Top 10 best websites to hire a virtual assistant

A virtual assistant is typically an independent contractor who provides administrative support to their clients. These virtual assistants generally work remotely from their home or personal office, but they always work outside their client’s primary place of business.

Virtual assistants typically perform tasks like answering phones, making calls, responding to emails, performing follow-up tasks, sales lead management, scheduling meetings or appointments, posting on social media, managing travel arrangements and more.

In short, a virtual assistant functions much like a personal assistant or administrative assistant, except instead of working in the office or as an employee, they work virtually as an independent contractor.

There are many benefits to hiring virtual assistants. Which is why there are so many websites that help you find and engage with virtual assistants. Some of the top benefits of adding one (or a few) to your team include:

• Saves time – the most significant reason to hire an online assistant is to deliver valuable time efficiencies by taking on time-consuming tasks. On average, each employee spends at least five hours per week on mundane, administrative tasks. Virtual assistants can handle those tasks and free up your team’s time.
• Saves money – Virtual assistants cost much less than hiring a full-time employee to tackle administrative tasks. Better yet, most virtual assistants charge by the hour, so you only have to pay for what you need. This can save you a lot of money in the long run.
• Simple to manage – In general, virtual assistants are much easier to manage than in-house staff. Since they’re independent contractors, they often already have processes in place and don’t need much oversight to do a good job.

In short, virtual assistants enable companies to focus on their priorities and save time. VAs take on the more time-consuming, day-to-day tasks so that your team can focus on building relationships with your clients and increasing revenue.

So, where do you go to hire a virtual assistant online? Let’s look at the top 10 websites to hire an online assistant.

1. Upwork

Upwork is one of the top freelancing websites in the world. It’s a place where companies find and hire independent contractors from around the world for all types of work. It has thousands of virtual assistants in various specialties to help you hire the right help. Upwork offers:

• Advanced search filters to find the best VA for your company
• A built-in management and payment system for secure billing and streamlined VA management
• The ability to work with the freelancers directly

Pricing: Upwork has various membership plans that start at $49.99 per month

2. Magic

Magic supplies virtual assistants for tasks, with all communication done via SMS. You simply send your assistant a text, and they can get it done for you. Here’s how it works:

• Receive quality candidates in 48-72 hours, sourced for you
• No contracts involved
• You can change your dedicated virtual assistant at any time

Pricing: Magic has several plans, but prices start at $10 per hour for a virtual assistant

3. Virtual Staff Finder

Virtual Staff Finder is a Philippines-based outsourcing company that helps connect you to qualified virtual assistants. It’s perfect if you want to outsource virtual assistants at affordable rates, long-term. With Virtual Staff Finder, you can:

• Pay your virtual assistants based on an agreed-upon price
• Choose from three qualified virtual assistants for your job
• Work on or off the platform

Pricing: You pay just $395 to get started

4. Fancy Hands

Fancy Hands is a little different in that you simply submit tasks, and the Fancy Hand team of assistants will handle them for you. Unlike many other VA sites, you don’t work with a designated VA, but rather a group of assistants. You pay per task, allowing you to only pay for what you need at the moment. With Fancy Hands:

• You choose standard tasks that take 20 minutes or less
• Unused tasks roll over each month
• Your tasks are quickly completed by U.S.-based assistants

Pricing: Plans start at $17.99 per month and include three tasks

5. WoodBows

WoodBows takes a unique approach. They focus on hiring the most skilled virtual assistants. In fact, they only hire 1% of the total applicants they receive. Every assistant has at least ten years of experience in their field of expertise. Here’s how it works:

• You get an expert in your field
• Virtual assistants work in supervised offices (instead of out of their homes)
• WoodBows provides 24/7 support

Pricing: There are several pricing plans available, with added discounts when you pay for more than one month at a time. The lowest-cost plan is $333.30 a month for 40 hours of tasks, billed annually.

6. VA Networking

VA Networking is a platform that connects virtual assistants at every level to each other and potential clients. It’s mostly a resource for professionals working in the virtual assistant space. But it also allows businesses to post jobs and find virtual assistants for free. Its benefits include:

• Post an RFP directly to a network of trained virtual assistants
• No-cost networking platform
• Provides ongoing education and resources to professional virtual assistants

Pricing: It’s totally free to post your job request or RFP.

7. Vasumo

Vasumo is the fastest-growing virtual assistant company in the country, and for a good reason. This company only hires virtual assistants with at least three years of experience, and they offer pricing structures for entrepreneurs, small businesses and growing companies. It works like this:

• You have access to a dashboard, making it easy to manage tasks
• Unlimited tasks per month
• There are web and app versions so you can manage your virtual assistants from anywhere

Pricing: Plans start at $498/month for unlimited tasks (up to 25 hours)

8. Time Etc

Time Etc is a virtual assistant company based in the US and UK. They provide expert virtual assistants with at least two years of experience. You can:

• Manage all your tasks from an easy-to-use dashboard
• Carry over your unused hours
• Create teams of up to 15 virtual assistants

Pricing: Packages start at $310 per month and include ten hours with an expertly-matched, dedicated virtual assistant.

9. 24/7 Virtual Assistant

24/7 Virtual Assistant is a cost-effective virtual assistant option that offers 24/7 around-the-clock help and includes:

• Flexible pricing
• 24/7 availability
• Offshore and onshore options

Pricing: 24/7 Virtual Assistant has prices that start at $299 per month for unlimited tasks, or you can pay by the hour for $15 per hour.

10. MyOutDesk

MyOutDesk is a virtual assistant provider that offers industry experience for its clients. From real estate and e-commerce to professional services and more, MyOutDesk provides virtual assistants with specialized industry knowledge. This service:

• Integrates with your existing software
• Offers added security and data protection
• Provides industry-specific virtual assistants

Pricing: MyOutDesk’s cheapest option is $1,788 per month, paid annually.

After a tough couple of years, now’s the time to give your business the opportunity to thrive. To do so, small businesses and entrepreneurs are staying agile and using their available resources.

One of these resources is virtual assistants. Take the time to check out some of the best places to hire a virtual assistant online. There are also many other tech tools at your disposal to help automate your tasks and streamline your processes.

And don’t overlook a CRM, which can be instrumental in helping increase organization and productivity in your biz. CRM software is designed to streamline and automate sales and marketing processes so you can build better relationships with your customers and prospects. CRMs can work hand-in-hand with your virtual assistant to help automate all your mundane tasks.

Here at Copper, we help businesses like yours simplify and automate their workday so they can focus on what matters most: people. Try Copper free for 14 days.