MyOutDesk is one of the largest and most established Philippines VA firms in the US market, with a reputation built heavily around real estate operations. Per publicly available marketing materials and third-party reviews, MyOutDesk is commonly reported to run roughly $1,788/mo on an annual contract or $1,988/mo month-to-month for a full-time dedicated VA, an effective rate of about $11 to $12/hr. Their pricing includes a dedicated Philippines-based VA, proprietary real estate training, vetting, and account management. If your role is real estate (transaction coordinator, ISA, listing manager, property management support), MyOutDesk's vertical depth is a genuine advantage. If your role sits outside real estate, a broader offshore firm is likely a better structural fit. A full-time South African placement through VirtuHire US runs $1,200 to $2,800/mo with native English, US-morning timezone overlap, and a 30-day replacement guarantee.
What MyOutDesk charges (and why it is hard to quote exactly)
MyOutDesk does not maintain a permanent public rate card in the way that some competitors do. Pricing has historically been quoted through a discovery call rather than a static pricing page. So any number you see in a third-party article or comparison site, including this one, is directional rather than official. Treat it as a starting point, and confirm current pricing with MyOutDesk before you commit.
With that caveat stated clearly, here is what buyers commonly report paying based on publicly available marketing materials and third-party review sites as of 2026.
| Plan | Commonly reported rate | Effective hourly equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Annual contract (12-month commitment) | ~$1,788/mo | ~$11/hr |
| Month-to-month | ~$1,988/mo | ~$12/hr |
| Setup or onboarding fee | Varies; confirm directly | N/A |
| Staffing model | Philippines-based, dedicated full-time VA | N/A |
These are not official MyOutDesk figures. They are the ranges that recur across founder reviews and third-party comparison sites as of 2026. MyOutDesk has been in operation since 2008 and is one of the most-reviewed offshore VA firms in the US market, so the pricing range above has been reported consistently enough to use as a directional estimate. Still, confirm current terms directly.
The annual vs month-to-month gap: the commonly reported difference between annual and month-to-month pricing is about $200/mo, or $2,400 over a year. Annual saves you roughly 10% but locks you in for 12 months. If you are confident in the fit, the annual rate is the better deal. If you want an exit option, the month-to-month premium is the cost of flexibility.
What MyOutDesk's model includes
The MyOutDesk offering is more than a body shop. You are buying a managed Philippines staffing relationship with a proprietary training layer on top, and it is worth knowing exactly what sits inside the pricing before you compare it to anything else.
- Dedicated Philippines-based VA. Your VA works full-time, exclusively for you. MyOutDesk is not a shared-pool model where your assistant splits time across clients. You get one person, full-time.
- Proprietary training curriculum. MyOutDesk has built a training program focused primarily on real estate operations. Transaction coordinators, inside sales agents (ISAs), listing managers, and property management VAs come pre-trained on the workflows common to US real estate teams. This is the differentiator that makes MyOutDesk a strong choice for real estate buyers specifically.
- Vetting and matching. MyOutDesk handles candidate sourcing, screening, and placement. You do not post jobs or sort through applicants yourself.
- Account management. An account manager oversees the engagement. If something is not working, you have a point of contact beyond the VA directly.
- Replacement support. If your VA leaves or the match is not right, MyOutDesk works with you on a replacement. Confirm the terms and timeline for replacement in your specific agreement before signing.
That is a reasonable bundle for the price, especially for buyers who want a firm with real estate operational depth already baked in. The question, as always, is whether the specific value on offer matches your specific role.
Who MyOutDesk fits
MyOutDesk built its brand serving the US real estate industry, and it is still the clearest fit for that vertical. Understanding who it fits well, and who it does not, will save you time and money.
MyOutDesk is a strong fit if:
- You run a real estate brokerage, team, or investment operation and need a transaction coordinator or listing manager.
- You are a mortgage originator, loan officer, or mortgage broker who needs pipeline admin support.
- You run a property management company and need tenant communication, maintenance coordination, or rent-roll admin.
- You want a VA pre-trained on US real estate workflows without having to build your own training materials from scratch.
- You are comfortable with Philippines-based staff and the associated timezone difference (MyOutDesk VAs typically work US-aligned schedules, often night-shift Philippines time to cover US business hours).
- You want a firm with a long track record in your specific vertical, not a generalist placement provider.
MyOutDesk is the wrong fit if:
- Your role is general admin, executive assistant work, bookkeeping, or operations outside real estate. Their talent pool and training are optimized for real estate; generalist roles are not where they add the most value.
- You need strong written English for client-facing US correspondence. Philippines English is highly competent, but native-English talent in South Africa is a structural advantage for roles where written fluency matters a great deal.
- Your role requires real-time US-morning responsiveness and you are on the West Coast. The Philippines is 15 to 16 hours ahead of US Pacific, which means real-time overlap requires your VA to work late in their evening or night.
- You want the lowest possible monthly cost for a non-specialized admin role, and you are willing to trade vertical depth for price.
The timezone reality with Philippines staff
This is worth addressing directly because it comes up in almost every comparison between Philippines and South Africa talent. The Philippines is 12 to 13 hours ahead of US Eastern Time and 15 to 16 hours ahead of US Pacific. That gap is significant for roles where real-time back-and-forth matters.
MyOutDesk VAs typically work a shifted schedule to overlap with US business hours. A VA covering US Eastern business hours (9am to 5pm ET) is working roughly 9pm to 5am Philippines time. For highly motivated staff, this works. Retention risk and burnout from sustained night-shift schedules are real factors in the Philippines VA market, though the best firms manage this through pay premiums and scheduling support.
If your role needs real-time US-morning presence and you want to avoid the night-shift dynamic, the timezone comparison matters. South Africa is 6 to 7 hours ahead of US Eastern, meaning a standard SA workday naturally covers the US East Coast morning without requiring any shift work from the VA.
Real-time overlap matters most for: executive assistant work, client-facing correspondence, calendar management, sales support, and any role where the founder or team needs to delegate in the morning and get things back by noon. For async-friendly roles (data processing, CRM management, listing updates, document prep), timezone gap is manageable with good communication systems.
The offshore alternative: full-time South African staff
For buyers whose role is not real-estate-specific, or who want native English and US-morning timezone overlap as baseline features rather than nice-to-haves, a full-time South African placement is a structurally different option worth comparing directly.
South Africa is the market VirtuHire US works in, so here is the honest side-by-side rather than a sales pitch.
| MyOutDesk (Philippines) | VirtuHire US (South Africa) | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | ~$1,788 to $1,988/mo (full-time) | $1,200 to $2,800/mo (full-time) |
| Hourly equivalent | ~$11 to $12/hr | $7 to $18/hr (role-dependent) |
| Staff location | Philippines | South Africa |
| English | Strong (high fluency, accented) | Native or near-native |
| US timezone overlap | Requires night shift (Philippines) | 4 to 8 hrs natural overlap (no night shift) |
| Vertical depth | Real estate (strong) | General admin, EA, sales, ops (strong) |
| Recruitment fee | Bundled into monthly rate | None |
| Replacement | Handled by MyOutDesk (confirm terms) | 30-day replacement guarantee |
| Dedicated vs shared | Dedicated full-time | Dedicated full-time |
The key structural differences are vertical specialization and timezone. MyOutDesk's real estate training depth is a real advantage for real estate buyers, and their price point is competitive. For buyers outside real estate, or those who need genuine US-morning real-time overlap without asking their VA to work nights, South Africa is the stronger structural fit.
How the per-hour economics compare
Both MyOutDesk and a South African placement are full-time dedicated models, which makes the comparison cleaner than comparing against part-time providers. You are buying a whole person in both cases. But the effective hourly rate differs by role tier.
| Role tier | MyOutDesk typical range | VirtuHire US (South Africa) typical range |
|---|---|---|
| Entry-level admin / VA | ~$1,788/mo (annual) | $1,200 to $1,600/mo |
| Mid-level EA / specialist | ~$1,988/mo (M2M) | $1,600 to $2,200/mo |
| Senior ops / sales support | Quoted separately | $2,200 to $2,800/mo |
For entry-level and mid-level admin roles, the cost difference is modest. The bigger difference shows up in the value per dollar once you factor in English fluency, timezone naturalness, and the management overhead that each setup requires. A South African EA who communicates in native English with zero accents and is online during your core working hours typically produces more usable output per dollar than a comparably priced Philippines VA working a night shift in their local time zone, especially for roles that require judgment, discretion, or frequent back-and-forth with the founder.
For real estate transaction coordination and ISA work, the equation flips. MyOutDesk's pre-trained real estate pool means the ramp time is shorter and the output matches the workflow immediately, which has real dollar value.
When MyOutDesk is the better choice
We would tell you to use MyOutDesk in a real and specific set of cases. Honesty here is the point of a pricing guide.
- You are in real estate and want vertical-specific training. Transaction coordinators, ISAs, and listing managers who come pre-trained on US real estate workflows reduce your ramp time and training cost. If building those training materials from scratch is the biggest obstacle in your VA search, MyOutDesk removes it.
- Your role is async-friendly. If your VA's work does not require real-time US-business-hours presence (updating CRM records, processing transaction files, managing listings, drafting offers for review), the timezone gap is manageable and MyOutDesk's real estate depth is the bigger factor.
- You want a firm with a long track record in your vertical. MyOutDesk has been placing real estate VAs since 2008. The playbook is mature and the firm has significant experience managing the specific types of challenges that come up in real estate VA deployments.
- You have a large real estate team and want consistency of training across multiple VAs. MyOutDesk's proprietary curriculum makes it easier to onboard multiple VAs to the same operational standard, which matters for scaling teams.
Outside those cases, and especially for non-real-estate buyers or roles requiring genuine real-time US-hours presence, MyOutDesk's vertical specialization does not add the value that justifies choosing Philippines over South Africa.
How to decide in five minutes
Run this quick filter and you will know which direction to go.
- Is your role in real estate, mortgage, or property management? If yes, MyOutDesk's real estate training depth is a genuine advantage. That is the first question and it largely decides the outcome.
- Does the role require real-time US-morning responsiveness? If you need your VA online and responsive during your first 4 hours of the workday, South Africa's natural timezone overlap beats Philippines night-shift coverage. If the role is largely async, this is not a deciding factor.
- Is native-level written English critical? For roles involving client-facing emails, US-consumer correspondence, or detailed business writing, the South African market's native English baseline is structurally better. For internal-operations roles where English competency is sufficient, Philippines is fine.
- What is your price sensitivity on a $200/mo difference? If the difference between $1,788/mo and $1,400/mo materially changes whether the hire pencils out, a lower-cost entry-level South African placement or a Philippines-volume provider like BruntWork is a more efficient fit. If the $200/mo spread is immaterial, price alone should not decide this.
Most non-real-estate buyers who run this filter come out pointed away from MyOutDesk, not because MyOutDesk is bad, but because the vertical depth that justifies the brand does not apply to their role.
What VirtuHire US offers and the proof behind it
VirtuHire US places pre-vetted, full-time South African staff with US companies across admin, EA, bookkeeping, sales, ops, and engineering roles. 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 18 months beats a cheaper one who churns at month 5.
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, same dedicated full-time structure.
If your role is in real estate and you want to talk through whether MyOutDesk's vertical depth or a South African generalist is the right call, book a 15-minute intake call here. If MyOutDesk is the better fit for your specific role, we will tell you so directly.
How we built this guide
MyOutDesk pricing in this guide is labeled as commonly reported because MyOutDesk does not maintain a standard permanent public rate card. The figures ($1,788/mo annual, $1,988/mo month-to-month) come from publicly available MyOutDesk marketing materials and third-party review sites as of 2026. They have appeared consistently across multiple corroborating sources, but they are directional estimates, not official figures. Pricing and packages change, so confirm current MyOutDesk terms directly before signing.
VirtuHire US 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 as a reported range and instruct you to verify at the source.
Last reviewed: September 2026
Pricing for third-party providers: Pricing claims for MyOutDesk are based on publicly available marketing materials and third-party review sites as of 2026. MyOutDesk does not maintain a permanent public rate card. Verify directly with MyOutDesk before signing.
Frequently asked questions
How much does MyOutDesk cost in 2026?
MyOutDesk does not maintain a standard public rate card, but per publicly available marketing materials and third-party review sites, MyOutDesk is commonly reported to run roughly $1,788/mo on an annual contract or $1,988/mo month-to-month for a full-time dedicated VA, placing the effective rate at around $11 to $12/hr. Confirm current pricing directly with MyOutDesk before signing, because packages and rates change.
Does MyOutDesk publish its prices?
MyOutDesk has historically quoted pricing through a consultation process rather than maintaining a permanent public rate card. The figures commonly cited in third-party reviews and public marketing materials as of 2026 are $1,788/mo annual or $1,988/mo month-to-month. Treat those as directional estimates and verify current pricing with MyOutDesk directly.
What does MyOutDesk pricing include?
Based on publicly available information, MyOutDesk pricing typically includes a dedicated Philippines-based VA, vetting and matching, basic training and onboarding support, and account management. Some packages include access to MyOutDesk's proprietary training curriculum, which focuses heavily on real estate operations tasks. Confirm what is included in the specific tier you are quoted.
Is MyOutDesk good for non-real-estate businesses?
MyOutDesk started as a real estate-focused VA firm and its training curriculum and talent pool skew strongly toward real estate roles: transaction coordinators, ISAs, listing managers, and property management support. Non-real estate buyers can use MyOutDesk, but their talent pool for general admin, bookkeeping, or technical roles is less specialized. If your role is not real-estate-adjacent, a general-purpose offshore firm is likely a better fit.
What is the cheapest alternative to MyOutDesk?
For non-real-estate buyers, several alternatives are priced comparably or lower. South Africa-based firms like VirtuHire US place full-time dedicated staff at $1,200 to $2,800/mo depending on role complexity, with native English, US-morning overlap, and a 30-day replacement guarantee. Philippines-based firms like BruntWork start below $1,400/mo. The right alternative depends on your role requirements and how much timezone and language overlap you need.
How does MyOutDesk compare to VirtuHire US?
MyOutDesk is Philippines-based with strong real estate vertical positioning; VirtuHire US is South Africa-based with broader role coverage. Key differences: MyOutDesk's commonly reported rate is $1,788 to $1,988/mo for full-time Philippines VAs; VirtuHire US runs $1,200 to $2,800/mo for full-time South African staff, with native English as a baseline rather than a premium. Timezone overlap is different: Philippines is 12+ hours ahead of US Eastern, while South Africa is 6 to 7 hours ahead with strong US-morning overlap.
When should I choose MyOutDesk over a South African VA?
MyOutDesk is the stronger choice for real estate brokerages, property managers, and mortgage operations teams that want a firm with deep real estate training baked into its talent pool. If your role is a transaction coordinator, ISA, or listing manager and you want staff pre-trained on real estate workflows, MyOutDesk's vertical depth is a genuine advantage. For broader admin, EA, sales, or ops roles outside real estate, an alternative firm is usually a better fit.
What is the difference between MyOutDesk annual and month-to-month pricing?
Per third-party reviews and publicly available MyOutDesk marketing materials, the annual contract is commonly reported at around $1,788/mo versus roughly $1,988/mo on a month-to-month basis, a difference of about $200/mo or $2,400/yr. The annual contract saves roughly 10% but commits you for 12 months. Month-to-month gives flexibility at a higher monthly cost. Confirm current terms with MyOutDesk before signing.
Related reading
- VirtuHire vs MyOutDesk 2026: head-on comparison of both firms on pricing, fit, vertical depth, and replacement terms.
- Real estate virtual assistants: transaction coordinators, ISAs, and listing managers for US brokerages and investors.
- How much does a virtual assistant cost in 2026: full pricing breakdown by country and named provider.
- Belay virtual assistant pricing 2026: what Belay commonly charges and how the US-based model compares to offshore.
- Boldly pricing 2026: published Boldly rates by hour block and the honest comparison with full-time offshore.
- Offshore virtual assistants for US businesses: country and role overview with pricing ranges.
- Best country to hire virtual assistants in 2026: Philippines vs South Africa vs LatAm vs India by role type.
- VirtuHire US pricing: full-time South African placements from $1,200 to $2,800/mo, no recruitment fee.
Comparing MyOutDesk against a full-time South African hire?
Get a 7-day shortlist of pre-vetted South African candidates matched to your role. Zero recruitment fees, 30-day replacement guarantee, and full EOR handled. Book a 15-minute intake call and we will tell you honestly whether MyOutDesk or an offshore South African placement fits your specific role better.
Book a 15-min call ›