If you are weighing a virtual assistant against an in-house employee, the honest answer is that the saving depends on which VA tier you pick and how fully you load the employee's cost. This guide uses public 2026 wage and benefits data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, SHRM's recruiting benchmarks, and our own published rates, so you can check every number.
The short answer
| Option | Year-one cost | Hours covered |
|---|---|---|
| In-house administrative employee, fully loaded | ≈ $87,600 | ~2,080 paid hours |
| In-house employee, lean remote setup (no office) | ≈ $74,400 | ~2,080 paid hours |
| Full-time virtual assistant (Alpha Workforce) | $30,000 – $60,000 | 40+ hours a week |
| Part-time virtual assistant (Alpha Workforce) | $12,000 – $30,000 | 20–30 hours a week |
Against a fully loaded in-house seat, a full-time VA saves 31% to 66% in the first year. Against a lean remote employee, the saving is 19% to 60%. The "save up to 70%" figure you see on our site holds at the lower VA tier against a typical fully loaded hire; it does not hold at the top tier. Both numbers are worked out below.
What an in-house employee actually costs in 2026
1. Salary
The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook lists the median annual wage for secretaries and administrative assistants at $48,310 (May 2025 data). The lowest 10% earn under $35,360 and the highest 10% over $77,720, so adjust for your city and the seniority you need.
2. Benefits and employer taxes
BLS Employer Costs for Employee Compensation for March 2026 shows private-industry employers paying $46.60 per hour worked: $32.60 in wages and $14.01 in benefits, which is 30.1% of total compensation. Benefits include paid leave, insurance, retirement and legally required costs such as Social Security, Medicare and unemployment insurance. Applied to the median salary, that benefits load adds about $20,800 a year.
3. Recruiting
SHRM's 2025 Benchmarking Report puts the average cost per non-executive hire at $5,475. SHRM's 2026 recruiting report shows a median of $1,300, which is closer to what a small business without a recruiting team spends. We use both figures below.
4. Office, equipment and onboarding
Typical ranges for a single seat: office space $5,000 to $15,000 a year, equipment and software $2,000 to $5,000, onboarding and training $1,000 to $3,000. A remote employee removes the office line but not the others.
Year-one total for one administrative hire
| Cost line | Typical office-based hire | Lean remote hire |
|---|---|---|
| Salary (BLS median) | $48,310 | $48,310 |
| Benefits and employer taxes (30.1% of compensation) | $20,800 | $20,800 |
| Recruiting (SHRM 2025 average / 2026 median) | $5,475 | $1,300 |
| Office space | $8,000 | $0 |
| Equipment and software | $3,000 | $2,000 |
| Onboarding and training | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| Year-one total | ≈ $87,600 | ≈ $74,400 |
| Cost per paid hour (2,080 hours) | ≈ $42 | ≈ $36 |
Year two drops the recruiting, equipment and onboarding lines, but salary and benefits still run about $69,100 before any raise.
What a virtual assistant costs
These are our published rates. Other providers price differently, so compare on the same basis: what is included, how many hours, and what the exit terms are.
| Alpha Workforce plan | Monthly | Annual | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time dedicated VA | $1,000 – $2,500 | $12,000 – $30,000 | 20–30 a week |
| Full-time dedicated VA | $2,500 – $5,000 | $30,000 – $60,000 | 40+ a week |
| Enterprise (multiple VAs, team manager) | Custom quote | 24/7 coverage available |
Included in the monthly fee: no recruiting fee, no benefits, no office, tools included, onboarding in 24 to 48 hours, and a month-to-month commitment. At $2,500 a month for roughly 173 working hours, the effective rate is about $14.50 an hour; at $5,000 a month it is about $29 an hour. Compare that with the $36 to $42 per paid hour of an in-house seat in the table above.
Side by side: year one
| In-house, typical | In-house, lean remote | VA full-time, lower tier | VA full-time, upper tier | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year-one cost | $87,600 | $74,400 | $30,000 | $60,000 |
| Saving vs. typical in-house | 15% | 66% | 31% | |
| Saving vs. lean remote | 60% | 19% |
Two honest caveats. First, the employee is paid for 2,080 hours, while a full-time VA plan covers 40 or more hours a week on your schedule, so hours are broadly comparable but not identical. Second, the upper VA tier buys executive-level or specialised support; if all you need is inbox and calendar work, you are comparing against the lower tier.
Part-time roles: where the gap is widest
A part-time employee at 25 hours a week on the median wage costs about $30,200 in salary, plus employer taxes and any prorated benefits, plus the same recruiting cost as a full-time hire. A part-time VA at $1,000 to $2,500 a month costs $12,000 to $30,000 with nothing else to add, and you can change the hours next month if the workload moves.
Clinics and medical practices
Practices ask us about this comparison more than any other industry, usually for scheduling, appointment reminders, insurance verification, patient intake calls and billing follow-up. The cost math is the same as above: a dedicated VA at $2,500 to $5,000 a month against roughly $87,600 for an in-house front-desk hire in year one.
Three things change for healthcare:
- Protected health information. If the assistant will see PHI, the provider must sign a Business Associate Agreement and the assistant needs HIPAA training. Ask for both in writing before onboarding.
- Access scope. Give the VA the minimum access the role needs, for example the scheduling module rather than full chart access.
- Coverage hours. Patients call early and late. A remote assistant in a different time zone can cover the hours your in-house staff cannot, without overtime.
When an in-house employee still wins
- The role needs someone physically present, such as front-of-house in retail or hands-on work in a facility.
- You want to build deep institutional knowledge and management capacity over years.
- The job requires signing authority or on-site compliance duties.
- You already have the office, equipment and HR overhead, so the marginal cost of one more seat is low.
When a virtual assistant is the better buy
- The work is defined, recurring and mostly digital: inbox, calendar, data entry, customer support, bookkeeping support, listings, reporting.
- You need to start within days, not months.
- Demand rises and falls and you want to change hours month to month.
- You want to test a role before committing to a permanent hire.
A worked ROI example (with the assumptions shown)
Suppose you hire a full-time support VA at $3,000 a month, or $36,000 a year.
- The VA takes over 20 hours a week of work you currently do yourself.
- You value your own time at $75 an hour (change this to your real billable or opportunity rate).
- 20 hours × 52 weeks × $75 = $78,000 of your time freed per year.
Net benefit: $78,000 minus $36,000 = $42,000, an ROI of about 117% in the first year. If your time is worth $40 an hour, the benefit is $41,600 and the ROI is about 16%, still positive but far less dramatic. Run the arithmetic with your own rate; that is the number that matters.
How to decide in ten minutes
- Write down the tasks you would hand over and the hours a week they take.
- Price the in-house version with the table above, using your local wage instead of the national median.
- Price the VA version at the tier that matches the skill level, not the cheapest tier.
- Check what is included: tools, replacement if the assistant leaves, and notice period.
- Pick the option that wins on year-one cost and on how fast you need to start.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a virtual assistant cost compared with an employee?
A full-time virtual assistant from Alpha Workforce costs $2,500 to $5,000 a month, or $30,000 to $60,000 a year, with no recruiting, benefits, office or equipment costs. A typical in-house administrative employee costs about $87,600 in the first year once salary, a 30.1% benefits load, recruiting, office, equipment and onboarding are included. That is a saving of roughly 31% to 66%.
Is a virtual assistant cheaper than an in-house employee?
Usually. The saving comes less from the hourly rate and more from what you do not pay: benefits, recruiting, office space, equipment and paid idle time. A part-time VA is also cheaper than a part-time employee once recruiting and employer taxes are counted.
What does a full-time employee really cost beyond salary?
BLS data for March 2026 puts private-industry compensation at $46.60 per hour worked, of which $14.01 is benefits. Add recruiting of $1,300 to $5,475 per hire, office space of $5,000 to $15,000 a year, equipment of $2,000 to $5,000 and onboarding of $1,000 to $3,000.
Are virtual assistants cost-effective for clinics and medical practices?
Yes, for scheduling, reminders, insurance verification and billing follow-up. If the assistant will handle protected health information, require a signed Business Associate Agreement and HIPAA training, and limit access to what the role needs.
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employer Costs for Employee Compensation, March 2026
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook: Secretaries and Administrative Assistants
- SHRM, The Real Costs of Recruitment and the SHRM 2025 Benchmarking Report ($5,475 average cost per non-executive hire)
- Alpha Workforce, published pricing
Next step
If you want the VA side of this comparison priced for your actual task list, schedule a free consultation. We will tell you which tier fits and what it will cost per month, with nothing hidden.
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