Executive assistant comparing salary options with a calculator and a simple chart on a laptop

VA COST CALCULATOR

See what a virtual assistant actually costs.

Compare a UK-managed VA against hiring locally. Real numbers, no marketing maths.

£5/hr intro rate UK-managed Dedicated VA

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VA ROI CALCULATOR

Your exact numbers, not a ballpark.

Select your role, tier, and hours. See the year-one cost difference instantly.

3-month probation

See what you’re actually paying

4 inputs. Instant breakdown.

Role needed

Service tier (seniority & promo)

Compare against

How many VAs?

Hours per VA per month

Your industry (optional)

Input role’s custom salary

Full-time monthly salary for the role. Part-time comparisons pro-rate it to the same hours.

UK In-House

Traditional

Fixed overhead, long-term commitment

Monthly (recurring) £0

Annual (recurring) £0

Ant Assist VA · Entry

Full-time · 160h/mo

Monthly after promo £0

Annual after promo £0

Start from Standard rate £6.30, introductory offer £5/hour today

Saving vs UK In-House

Annual (after promo)

£0

Ongoing / month

£0

Steady-state monthly (after promo)

UK In-house£0/mo

Ant Assist£0/mo

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Cumulative cost over 12 months

Ant Assist (always shown)

Exact monthly values (table)

Comparison assumptions

UK in-house: benchmark salary for the selected role and tier (editable above); equipment and IT £500/yr; office £4,800/yr (pro-rated for part-time); benefits 5% of salary; management overhead of 2 hours a week over 46 weeks at ONS manager pay for the selected tier (£1,867 / £2,764 / £3,866 a year for Entry / Mid / Expert, full-time). Employer NI, Employment Allowance, pension, sick pay, onboarding and recruitment are not costed.
Freelancer: £22/hour at the same monthly hours; recurring cost only.
Agency: £25/hour at the same monthly hours; recurring cost only.
Ant Assist: £5/hour introductory rate for the tier’s promo period (Entry 6 / Mid 3 / Expert 1 months), then the standard rate for the selected role, tier, and working pattern.
Sources: ONS ASHE 2025 Table 14 (14.7a annual and 14.5a hourly gross pay, full-time, by occupation; 2025 provisional, 23 October 2025); Hubble, How much does office space cost across the UK; Connection Technologies, IT budget for small business UK; CIPD Reward survey: focus on employee benefits; Fast Company on Leadership IQ’s manager-time study; Hadzima (MIT), How much does an employee cost, whose 1.25 to 1.4× salary rule of thumb our in-house totals sit inside (1.25 to 1.29×) even with NI and pension excluded.

HOW WE CALCULATE THIS

Real numbers, not marketing maths.

Every line in this calculator is a cost a UK business carries when it hires locally, and every rate has a published source behind it (listed under the graph). Employer NI and pension are deliberately left out, so the in-house figure is a floor, not a ceiling. For the rates and ranges behind these figures, see what a virtual assistant costs in the UK.

01 · Salary

Benchmark salary by role

ONS earnings data (ASHE 2025) for the role and seniority you pick, uprated 4.5%. Edit it if you know your figure.

02 · Office and equipment

A desk and a laptop

£400 a month per desk, below the £463 UK average, plus £500 a year for equipment.

03 · Benefits

5% of salary, excluding pension

Health, life cover and perks. UK employers typically spend far more, so this is conservative.

04 · Management overhead

A manager’s time, priced by seniority

Two hours a week of a manager’s time at ONS manager pay: £1,867 (Entry), £2,764 (Mid) or £3,866 (Expert) a year.

WHAT’S INCLUDED

The real cost of hiring locally.

Every line item below comes from the same model as the calculator above, using its defaults: Admin role, Entry tier, one full-time hire at 160 hours/month, both sides at their standard rate. Change any input in the calculator and both sides re-price together.

UK In-House Hire

Admin VA equivalent · full-time, 160h/month · Entry band

High cost

Base salary (Admin VA equivalent) £29,856

Equipment / IT (£1,500 over 3 years) £500

Office space (£400 per desk per month) £4,800

Benefits (5% of salary, excluding pension) £1,493

Management overhead (Entry band) £1,867

Annual cost £38,516

Ant Assist Virtual Assistant

Admin VA · 160h/month · Entry tier

Recommended

Intro rate Standard rate £6.30, introductory offer £5/hr for 6 months

Standard rate after the intro £6.30/hr

Monthly at the standard rate (160h) £1,008

Holiday pay ✓ Not your cost

Sick leave cover ✓ Not your cost

Recruitment One-off onboarding fee

Equipment & office ✓ Included

Management & supervision ✓ Included

Training ✓ Included

Annual cost (standard rate) £12,096

You save approximately £26,400/year at the standard rate on the Admin VA scenario above, and more during the £5/hour intro. Use the calculator for your exact role type and hours.

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COST QUESTIONS, ANSWERED

Questions about the cost.

It’s real. £5/hour is the introductory rate on every role and tier: 6 months on Entry, 3 on Mid, 1 on Expert. After the intro period, standard rates run from £5.50–£8.50/hour depending on role, tier, and working pattern. A one-off onboarding fee of £695 (currently £495), payable on signing and non-refundable. Service fees are invoiced monthly, one month in advance; the first month is paid before your VA starts. No deposit. Fees exclude VAT, which is added where applicable. For extra hours, ask us in advance; they are recorded and added to that month’s invoice at your agreed additional-hours rate.

12 months initial term with a 3-month probation period. For three months from your VA’s start date, if you’re reasonably dissatisfied with their performance or fit, we replace them at no extra cost; you’re not charged for the replacement during their handover and onboarding, and the three months restart. After probation, if a VA keeps underperforming after we’ve taken remedial steps, we replace them on the same basis. After 12 months, the contract continues on a rolling monthly basis until either party gives 30 days’ notice.

Yes. A one-off onboarding fee of £695 (currently £495), payable on signing and non-refundable. Service fees are invoiced monthly, one month in advance; the first month is paid before your VA starts. No deposit. Fees exclude VAT, which is added where applicable. For extra hours, ask us in advance; they are recorded and added to that month’s invoice at your agreed additional-hours rate.

You can reduce hours on 30 days’ written notice, subject to any minimum commitment. For extra hours, ask us in advance; they are recorded and added to that month’s invoice at your agreed additional-hours rate.

No, the calculator shows fees exclusive of VAT. VAT is added on top where applicable, per standard UK rules.

We don’t publish competitive comparisons because pricing varies widely with provider quality and structure; as a benchmark, this calculator compares Ant Assist with a freelancer at £22/hour and an agency at £25/hour. What we will say: most £5/hour VA services are unmanaged marketplaces, so you hire and manage the VA directly. Ant Assist is a managed virtual assistant service: we employ, pay, train, supervise and support your VA, and provide their office, equipment, HR and IT support. The price includes that overhead.

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