Reference · 2026
How much do freelance virtual assistants earn?
A reference range — what other virtual assistants charge in 2026. Not a guarantee. Where you land depends on niche, clients, and how you sell the work.
Hourly rate range
Entry
$20/hr
starting out
Median
$40/hr
experienced
Top band
$80/hr
niche / specialist
Project size
Small
$500
Typical
$1,500
Premium
$5,000
Annual median
$48,000/ year
Based on 25 billable hours/week × 48 weeks × median hourly rate.
Want your actual number?
Plug in your target income, hours, and buffer. Get the rate.
What pushes you up the range
- 01
Specialization — executive assistance, marketing operations, bookkeeping
- 02
Tool fluency (Notion, Airtable, Zapier, ClickUp) as a skill, not a chore
- 03
Tenure with a client builds defensible rate increases
- 04
Project management on top of administrative work
- 05
Niching into one industry your clients all share
Compared to employed
Comparable in-house executive assistant (US):
$38,000–62,000 /yr
Freelance median (virtual assistant): ~$48,000/year. Going freelance is a lifestyle and control trade-off, not always a pay raise — but the top band of freelance often clears the top band of employed by a meaningful margin.
Common questions
How much should a virtual assistant charge per hour?
General VA work: $20–35/hour. Specialized VA (executive assistance, marketing operations): $40–60/hour. Premium VAs running operations or doing project management: $60–80/hour. The trap is staying at $15/hour to win work — every $15/hour VA who specialized within a year is now charging $40+.
How does a VA actually charge — hourly, per task, or retainer?
Retainer is the standard ($1,500–4,000/month for 10–20 hours per week). Hourly works for short engagements or unpredictable workload. Per-task only for repeatable, well-defined work (inbox sorting at $X per session, social posts at $Y per post). Retainers protect your income and the client's predictability.
What's the difference between a VA and an operations manager?
Scope and ownership. A VA executes — does the tasks given. An operations manager designs the workflow, makes the decisions, and reports outcomes. The rate gap reflects it: VA $25–50/hour, OpsManager $75–150/hour. Some VAs evolve into ops managers within 12 months by taking on workflow design, not just execution.
Now act on it
Send a proposal at your new rate.
Kinako drafts the proposal from your project data, sends it as a polished public link, and chases the follow-up if your client takes their time.