The last time we updated this salary guide was 2019. Now, we’ve updated it for 2021, to make it easier for you to find the right VA for your business. And we’ll be updating this guide yearly from now on.
Compared to the 2019 salaries, the increase isn’t that much, even after taking inflation into account. The likely reason for this is that there are so many virtual assistants available now for hire. In 2020, we saw the highest number of sign ups and reached over a million online Filipino worker profiles. So, if you’re looking to hire a VA, now’s the best time to do it.
Take note that we’re now showing the salary ranges for beginner, intermediate and expert VA based on their field of expertise.
The salaries indicated are for full-time (40 hours/week) workers for an entire month. These rates are based on the salaries set by jobseekers and the employers in our database.
Take note that beginners have NO EXPERIENCE. You need to assume that they don’t know anything and you’d have to start from scratch.
If you want someone with some experience or training, the best salary range to look at would be the intermediate range.
If you’re looking to hire an expert or a specialist, go for the expert level.
| Beginner | Intermediate | Expert | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Assistant | $350 – $405 | $400 – $900 | $890 – $1190 |
| Amazon Expert | $350 – $500 | $450 – $750 | $740 – $900 |
| Facebook Marketing | $350 – $460 | $420 – $1480 | $1460 – $1760 |
| Copywriter | $400 – $600 | $600 – $1800 | $1700 – $2210 |
| WordPress Developer | $389 – $600 | $600 – $1300 | $1320 – $1670 |
| Sales Representative | $350 – $500 | $480 – $1200 | $1000 – $1350 |
| Lead Generation | $350 – $500 | $480 – $1000 | $950 – $1260 |
| Webmaster | $350 – $720 | $700 – $1200 | $1100 – $1410 |
| SEO Expert | $350 – $520 | $500 – $1300 | $1390 – $1790 |
| Marketing Specialist | $382 – $480 | $480 – $1250 | $1100 – $1420 |
| Infusionsoft Specialist | $350 – $580 | $560 – $1350 | $1300 – $1670 |
| PPC Expert | $496 – $700 | $700 – $1300 | $1250 – $1850 |
| Graphic Design | $350 – $730 | $700 – $1300 | $1250 – $1540 |
| Shopify Developer | $350 – $620 | $600 – $1150 | $1100 – $1350 |
| Ebay Listing | $350 – $440 | $400 – $750 | $700 – $850 |
| Ecommerce Expert | $350 – $710 | $700 – $1300 | $1250 – $1490 |
| Social Media Marketing | $350 – $480 | $450 – $1300 | $1270 – $1570 |
| Video Editor | $350 – $670 | $650 – $1300 | $1250 – $1610 |
| Customer Service | $350 – $540 | $540 – $1100 | $1000 – $1320 |
| Researcher | $350 – $400 | $380 – $1000 | $950 – $1230 |
| PHP Developer | $466 – $700 | $700 – $1650 | $1700 – $2060 |
| Data Entry Specialist | $350 – $390 | $380 – $850 | $800 – $1030 |
| Google Adwords | $476 – $740 | $740 – $1870 | $1800 – $2320 |
| Accountant | $350 – $410 | $400 – $1340 | $1300 – $1740 |
| Real Estate Virtual Assistant | $350 – $480 | $450 – $1750 | $1700 – $2200 |
| Web Developer | $370 – $600 | $600 – $1320 | $1300 – $1720 |
| Magento Developer | $396 – $700 | $700 – $1800 | $1750 – $2020 |
| IOS Developer | $478 – $800 | $800 – $1560 | $1500 – $2060 |
| Content Writer | $350 – $510 | $500 – $1350 | $1300 – $1590 |
| Project Manager | $397 – $580 | $580 – $1250 | $1500 – $2000 |
| Web Designer | $350 – $600 | $550 – $1200 | $1150 – $1510 |
| Photoshop Expert | $350 – $570 | $540 – $720 | $700 – $900 |
Hi. Great info however I’d like to know more on VA rates for my case
My VA will be working Part Time.
Beginner/intermediate level.
This would be a total of 20hrs p/wk and what would be an average hourly rate?
Thaks so much for all your help.
Jairo Romero
Hi Jairo,
Thank you for your comment. It truly depends on the experience a worker has, and you can also check on the other jobseeker’s profiles, you can get an average based on their expected salary
I’m hiring my first VA. Because I am looking for part time help it is helpful to scale up a salary from an hourly rate. that way i can determine the budget requirements for a 10 hour assisstant or a 15 hour situation etc. that would help me offer salaries for part time workers.
Yeah, these are full-time rates.
The point here is just to give you a ballpark.
Hourly rates will be higher than these rates (at whatever level you’re looking, beginner, intermediate, or advanced) because hourly rates are always sporadic. It’s not steady work, so wages have to be higher to compensate for the workers down time when you don’t have work for them.
I have been using your service for a few years now. I normally pay our VA’s bi weekly on the same schedule as our New York office. I am reading you recommend paying monthly ? How would that work?
I am interested .
Hi Floyd,
Thank you for your comment. You can pay monthly or bi-monthly. When you get started, you should probably pay weekly for the first 2 months. Filipinos are really scared of doing a bunch of work and not getting paid. At first, they might be a bit cautious about you. Paying weekly is a good way to gain their trust. After a couple months, it’s okay to go to bi-weekly or monthly payments
For an hourly rate, take the full-time rate and divide by 160 (hours in a month). Then multiply by 1.5 (since it’s hourly).
For example, a beginner VA at $500/month, to calculate the hourly rate for part-time work:
$500/160 hours = $3.12/hour
$3.12 * 1.5 = 4.60/hour for part-time work
John,
How do you handle raises?
Hi Lucho,
Thank you for your comment. Apologies for the late reply
Regarding your concern on raises, we have a blog post regarding that -> https://blog.onlinejobs.ph/my-virtual-assistant-is-asking-for-a-raise
Is this US dollar?
Hi Panbo,
Thank you for your comment. Yes, it is in US Dollar
Do you recommend putting a fixed salary or salary range on the job application or writing “based on experience” or “competitive pay” instead? Not sure if applicants are searching by pay amount and writing “competitive pay” may be filtered out.
Hi Nat,
Thank you for your comment. There are a few applicants who are looking for work whose salary fits their necessities, and with that there are job posts that mentions that the salary is negotiable or they provide a range of salary. If a worker’s qualification fits your needs, during your interview with the applicants, you can discuss further the details about the salary
Do you have any insight on working with an assistant that is leery about time monitoring software?
Hi Jamaal,
Thank you for your comment. You can email our support team (support@onlinejobs.ph) regarding this inquiry so that they may provide you with details on your inquiry
I’d like to apply for virtual Assistant
Hi Kertrina,
Thank you for your comment. You can apply for any of the jobs posted here by signing up for an Onlinejobs.ph jobseeker account. It’s completely free and takes only minutes to apply, though we only allow Philippine workers on the site -> http://www.onlinejobs.ph/register
Hi, it’s incomplete to just mention monthly salaries without specifying how many months per year we have to pay? Is it 12, 13, 14?
If it’s 14, then monthly it’s nearly 17% higher than what you state!
Some of the experienced salaries are as high as south European salaries of real people in an office.
A good question would be why are Filipino (experienced) salaries higher than Indian?
Hi Michael,
Thank you for your comment. Usually, employers are paying Filipino workers on OnlineJobs.ph per month, this is why the salaries indicated are for full-time (40 hours/week) workers for an entire month. As mentioned in the blog post also, the salaries are based on the salaries set by jobseekers and the employers in our database.
Hope this helps
It is common in the Philippines to give the “13th” month at Christmas and this is a requirement for businesses operating in the Philippines but does not apply to your online workers. I typically provide the 13th month to my workers, as a bonus and incentive to keep producing good work. Without denigrating Indian workers, many of whom are very skilled, I have a hard time with communication, because their English language skills are not as advanced as Filipinos.
Im think about resting out a VA my question is.
Im looking for a VA that has some digital editing and social Marketing experience
It seems like everything is separates
Please advise
Thank You
Hi Geordoni,
Thank you for your comment
Wanting a worker to do different things that usually workers don’t have that many skills will be a bit challenging. For example, a worker that does programming + SEO + content writing. Or a worker that can do content + graphics work
Usually, a programmer is just a programmer, a designer just a designer, and so on
You can check this link to look for the worker that you need -> https://blog.onlinejobs.ph/philippines-skills
I did not do my homework and started by VA at too high a rate. I obviously can’t reduce her hourly rate but am considering a salary instead since we have been together 10 months and I am very satisfied. How do you recommend I determine her salary? She consistently works 30 hours per week and can’t do 40. Thank you so much. Excellent service!
Hi Kim,
Thank you for your comment. Sincerest apologies on the late reply. I see, it would be difficult and not correct to lower the already agreed salary. I would like to suggest maybe have a yearly increase, most employers do this with their employers after a yearly-check on their work outputs and performance
Are these rates including bonuses? I’m specifically curious about what a total compensation package should look like for a highly experienced, full time business to business cold caller. A pure hunter with exceptional communication skills. Thanks.
Hi Adam,
Thank you for your comment. No, the rates do not include bonuses
This is a great article. However, I am curious to paying a VA by commission.
For a bit of background I used to own a business in affiliate marketing. I had employees from the United States who would earn a percentage based on sales they made (or actions completed.) My assumption, and please tell me if I am wrong, would be that the percentage should remain the same for a VA. Would there be any reason it should be more or less? I’d assume at the same wage, the position would be very sought out since the earning potential would be far greater compared to the cost of living in the United States.
Thank you,
Travis
Hi Travis,
Thank you for your comment. Apologies on the late reply
Just be aware that often, the Filipino people don’t respond to commission jobs the way you expect. They almost always prefer a salaried job. Often with OFS, they fear that if they don’t do things right they’ll be fired. This holds them back.
Generally, we don’t like commission based jobs posted on OnlineJobs.ph