--- title: "VA Cost Calculator UK: See Your Savings vs Hiring In-House | Ant Assist" description: "Calculate exactly what a virtual assistant costs vs hiring a UK employee. Real numbers including salary, NI, pension, and overhead. From £5/hour." url: "https://ant-assist.com/calculator/" --- 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 · No hidden fees Run the numbers · [Book a free 15-min call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) VA ROI CALCULATOR ## Your exact numbers, not a ballpark. Select your role, tier, and hours. See the year-one cost difference instantly. No hidden fees · 3-month trial period See what you’re actually paying 4 inputs. Instant breakdown. 🎉 **£5/hour intro promo**: every role, every expertise level Full-time monthly salary for the role. Part-time comparisons pro-rate it to the same hours. 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](https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/occupation4digitsoc2010ashetable14) (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](https://hubblehq.com/blog/office-space-cost-uk) ; [Connection Technologies, IT budget for small business UK](https://connection-technologies.co.uk/blog/it-budget-small-business-uk-how-much-spend) ; [CIPD Reward survey: focus on employee benefits](https://www.cipd.org/uk/knowledge/reports/reward-survey-employee-benefits/) ; [Fast Company on Leadership IQ’s manager-time study](https://www.fastcompany.com/3032972/why-managers-should-spend-exactly-6-hours-a-week-with-each-employee) ; [Hadzima (MIT), How much does an employee cost](https://nutsandbolts.mit.edu/BBJ/EmployeeCost.php) , 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](https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-assistant-cost-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 · ✓ Cover provided Sick leave cover · ✓ Cover provided Recruitment · ✓ Free matching 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. Run the numbers COST QUESTIONS, ANSWERED ## Questions about the cost. **Is the £5/hour rate real, or is there a catch?** 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. There’s no hidden fee, no setup cost, and no recruitment markup. The rate you see is the rate you pay. **What’s the minimum commitment?** 12 months initial term with a 3-month probation period. If your VA isn’t right during the first 3 months, you can request a replacement at no cost. After 12 months, the contract continues on a rolling monthly basis until either party gives 30 days’ notice. **Are there setup fees?** No setup fees. The only upfront costs are a 30-day bond deposit (held for the duration of the contract and refunded when you leave, provided all dues are settled) and one month’s fee paid in advance. Both are standard practice and clearly stated in the service agreement. **What if I need to reduce hours later?** 30 days’ written notice and your monthly fees adjust to the new rate. You can step down or back up as your needs change. **Is VAT included in the calculator?** No, the calculator shows fees exclusive of VAT. VAT is added on top where applicable, per standard UK rules. We charge VAT once we cross HMRC’s VAT registration threshold. **How does this compare to other VA agencies?** 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 service: supervision, replacement, performance management, and continuity cover are our responsibility, not yours. The price includes that overhead. Next step ## See what your VA actually does You’ve costed the role. Now explore what each VA handles day to day. [Administrative Administrative VAs Inbox, calendar, documents, and back-office admin, so you reclaim the hours that disappear into day-to-day operations. Learn more](https://ant-assist.com/services/admin/) · [Customer Service Customer Service VAs Email, live chat, calls, and ticket queues handled under your brand voice and fully trained on your products. Learn more](https://ant-assist.com/services/customer-service/) · [Lead Generation Lead Generation VAs Prospect research, cold outreach, LinkedIn prospecting, CRM hygiene, and appointment booking to fill your pipeline. Learn more](https://ant-assist.com/services/lead-generation/) · [E-Commerce E-Commerce VAs Listings, orders, returns, inventory, and marketplace admin across Shopify, Amazon, and eBay. Learn more](https://ant-assist.com/services/ecommerce/) READY? ## Stop paying for overhead. Book a 15-minute call. We suggest the role and hours. [Book a free 15-min call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) · [See our services](https://ant-assist.com/#services)