A mid-level US executive assistant runs about $91,000 fully loaded. The same EA placed through VirtuHire in South Africa runs about $21,600 a year, roughly 76% less. Use the calculator below to model your role. Pricing reflects VirtuHire August 2025 placement data, plus market averages for Philippines and LatAm placement firms. Book a 15-minute call for a real quote.
The calculator
How we calculated this
The numbers in the calculator come from three places: VirtuHire's own placement deck (August 2025) for South Africa, public pricing pages and firm averages for Philippines and LatAm placement providers, and US Bureau of Labor Statistics wage ranges for the in-house baseline.
- US in-house: annual base salary plus a 30% loaded burden covering employer payroll taxes (FICA, Medicare, FUTA/SUTA), health benefits, paid time off, and equipment. 30% is the conservative midpoint of the 25 to 35% range most CFOs use for fully loaded cost.
- Philippines: hourly rate from the calculator's lookup, multiplied by hours per week, multiplied by 4.33 weeks per month, multiplied by 12. Reflects placement-firm averages, not direct-hire freelancer rates.
- South Africa (VirtuHire): real monthly retainer ranges from VirtuHire's August 2025 placement data. 272 clients, 750+ placements, 93% retention.
- LatAm: hourly placement-firm averages from public pricing across major LatAm staffing providers. Same hours formula as Philippines.
A few caveats. Placement-firm pricing varies by provider, role specialization, and how much vetting is built in. Hourly rates can climb 30 to 60% for specialist work or premium providers. SA monthly retainers are the actual VirtuHire range, not a market average. And the US baseline is the number you put in. If your local market pays differently, override it.
Full role pricing reference
| Role | Junior US | Mid US | Senior US | PH $/hr | SA monthly (J / M / S) | LatAm $/hr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General VA | $38k | $48k | $58k | $7 | $1,200 / $1,400 / $1,700 | $8 |
| Executive Assistant | $55k | $70k | $90k | $10 | $1,500 / $1,800 / $2,200 | $14 |
| Sales / SDR | $65k | $85k | $110k | $11 | $1,800 / $2,200 / $2,500 | $18 |
| Customer Support | $42k | $52k | $65k | $8 | $1,400 / $1,700 / $2,000 | $12 |
| Bookkeeper | $50k | $65k | $80k | $9 | $1,500 / $1,800 / $2,300 | $15 |
| Operations Coordinator | $55k | $70k | $88k | $9 | $1,500 / $1,900 / $2,300 | $14 |
| Designer | $60k | $80k | $100k | $12 | $1,500 / $2,200 / $2,800 | $20 |
| Engineer | $90k | $120k | $150k | $18 | $2,200 / $2,800 / $3,500 | $28 |
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Book a 15-min call ›Related reading
- Full 2026 VA cost guide: named competitor pricing across every market.
- Best country to hire virtual assistants from in 2026: the SA vs PH vs LatAm vs India breakdown.
- South African virtual assistants: full service page with recent placement examples.
- How to hire a virtual assistant in 2026: 7-step process with role spec and onboarding.