Virtual Assistant websites: Top 10 choices

Having a great Virtual Assistant (VA) can save you precious time, and make it easier to grow your business. You can also hire an expert VA to support with one off or ongoing projects, such as social media, marketing, business analytics or event management. You want a trustworthy, skilled and experienced VA who you can work well with, and who will take the initiative where needed. But where do you start?

This guide walks through all you need to know about the top Virtual Assistant websites which connect employers with skilled VAs around the world. We’ll look at how to choose the right recruitment route for your needs, as well as covering off some examples of Virtual Assistant websites to kick start your research.

Here’s what we’ll cover:
What to look for in a Virtual Assistant website How to pay your freelancer and what payment method to use Top Virtual Assistant websites

What to look for in a Virtual Assistant website

When you’re choosing a Virtual Assistant you have a few options. You might want to use a marketplace platform which simply connects VAs with potential employers, an online recruitment platform which will select and vet VA candidates for a fee, or a Virtual Assistant agency which offers ongoing support, VA training and performance monitoring.

The features and fees of different VA websites will vary, and each approach comes with different pros and cons for the hiring manager. Here are a few things to think about when deciding which are the best Virtual Assistant websites for you.

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Pricing and payment methods

There are a range of different ways you can find a VA - and Virtual Assistant websites can take different approaches to supporting you in finding the right person for the job.

You’ll find everything from freelance marketplaces like Upwork, where the employer pays only a small transaction fee and the VA will also bear a charge, to services like Virtual Staff Finder which charges a flat ‘matchmaking’ fee to find and vet suitable clients, but then allows you to hire and manage them independently.

There are also VA agencies which offer an ongoing relationship. You pay the agency a fixed fee per month, and they will then provide a skilled VA who they monitor and support through training and development opportunities.

The recruitment and pricing approach which works best for you will depend on your specific requirements. You’ll want to do some research in advance to find the best Virtual Assistant website for your needs. Here are some pointers to consider:

• Read the pricing structure carefully and make sure you know what you’re paying the website or agency for
• Look out for hidden fees such as commission, transaction costs, or even healthcare benefits for your VA
• Make sure you know what guarantees are built into the arrangement - it pays to know what happens if your VA doesn’t deliver what is needed, or quits abruptly
• Check how you are billed for your VA support, and whether there are any unexpected charges such as currency conversion fees or taxes

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If you choose to hire a VA based abroad, either directly or through an agency, you may need to pay their invoices or payroll in a foreign currency. Sending money overseas can be costly, thanks to high fees, exchange rate markups, and fluctuations in the price of foreign currency. One smart way to cut your costs is to use a multi-currency account from Wise.

Open your account online and top it up in USD, before switching to the currency you need to pay out. Currency conversion uses the mid-market exchange rate with no markup, and just a low, transparent fee. This can work out far cheaper than paying through PayPal or your regular bank. And even better, your Wise account can help you save time as well as money with Xero integration to reduce accounting admin, batch payment facilities and a powerful open API.

See if you can save with Wise

User-friendly website

You’re hiring a VA to make life easier. The last thing you need is a frustrating website which makes it more difficult than necessary to find the right candidate, interview and hire. Here are a few things to think about when looking over your short list of VA websites:

• Check the site has a good range of candidates available - this may be easy to see, or you may need to ask directly how big a talent pool is available
• Look for a website with a good search and filtering system if you’ll be reviewing candidates yourself
• Make sure the agency, website or platform you choose has good communication channels, and responsive customer service

Customer reviews

Before you make a final decision about which Virtual Assistant website to use, take a few minutes to look for customer reviews or testimonials from previous clients.

If you’re hiring directly through a marketplace site like Upwork or Fiverr you’ll be able to see testimonials and ratings of different VA candidates online, and can compare your options.

If you’re hiring via an agency, you’ll find that many websites publish their own customer reviews online. However it’s also a smart idea to also look for reviews on sites like Trust Pilot, or ask friends and colleagues if they know of reputable sites to try before you part with any hard earned cash.

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Top Virtual Assistant websites

Ready to get going? Here’s a rundown of 10 of the best Virtual Assistant websites, to help you find the right one for your needs.

We’ll look at:
Upwork Fancy Hands 20four7VA Fiverr Virtual Staff Finder Magic Time etc Vasumo Va Va Virtual MyTasker

Upwork

Upwork is a freelance marketplace which connects freelancers with employers who need support on a one off or ongoing basis¹. Upwork features a range of skilled and experienced freelancers, including many general and specialist Virtual Assistants.

To hire using Upwork, you’ll be able to either browse the profile of VAs and find a good fit, or post a job and have interested candidates get in touch with you. You’ll then decide your own interview and hiring process, with payments all passing through Upwork.

VAs on Upwork are free to set their own fees, so you will find a broad range of costs depending on the specific skills and qualifications of different candidates. Upwork takes a small transaction fee of 2.75% from the employer, and charges a percentage fee on a sliding scale to the freelancer.²

Fancy Hands

Many Virtual Assistant websites primarily work with assistants based overseas, in countries like the Philippines and India. This can have some huge advantages - but sometimes you want a VA who is closer to home. That’s where Fancy Hands comes in, with US based VA support for personal and business tasks.³

Fancy Hands VAs can help with business requests like scheduling, reports and making calls - and can also take on personal tasks, which can leave you with more time to focus on your business.

Choose from packages which allow for a fixed number of requests a month, or get dedicated VA support if you need more. Dedicated support is billed by time, paid monthly, with no long term contract.⁴

There’s a pretty fascinating section on the Fancy Hands website showing the broad range of requests they deal with - everything from wedding planning and restaurant booking, to setting up conference calls, proofreading and conducting business research.⁵

20four7VA

This US based VA agency offers specialist Virtual Assistants in administration, IT, podcasting and even construction. VAs are available for part time, full time, and seasonal work, and can work across different shift patterns as they’re based around the world. You’ll be matched with potential candidates from 20four7VA’s pre-vetted talent pool, and can interview to choose the right match for you.⁶

Services are billed according to the number of hours you want support for, the experience and education level of the VA, and the specialism. There are no long term commitments, and you’re billed weekly via PayPal.

You’ll pay the agency directly and they handle payroll for the VAs. This service also comes with the added bonus that the agency will monitor performance, offer ongoing training to the VAs, and find a replacement in the event your VA is no longer available.

20four7VA has good reviews online on Trust Pilot - check the latest data available, over on the Trust Pilot website.⁷

Fiverr

Fiverr is a freelance marketplace. That means freelancers can upload profiles showing their skills and the sort of tasks they can complete, and also bid on jobs which employers post. ⁸

If you want a VA with specific skills, or you have some specialist project work in mind, you’ll want to create a job giving details, so freelancers can take a look and get in touch to show you what they can do. Or, if you’re looking for more general support, you can use the Fiverr search and filter functions to take a look through the freelancer profiles which show the type of task you need. Click through to the profiles of people who may be a good fit, to see the package levels they offer - detailing the price for specific tasks - and place an order if you find the right person for the job. ⁹

Fiverr also hosts scores and reviews for freelancers, so you’ll easily be able to see how many jobs they’ve taken on through the site, and what previous clients have said about them. You’ll pay USD2 in fees for any service which costs USD40 or less, with a 5% charge after that.

Virtual Staff Finder

Virtual Staff Finder is a different type of Virtual Assistant Website - a professional match-maker which connects employers with a vetted selection of 3 VA candidates for interview¹⁰. You’ll pay a one off fee of USD495 for this, and get a 10 day guarantee in the event that you’re unhappy with the selected candidates.

Virtual Staff Finder is based in the Philippines and works with professional VAs there, promising to find skilled and experienced candidates for each employer. You’ll confirm your needs and the type of project - including specialist work - and the match-makers will get to work to find you a shortlist of candidates. Once you have interviewed the shortlisted candidates, you can then make an offer of employment. You’ll be the direct boss of the VA you hire - Virtual Staff Finder will not play a part in managing them.

If you can’t find the right person from within the first shortlist of candidates, you can ask Virtual Staff Finder to come up with another shortlist. And if you decide to offer a position to a candidate, and it doesn’t work out in the first few days, you can also ask Virtual Staff Finder to step in and find alternatives under the 10 day guarantee program.¹¹

Magic

Magic specialises in providing VA support across sales development, administration and recruitment. You can also have someone help you with personal requests, which leaves you with more time to work.¹²

Magic’s services are a little different to those of other sites we have highlighted. When you sign up you’ll give your credit card information to Magic, and agree for this to be billed for goods and services on your behalf. When you want something, you simply send a message to Magic, and someone will get right back to get any required clarification, and to confirm that they’re on the task. Magic has its own team of generalist VAs, and also connects users with specialists as needed for specific tasks and projects.

If you’re asking for help with research or admin, you’ll be billed by time. If you’ve asked Magic to go ahead and book your upcoming travel arrangements, they can do that too. In that case you’ll pay for the time it takes, as well as the cost of travel, plus a credit card processing fee.

Time etc

| Time etc provides US based Virtual Assistants who have an average of 12 years of experience - often having worked for top rated companies.¹³
The main services offered span organizing and admin, writing, selling, marketing and social media, and research projects. | |
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VAs are skilled in a range of areas from crafting blog posts, to preparing sales contracts. You can also request specialist skills and tasks if you have something different in mind.

Pricing plans vary from USD27/hour for a package which gives you 10 hours of cover a month, through to lower rates of just USD24/hour if you buy more monthly hours. You can also have a tailor made package if you have specific needs¹⁴. You’ll be able to have your VA support you and other members of the team if you wish, and can even get a free trial to see how the system works for you.

Vasumo

Vasumo claims to provide America’s best trained Virtual Assistants. Vasumo assistants are trained in specific VA skills for 3 months prior to starting work, and get a range of qualifications in copywriting, digital marketing, analytics and more. They also have at least 3 years of relevant experience before joining Vasumo.¹⁵

You’ll be able to ask your Vasumo VA to help with research, lead generation, design, editing, social media marketing, content preparation - or any of the random tasks which suck up your time and leave you struggling to keep up.

Pricing comes in 3 different plans depending on the usage you need. You can pay USD498/month for the* economy* package, which gets you 25 hours of assistance, through to USD798/month for the first class package, which gives you 55 hours of help every month. You’ll get a time tracking report and task management dashboard to keep up with the work being done.¹⁶

Va Va Virtual

Va Va Virtual has VAs on hand with a range of specialist and general skills and experience. You can get someone to help with skilled work like website creation or company rebranding, or have a VA provide more general help such as travel booking and taking calls. Assistants are based in the US, and recruited by Va Va Virtual to provide the best possible customer experience.¹⁷

With Va Va Virtual, you’ll create a custom made VA package depending on the specific support you need. That means you get all of the key services you need - and don’t end up paying for anything you don’t use.

To learn about the packages which may suit your business, you’ll have to call Va Va for a consultation and to get a free no obligation quote for your VA.

MyTasker

| With MyTasker you can get VA support covering admin, accounting, writing and editing, web design and development, digital marketing and IT support. ¹⁸
You’ll be assigned a dedicated VA to help you and can also access other specialists in the team if you have a job which needs a different expertise. | |
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MyTasker is based in India, with a large team of VAs who all work in a shared office - rather than being home based. This means the VAs can get help from others and connect clients to experts if they need to.

You can sign up to MyTasker packages which start at just 10 hours a month, right through to 100 hour a month deals. Prices run from USD140/month to USD900/month depending on your needs. You’ll also be able to get full time support if you need - or just pay hour by hour if you don’t need a full monthly plan. Hourly support starts from USD18/hour.¹⁹

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It’s extremely common for entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, business owners and busy employees to find they’re struggling for time. Keeping everything on the go can be tough, especially when you’re bogged down by administration or having to learn new skills to get it all done.

Hiring a VA can be a simple, and pretty much instant, fix. By having someone take away a chunk of your day to day work - either the low risk, repetitive admin which is a drain on your energy, or the technical tasks you’re not best placed to do - can leave you with the time you need to focus.

Do some research into the different options to make sure you find the right Virtual Assistant website or agency for you. Don’t forget to read all the small print carefully to make sure there are no surprises - and if you’re paying a supplier or employee based overseas, check out Wise Business as a smart way to cut the costs of international transfers.

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Sources:

1. Upwork
2. Hubstaff - How Upwork fees work
3. Fancy Hands
4. Fancy Hands - Dedicated assistants
5. Fancy Hands - Common requests
6. 20four7VA
7. Trustpilot - 20four7VA reviews
8. Fiverr - VA services
9. Fiverr help centre - How Fiverr works
10. Virtual Staff Finder
11. Virtual Staff Finder - FAQ
12. Get Magic
13. Time etc
14. Time etc - Pricing
15. Vasumo
16. Vasumo - Plans
17. Va Va Virtual
18. My Tasker
19. My Tasker - Plans

All sources checked on August 20, 2020