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The sticker-price comparison between a VA and an in-house hire is misleading in both directions. The real comparison has to include everything that shows up after the offer letter is signed.
What the in-house number actually includes
A base salary is only the starting point. Add payroll taxes, healthcare and benefits, paid time off, equipment, software licenses, office space or a home-office stipend, and onboarding time, and the fully-loaded cost typically runs 1.25–1.4x the base salary alone.
Recruiting cost belongs in this number too — job board postings, recruiter fees, and the hours a manager spends interviewing before a single day of work happens.
The typical multiplier on base salary once benefits, taxes, equipment, and office space are added to a fully-loaded in-house hire.
What a dedicated virtual assistant actually costs
A trained VA engaged through an agency includes recruiting, training, management overhead, and equipment already built into the rate — there's no separate line item for benefits, payroll tax, or a laptop.
The hourly or monthly rate is close to the full cost, which makes budgeting simpler and the true comparison more direct than it first appears.
The turnover cost most comparisons skip
Every in-house hire carries replacement risk. Average knowledge-worker turnover means a meaningful share of hires leave within their first two years, and re-recruiting, re-onboarding, and lost productivity during the gap all cost real money.
Agency-sourced VAs typically come with a replacement guarantee built into the arrangement — if a fit isn't right, a new assistant is onboarded without the business absorbing another full search cycle.
Where in-house still wins
For roles requiring deep, company-specific institutional knowledge built over years, or where physical presence is non-negotiable, an in-house hire still makes more sense. Cost isn't the only variable — role type matters as much as the number.
The comparison works best role-by-role, not as a blanket policy across an entire team.
A simple way to decide
List the tasks the role actually requires. If most of them are remote-executable — inbox management, scheduling, CRM upkeep, basic content or research — a VA usually wins on cost without a meaningful quality tradeoff. If the role needs in-person judgment calls daily, weight the comparison toward in-house.
Key takeaways
- Fully-loaded in-house cost usually runs 25–40% above base salary alone.
- A dedicated VA's rate already includes recruiting, training, and equipment overhead.
- Turnover and re-hiring costs are a real expense most comparisons leave out.
- In-house still wins for roles needing deep institutional knowledge or physical presence.
- Compare role-by-role, not as a single policy across an entire team.