Magic virtual assistant pricing in 2026 (published rates and the dedicated South African alternative)

What Magic charges in 2026

Magic is transparent about pricing, which is genuinely helpful. It lists weekly plans on its site, so you can see the numbers without a sales call. Here are the published plans as of July 2026.

Plan	Weekly cost	What you get
Part-Time Assistant	$270/week	Dedicated assistant, ~20 hrs/week
Full-Time Assistant	$540/week	Dedicated assistant, ~40 hrs/week, includes Magic 24/7
Magic 24/7	$199/week	~10 hrs on-demand access to a shared pool, 24/7/365

There are no contracts, you can cancel anytime, and you only pay once you start working with your assistant. Billing runs every four weeks. The full-time plan works out to about $13.50/hour, or roughly $2,340/month; part-time is about $1,170/month. These are Magic's published rates as of July 2026; verify current pricing on the Magic website before you sign, since plans can change.

What Magic's model includes

You are buying flexible, published-price offshore support with a choice of dedicated or on-demand. Here is what sits inside it.

• A dedicated assistant (on the PT/FT plans). You work with one assigned person who can learn your routines, rather than a rotating pool.
• On-demand shared pool (Magic 24/7). For round-the-clock or overflow needs, you tap a shared team instead of one person.
• No contract, cancel anytime. Week-to-week flexibility with no long lock-in, which suits an uncertain or seasonal workload.
• Published pricing. You see the plan cost up front, no discovery-call quote required.
• Global offshore talent. Magic staffs from a broad international pool. The upside is scale and availability; the trade is that English quality and timezone overlap vary by who you are matched with.

That is a flexible, low-friction package. The questions that decide fit are whether the work is client-facing enough to need consistent native-English quality, and whether you need reliable US-daytime overlap from one dedicated person.

Who Magic fits

Magic is a strong fit for a specific buyer.

Magic fits you if:

• You want published pricing and no contract, with the freedom to scale week to week.
• You need 24/7 or overflow coverage that a shared on-demand pool handles well.
• The work is task-based and flexible rather than one consistent full-time role.
• You want to start fast without a sales process.

Magic may be the wrong tool if:

• The role is client-facing and you need consistent native-English quality on every call and email.
• You need one dedicated person on your US morning hours who deeply learns your business.
• Predictable, embedded, full-time support matters more than week-to-week flexibility.

If you landed in the second list, the comparison below is written for you.

The dedicated alternative: full-time South African staff

Both Magic and a South African placement are offshore, so this is a comparison of two offshore options, not a US-versus-offshore pitch. On full-time cost they sit in a similar band. They differ on dedication, English consistency, and daytime overlap.

	Magic (published)	VirtuHire US (South Africa)
Monthly cost	~$1,170/mo PT, ~$2,340/mo FT	$1,200 to $2,800/mo (full-time)
Hours	~20 or ~40/week	Full-time, dedicated to you
Staff location	Global offshore pool (varies)	South Africa (EOR employed)
English	Varies by assignment	Native or near-native
US timezone	Varies by assignment	6 to 7 hrs ahead (natural US-AM overlap)
Model	Dedicated (PT/FT) or shared pool (24/7)	Dedicated to one client
Commitment	No contract, cancel anytime	Month-to-month after a 30-day evaluation

The honest read: at full-time volume the sticker cost is close, so the decision is about what the role needs. Magic's strengths are flexibility, published pricing, and the 24/7 shared-pool option. A South African placement's strengths are a single dedicated person, consistent native English, and 6-to-7-hour US-morning overlap on a normal workday. For an executive assistant, a client success rep, or any role where a US client hears and reads the assistant's English, that consistency and overlap is usually worth matching the market to the role.

Native English and US-hours overlap

The two variables that most affect a client-facing VA hire are language and timezone. English is the dominant business language in South Africa and one of its official languages, so client-facing email, calls, and writing land at native or near-native quality, consistently, because it is the market standard rather than a per-candidate screen. With a global pool like Magic's, English quality is strong but varies by who you are matched with, so screen for it on client-facing roles.

On timezone, South Africa is 6 to 7 hours ahead of US Eastern Time depending on daylight saving, so a standard South African workday overlaps the US East Coast morning. With a global pool, the overlap depends on where your assistant sits. If real-time US-daytime coverage matters, a known 6-to-7-hour gap is easier to plan around than a variable one.

How the economics actually compare

The right comparison is total value for the role, not the lowest weekly plan. Run the math on your real need.

For flexible, task-based work where you want to scale up and down, Magic's no-contract weekly model is genuinely convenient, and the 24/7 option covers overflow and overnight needs that a single hire cannot. For a consistent full-time role, a South African placement at $1,600 to $2,200/mo gives you a dedicated native-English person on your morning hours, embedded on one team, for a cost that sits right alongside Magic's full-time plan. The extra you might pay over Magic's part-time plan buys full-time dedication and English consistency the role depends on.

When Magic is the better choice

Magic beats a South African placement in a real set of cases, and we would tell you to use them there.

• You want maximum flexibility. No contract, cancel anytime, scale week to week.
• You need 24/7 or overflow coverage. The shared on-demand pool handles round-the-clock work a single hire cannot.
• The work is task-based, not a consistent full-time role. Occasional or spiky needs fit the on-demand model well.
• You want to start immediately with published pricing and no sales process.

Outside those cases, and especially for client-facing full-time roles, the dedicated native-English and daytime-overlap advantages of South Africa usually earn the difference.

How to decide in five minutes

Run this quick filter and you will know which direction to go.

1. Do you need one consistent person, or flexible/on-demand help? One dedicated person points to a full-time placement (Magic's FT plan or South Africa). On-demand or overflow points to Magic 24/7.
2. Is the role client-facing? If a US client hears or reads the assistant's English, weight consistent native fluency, which points to South Africa.
3. Do you need reliable US-daytime overlap? A known 6-to-7-hour South African gap is easier to plan than a variable global-pool timezone.
4. Do you value week-to-week flexibility over embedded continuity? Flexibility favors Magic; continuity favors a dedicated placement.

Most founders hiring one dedicated, client-facing, daytime role come out pointed at South Africa; most needing flexible or 24/7 task coverage find Magic a strong fit.

What VirtuHire US offers and the proof behind it

VirtuHire US places pre-vetted, full-time South African staff with US companies, and the parent brand's track record is the credibility anchor. Across the parent network there are 272 active clients, 750+ placements, and 93% retention based on internal data as of August 2025. Retention matters more than rate: a hire who stays beats a cheaper one who churns.

Pricing runs $1,200 to $2,800/mo full-time depending on role complexity, with no recruitment fee, EOR employment handled, and a 30-day replacement guarantee if the fit is wrong. Recent placements show the range: Carmen, an EA at $1,600/mo. Tom, a sales hire at $2,200/mo. Chantel, order processing at $1,200/mo. Eugene, a GTM engineer at $2,800/mo. Different roles, the same dedicated full-time structure.

If you want to talk through whether your specific role fits a dedicated South African hire or a flexible option like Magic, book a 15-minute call here. If Magic is the right answer for you, we will say so.

A note on how this guide was built

Magic pricing in this guide reflects the weekly plans published on the Magic website as of July 2026. Magic publishes its rates publicly. Pricing and packages can change, so confirm current Magic terms directly with Magic before signing.

VirtuHire figures are internal placement data (272 clients, 750+ placements, 93% retention as of August 2025) and current pricing bands. Where we cite a competitor number we frame it against its published source and tell you to verify it directly.

Last reviewed: July 2026

Pricing for third-party providers: Magic pricing is based on rates published by Magic as of July 2026. Verify directly with the provider before signing.

Frequently asked questions

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• How much does a virtual assistant cost in 2026: full pricing breakdown by country and named provider.
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• VirtuHire US pricing: full-time South African placements from $1,200 to $2,800/mo.
• Best countries to hire virtual assistants in 2026: how South Africa compares on cost, English, and timezone.