--- title: "How Much Does a Virtual Assistant Cost in the UK? 2026 Rates | Ant Assist" description: "UK virtual assistant costs in 2026: freelance, agency, managed offshore and in-house compared, plus Ant Assist rates from £5 per hour and what is included." url: "https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-assistant-cost-uk/" --- GUIDE · VA COSTS UK # How much does a virtual assistant cost in the UK? The label covers four different ways of buying the same hours, and the real cost turns on who manages the work and what the price includes. Here are the rates by type, what they include and how they compare. - Updated 19 October 2026 - 10 min read - By Ant Assist Rates by type · Ant Assist pricing · VA vs employee · Cost by service [Calculate your savings](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) · [Book a free 15-min call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) In short ## The short answer A managed, dedicated virtual assistant from Ant Assist costs £5 an hour for the introductory months, then £5.50 to £8.50 an hour by role, tier and hours. A full-time month is 160 hours, so £800 at the £5 rate. Freelance, agency and in-house costs are compared below. On this page Admin Virtual Assistant [Book a free 15-minute discovery call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) On this page [Book a call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) · [Calculate your savings](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) Rates by type ## Virtual assistant hourly rates in the UK by type There is no single UK virtual assistant rate: the label covers four ways of buying the same hours, and the real cost turns on who manages the work and what the price includes. UK virtual assistant cost by type | Type of VA | Typical cost | Who manages the work | What the price includes | |---|---|---|---| | **Freelance UK VA** | £32.35 an hour average; specialists £50 or more Society of Virtual Assistants, UK VA Survey 2024 | You | Their time only | | **UK agency VA** | Per hour or per package; no public benchmark cited here, ask for the all-in rate | The agency | Matching and replacement; management may be extra | | **Managed offshore VA (Ant Assist)** | From £5 an hour, then £5.50 to £8.50 by role, tier and hours | Ant Assist's UK team, from our Cairo office | Dedicated VA, management, recruitment, office, replacement | | **In-house employee** | About £3,210 a month for an entry-level admin hire £38,516 a year, calculator model | You | Everything, plus employer NI, pension and holiday | The freelance figure is a published 2024 average, not a quote; the in-house figure is the calculator's own model. Our pricing ## Ant Assist pricing: from £5 per hour Every role starts at £5 an hour, an introductory rate that runs for the first 6 months on Entry, 3 on Mid and 1 on Expert; the standard rate then applies, to the nearest penny. Ant Assist standard hourly rates after the introductory period | Role | Full-time, 160 h a month | Part-time, 80 h a month | | | | | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Entry | Mid | Expert | Entry | Mid | Expert | | | [Admin VA](https://ant-assist.com/services/admin/) | £6.30 | £7.25 | £7.88 | £6.50 | £7.48 | £8.13 | | [Customer service VA](https://ant-assist.com/services/customer-service/) | £5.95 | £6.84 | £7.44 | £6.50 | £7.48 | £8.13 | | [Lead generation VA](https://ant-assist.com/services/lead-generation/) | £5.50 | £6.33 | £6.88 | £6.50 | £7.48 | £8.13 | | [E-commerce VA](https://ant-assist.com/services/ecommerce/) | £6.50 | £7.48 | £8.13 | £6.80 | £7.82 | £8.50 | Standard hourly rates after the introductory period; full-time is 160 hours a month, part-time 80. That is £800 a month for any full-time role while the £5 rate applies; monthly figures by role are below. The hourly rate is the whole price. It includes: - A dedicated VA, never shared - UK-hour aligned support - Management and supervision - Recruitment and onboarding - Office infrastructure - Replacement if the match is wrong - No employer NI, pension or holiday costs - No long-term contract: rolling monthly, 30 days' notice Rates are promotional and may change after the campaign period. [See the numbers for your own hours](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) VA vs employee ## Virtual assistant vs employee: the real cost comparison The scenario is the calculator's default: one admin hire, Entry tier, 160 hours a month, against an Ant Assist VA on the same hours at the standard rate. The employee column is the calculator's own model; it leaves out employer National Insurance, pension, sick pay and recruitment on purpose, so it is a floor. Annual cost of an entry-level admin employee versus an Ant Assist admin VA on 160 hours a month | Cost line | UK employee (calculator model) | Ant Assist VA | |---|---|---| | **Salary** | £29,856 a year ONS ASHE 2025 benchmark, uprated 4.5% | £12,096 a year at £6.30 an hour £800 a month for the six £5 months | | **Employer National Insurance** | Not costed 15% above £5,000 a year | None | | **Pension** | Not costed 3% auto-enrolment minimum | None | | **Holiday and sick pay** | Within salary | Cover provided | | **Desk and equipment** | £4,800 a year for a desk, £500 for equipment and IT | Included | | **Benefits** | £1,493 5% of salary | Included | | **Management time** | £1,867 2 hours a week at ONS manager pay | Included | | **Recruitment and onboarding** | Not costed | Included | | Total a year | £38,516 £3,210 a month | £12,096 £1,008 a month | | Difference | | £26,420 a year £2,202 a month | Up a tier the gap widens, because salary and manager pay rise with seniority: a Mid-tier in-house hire is £3,868 a month and an Expert £4,778, against VA rates of £7.25 and £7.88 an hour, savings of £32,508 and £42,216 a year. An employee is right when the role must be on site or carry a responsibility only an employee can hold; for desk-based admin, support, outreach and store work, the comparison above is the usual result. What moves the price ## What changes the price **Hours per week.** Full-time is 160 hours a month, part-time 80. Part-time rates are slightly higher (£6.50 against £6.30 for an Entry admin VA) but the monthly bill roughly halves, from £1,008 to £520. **Skill tier.** Entry, Mid and Expert set the standard rate (£6.30, £7.25 and £7.88 an hour for a full-time admin VA) and how long the £5 rate runs (6, 3 and 1 months). **Management included or not.** A freelancer's rate buys their hours; briefing and cover are your time. Ant Assist's rate includes management and supervision, which the calculator prices at 2 hours a week of a manager's time, £1,867 a year at Entry. **Tools.** Your VA works inside your accounts and is trained on your tools during onboarding, so there is no platform fee; the in-house model counts £500 a year for equipment and IT. **Contract length.** No long-term contract: rolling monthly, with 30 days' notice. The £5 rate ends after its introductory period and the standard rate applies; rates are promotional and may change after the campaign. Once the budget is clear, the next question is how to hire. Our guide to [how to hire a virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/resources/va-hiring-guide/) covers choosing between a freelancer, an agency and a managed VA, writing the brief, running a paid trial and the first 30 days. By service ## What a VA costs by service ### Admin virtual assistant An [admin virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/services/admin/) costs £5 an hour for the first 6 months on Entry, then £6.30 an hour full-time or £6.50 part-time: £1,008 a month for 160 hours of inbox, calendar, travel and document work. The calculator's benchmark for an entry-level in-house admin hire is £2,488 a month in salary alone, before office, equipment, benefits and management time are added. ### Customer service virtual assistant A [customer service virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/services/customer-service/) has the lowest full-time standard rate of the four roles: £5.95 an hour after the introductory period, £952 a month for 160 hours of tickets, live chat, email and call answering, or £6.50 an hour part-time. The calculator's benchmark for an entry-level in-house support representative is £2,161 a month in salary, before any overheads. For what a receptionist specifically costs, by model, see [virtual receptionist pricing UK](https://ant-assist.com/resources/virtual-receptionist-pricing-uk/). ### Lead generation virtual assistant A [lead generation virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/services/lead-generation/) costs £5.50 an hour full-time after the £5 introductory period, £880 a month for 160 hours of prospect research, outreach and CRM updates, or £6.50 an hour part-time. The calculator benchmarks an entry-level in-house sales development hire at £2,634 a month in salary, the highest of the four roles, so outsourced outreach shows the largest gap. ### E-commerce virtual assistant An [e-commerce virtual assistant](https://ant-assist.com/services/ecommerce/) carries the highest standard rates, £6.50 an hour full-time and £6.80 part-time after the introductory period, because the work spans listings, order issues, customer updates and marketplace admin: £1,040 a month for 160 hours. The calculator's benchmark for an entry-level in-house e-commerce hire is £2,384 a month in salary alone, before overheads. The other side of that sum, the hours and errors of running the store yourself, is set out in [the cost of not hiring an e-commerce VA](https://ant-assist.com/resources/cost-of-not-hiring-an-ecommerce-va/). Your numbers ## Calculate your saving These are the calculator's defaults. The [VA cost calculator](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) gives your own figure by role, tier, hours and number of VAs, month by month, against an in-house hire, a freelancer or an agency. The default scenario One admin VA, 160 hours a month, standard rate. £1,008/mo · Dedicated admin VA, Entry tier, management included £3,210/mo · UK in-house admin hire, same hours Employer NI, pension and recruitment are not in the in-house figure. [Open the calculator](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) · [Book a free 15-min call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) · £5/hour intro · no long-term contract How we wrote this guide Written by the Ant Assist team. Prices are Ant Assist's own published rates, the same figures as our savings calculator. Service terms, such as notice periods and start times, are the ones on our service pages. Any figure from another organisation is named where it appears. Last reviewed 19 October 2026. Rated 5.0 on Google. · Trusted by our clients FAQ ## Cost questions people ask ### How much does a virtual assistant cost in the UK? It depends on how you buy the hours: freelance UK VAs average £32.35 an hour (Society of Virtual Assistants, 2024); a managed VA from Ant Assist starts at £5 an hour, then £5.50 to £8.50 by role and tier; an in-house employee is about £3,210 a month on our calculator's model. ### What is the hourly rate for a VA? Ant Assist's standard rates run from £5.50 to £8.50 an hour across four roles and three tiers; every role starts at £5 an hour for the first 6 months on Entry, 3 on Mid and 1 on Expert. Full-time is 160 hours a month, part-time 80. ### Is a VA cheaper than an employee? On the calculator's model, yes: an entry-level admin employee costs £38,516 a year including office, equipment, benefits and management time, against £12,096 for a full-time Ant Assist VA at the standard rate. Employer NI and pension are not in the model, so the real gap is larger. ### What changes the price of a virtual assistant? Mainly hours, tier and whether management is included. Part time (80 hours a month) costs slightly more per hour than full time (160): £6.50 against £6.30 for an Entry admin VA, though the monthly bill roughly halves, from £1,008 to £520. The tier sets the standard rate: £6.30, £7.25 and £7.88 an hour for a full-time admin VA on Entry, Mid and Expert. A freelancer's rate buys their hours, with briefing and cover left to you; Ant Assist's rate includes management and supervision. ### What does £5 per hour include? The £5 an hour rate is an introductory campaign rate for every role and tier: 6 months on Entry, 3 on Mid, 1 on Expert. It covers your dedicated VA's time, office facilities, supervision, management overhead and standard onboarding support; the standard rate then applies, and rates may change after the campaign period. Didn't find your answer? Browse [more common questions](https://ant-assist.com/help/) in the Help Center. A free 15-minute call, no obligation. Get Started ## Know the cost before you hire. A dedicated VA from £5 an hour, managed from the UK, no long-term contract. Get a quote on a free 15-minute call. [Book a free 15-min call](https://ant-assist.com/book/) · [Calculate your savings](https://ant-assist.com/calculator/) Discovery call · Role brief · VA matched · Onboarded into your tools A free 15-minute call, no obligation. Or get an instant estimate with the calculator.