How much SHOULD you be charging?

Fantastic question, and it’s the number one thing new VAs and freelancers ask me.

Quick answer: Most virtual assistants charge $20–$85/hour depending on experience and specialization in 2026. New VAs typically start at $20–$35/hr (higher if you’re coming in with advanced or specialized skills), while specialists with 5+ years of experience charge $50–$85+/hr. Full breakdown by experience level and service type below. (Updated July 2026.)

Setting your rates can be confusing, and it tends to drag every limiting belief you have straight to the surface. Things like “I don’t deserve that much,” or “people won’t pay me that much.” So before we go any further: yes, you do, and yes, they will. I wouldn’t have built my career teaching this if those beliefs were true.

So, how much should you charge? It depends. But based on years of working with folks in your shoes, and my own experience, you should almost certainly aim higher than the number currently sitting in your head. Most people undercharge, and women and members of marginalized groups undercharge most of all. A lot of that is mindset. This post is here to give you the cold, hard numbers instead.

The formula below applies to the hourly pricing model.

The formula: expenses divided by hours

Start with what you actually need to live. You didn’t leave your job to struggle, so at an absolute minimum, your rate has to cover your expenses. You may not get there with one client, or even two or three, but this gives you a starting point.

TASK STOP! ✋

• So I want you to take a moment to jot down all your ongoing business expenses. These are things like digital subscriptions and tools, hardware, software, coaching, education (like The Virtual Excellence Academy) and so on…
• Next, I want you to jot down all your monthly living expenses. Rent, utilities, childcare, student loans (BIG ONE! You studied to work, your work should now pay for your studies), groceries, insurances, etc.
• Add up the total of both lists. Let’s say the total is: $2200.
• Tack on 10-15% for unexpected bills, up-charges etc. This brings us to: $2530.
• Then tack on 25% for leisure, clothes, trips to the movies, dates, you know, the stuff that allows you to live a fruitful life. This brings us to $3162.
• Tack on 25-35% for tax. If you know exactly how much tax you have to pay in your country/area – you can get more accurate here.
• This brings us to a total of $4269. Keep this number safe.
• How many days are you committed to working each month? Let’s say it’s 20.
• How many hours are you committed to working each day? Let’s say it’s 6.
• How many hours is that per month? That’s 120.
• Your formula would be: expenses/hours. In this scenario: 4269/120 = 35.5.

This would indicate an hourly rate of $35.

The great news? You’ll have a fair bit more take-home from that than you expect, you can deduct a lot, if not all of your business expenses. Even more so if you’re in the design field, a lot of entertainment can be considered deductible too.

Your minimum rate

Whatever the formula gives you, I tell every new VA the same thing: start at a minimum of $20 an hour.

If your calculation comes out below $20, raise it to $20 anyway. Why? Because wherever you are in the world, you are providing an expert service, and you deserve well above minimum wage. Undercutting doesn’t just hurt you, it drags down the rates every other freelancer can command, so pricing yourself properly is part of holding the standard for all of us. Refusing to work for exploitative rates is a professional decision, not an arrogant one.

You may also find that $20 is far too low for where you live, in which case raise it accordingly.

What should you charge for your skill level?

The rate you land on depends on your situation, whether you still have another job, and whether you’re offering entry-level services or specialized ones. Broadly speaking:

• General skills like admin, inbox and calendar management, social media posting, and simple Canva design: around $20 to $35 per hour.
• Intermediate skills in more advanced areas like WordPress maintenance, blog writing, graphic design, or AI-assisted content and research: around $35 to $60 per hour.
• Specialized skills like advanced web development, SEO, funnel building and strategy, paid ads, or automation and AI workflow setup: $60 and up. I know VAs who started around $50 and now charge $350 an hour consulting on ads and social strategy.

A note on AI. Clients increasingly expect their VA to be comfortable with AI tools, and the people who can truly use them well, for research, content, summarizing, and automating repetitive work, are commanding noticeably higher rates. You don’t need to be an expert. Even solid working fluency will set you apart and lift what you can charge.

Virtual assistant rates by experience level (2026)

Note: these are general starting points for a new VA with foundational skills. If you’re coming in with advanced or specialized experience (like bookkeeping, funnel building, or paid ads management), that should push your starting rate higher than a beginner tier.

Rates by service type

Monthly retainer examples

If you’d rather price as a package instead of by the hour:

• Starter (10–15 hrs/month): $250–$450
• Core support (20 hrs/month): $600–$1,200
• Growth (40 hrs/month): $1,400–$2,800
• Specialist / full ops (40+ hrs/month): $2,800–$5,500+

🧠 Mind-hack-stop: Don’t live

within your means

Here’s where the problem with this formula comes though. I want you to use it to figure out your hourly rate – but I don’t want you to feel defined by it.

We humans tend to live within our means, which means we might catch ourselves saying things like ‘I ONLY NEED to make $2500 to meet my expenses/get by/live well’. When we state this, we will meet this number, and go no further. For sure we will live ok, but growth can be stunted if you stay in the mindset of ‘only needing’ so much.

Ways to battle this:

• Occasionally make (smart) investments that scare you a little and raise the amount you really do need.
• Practice adding a few hundred to your ‘need’ amount when you think or say how much you need to make.

If you NEEDED to make 5k a month instead of 2k, you’d do it. You brain is wired to meet your needs and so will find innovative ways to do so, whether by raising your rates, subcontracting, or adding a new service to your offerings, it will meet the need SO LONG as it really feels necessary to. So practice the art of believing you NEED more. Trust me! That’s why in the calculations above, I’d also veer on adding up the higher percentages to account for more than you ‘need’.

Are there other ways to price your VA services?

Yes. Here are the three main pricing models.

Hourly: You’re paid for the hours you work, usually with time tracking and reports. I recommend Toggl for tracking. Be detailed in your reporting early on, you never know how particular a new client will be. I also recommend billing upfront for a set number of hours rather than at the end, which is riskier. Either way, get a contract signed before any work starts.

When setting your hourly rate, ask yourself three things:

• Will this support me after tax, fees, and expenses?
• Do I feel valued?
• Is this in line with my current skill set?

🏆 Retainers: The best scenario for most VAs and freelancers is a handful of ongoing clients paying you handsomely every month. A retainer means billing upfront at the start of each month (or week) for an agreed number of hours or outcomes. It’s more comfortable than hourly, because you know what’s coming in, and your client knows you’re available to them. Hourly clients can drop in and out and leave you with dry spells, so retainers are a welcome step up. Long term, you want clients who need ongoing support, but starting hourly is completely fine when you’re new. Again, sign a contract first! 

Value-based pricing: This is trickier to master, and I wouldn’t recommend it right out of the gate. It requires a deep understanding of your skills, your client’s business, the risks involved, and how long things take. You charge based on the value you create, not the hours you spend.

For example. Mary needs a sales page and funnel for a product launch. She has an engaged list of 2,300 people, and with ads driving traffic she expects around 4,000. Her product is $500. Based on her past conversion rates, you know she’s likely to convert at least 2.5% of those 4,000, which is around $50,000 in sales. So what is a brilliant sales page and funnel actually worth to her? Far more than you could ever bill hourly. You might agree on 15% of overall sales, which would be $7,500 for the project.

Value-based can also mean project-based, for things like website design, where you might even offer set packages.

Whichever route you take, charge at least 50% upfront and 50% on completion, so you’re never working without protection. And sign a contract.

What do I recommend to new Virtual Assistants and freelancers?

Sometimes you’ll get on a call with a prospect and it just clicks, and they’ll offer you a retainer outright. More often, you’ll need to show them the value you bring.

The best bridge I’ve found between hourly and retainer is a paid trial of five VA hours. It’s low cost and low risk for the client, which makes it much easier for them to say yes. Charge upfront for those five hours. Then use them to do brilliant work, listen well, communicate clearly, and make their life easier. From there, the conversation about a retainer becomes far more natural.

NOTES AND ADDITIONAL TIPS:

Raise your rates by $2 to $5 every four to six months as you gain skills and get faster at what you do. You can honour existing rates with long-standing clients, or increase gradually, as long as you communicate openly.

Get comfortable saying your rate out loud. If it doesn’t feel good, ask yourself: am I lowballing and I know it? Or does this feel too high for where I’m at? If it’s the latter, examine that honestly, because our brains love keeping us small. Either way, face the feeling. Above all, you need to be able to say your rate out loud without flinching.

TOOLS AND RESOURCES:

• Time tracking tool, Toggl
• Easy to use invoicing and client management tool, Dubsado
• My FAVORITE book on money mindset
• The Virtual Excellence Academy for everything you need to know to build and grow a profitable, fulfilling career from anywhere!