, bookkeeping-adjacent work, marketing operations and confidential tasks.

Rates also rise for specialist tools, sensitive data and UK office hours. If your work touches finance or legal records, budget towards the upper end or choose a route with proper data-protection paperwork.

The in-house comparison

What an in-house UK assistant really costs

A salary is not the whole cost. To show how the £2,800-£3,200 monthly range arises, take an illustrative UK assistant on £27,000 a year. This is a worked example, not a quote.

Illustrative annual cost of a £27,000 in-house assistant
Cost line	Approximate annual cost
Salary	£27,000
Employer NICs at 15% above £5,000	£3,300
Employer pension (3% minimum on qualifying earnings)	About £620
Subtotal before overheads	About £30,900 (£2,580 a month)
Equipment, software, recruitment and holiday cover	Adds roughly £200-£600 a month

That takes the real monthly figure into the £2,800-£3,200 range. Higher salaries, London weighting and agency recruitment fees push it further. HMRC sets out the current employer NIC rates and thresholds on its rates and thresholds page.

The offshore route

Offshore virtual assistant cost: headline rate vs all-in price

An offshore marketplace VA looks cheapest at £4-£8 an hour, but the price excludes tools, management time, data-protection paperwork and the cost of replacing someone who leaves. A managed dedicated VA folds these into one monthly fee.

TalentDock’s dedicated offshore VAs start from £1,195 a month, all-in, with Skilled roles from £1,695. Against a mid-range in-house cost of about £3,000 a month, that is a saving of around 60%. See pricing for what the fee covers, or read how it works on our hire an offshore virtual assistant page.

Compare monthly cost for the same hours, not the hourly rate. A £6 an hour marketplace VA at 160 hours is £960, before you add vetting, management and replacement time.

Hidden costs

Costs that catch buyers out

Recruitment and vetting

Advertising, screening and interview time, or an agency fee, before day one.

Management time

Your own hours briefing, reviewing and correcting work, especially in the first month.

Software and equipment

Licences, a laptop, secure access and any VPN or password manager.

Cover and replacement

Sick leave, holidays and re-hiring if a freelancer walks away.

Data-protection compliance

A processing agreement and, for offshore work, a transfer safeguard such as the UK IDTA.

Employer obligations

NICs, pension, holiday pay and statutory sick pay for an in-house hire.

Choosing

How to pick the right cost model

Match the cost model to your volume. Under about 10 hours a week, a UK freelancer usually gives the best value. From roughly 20 hours a week, an hourly model becomes expensive and a dedicated model wins. Our guide to virtual assistant pricing models explains hourly, retainer and dedicated pricing in more detail, and dedicated vs freelance virtual assistant shows where the crossover sits.

If you are comparing countries as well as prices, read offshore vs UK virtual assistant. For the whole process end to end, start with our complete guide to hiring a virtual assistant in the UK.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

How much does a virtual assistant cost per hour in the UK?

Most UK freelance VAs charge about £25-£35 an hour and agencies about £30-£40. Wider guides show £10-£15 at entry level, £15-£25 at mid level and £25-£50 or more for experts.

How much does a full-time virtual assistant cost per month?

At about 160 hours a month, a UK freelancer costs roughly £4,000-£5,600 and an agency £4,800-£6,400. A dedicated offshore VA through TalentDock starts from £1,195 a month, all-in.

Is a virtual assistant cheaper than an employee in the UK?

For part-time work, yes, because you pay only for hours used. For full-time work, a dedicated offshore VA is typically around 60% cheaper than an in-house UK hire once employer NICs, pension, equipment and recruitment are counted.

Why do virtual assistant rates vary so much?

Rates reflect experience, specialism, the sensitivity of the work, whether the VA is UK-based and whether the price includes management, tools and cover. A low hourly rate often excludes costs that a managed monthly fee includes.

Do virtual assistants charge VAT?

UK VAs who are VAT-registered charge VAT on top of their fee, and most businesses can reclaim it. Check the quote and whether the supplier is VAT-registered.

What is the cheapest way to hire a virtual assistant?

The lowest headline rate is an offshore marketplace VA, but the cheapest all-in route for full-time work is usually a dedicated offshore VA from a managed provider, because vetting, replacement and compliance are included.

What does the TalentDock fee include?

A dedicated, employed and managed offshore VA for one monthly fee, with no recruitment fee. See the pricing page for the current inclusions and bands.

Sources and further reading

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Figures are indicative and were checked on 19 September 2026; confirm your own position with a qualified UK adviser.

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