Pick Time Etc if: you have 10 to 20 hours of work per month and full-time is overkill; you specifically need a US-based assistant; or you want the lowest-commitment entry point in US VA staffing ($390/mo, cancel anytime). Pick VirtuHire if: you have 20+ hours per week of recurring work; you want a dedicated person who learns your business; or you want to redirect 60 to 85% of US-VA cost into additional headcount. Breakeven on hours is ~30 to 35 per month. Book a 15-minute call to compare for your role.
Quick comparison table
| Factor | VirtuHire US | Time Etc |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Full-time monthly retainer | Hour-bank monthly packages |
| Entry tier | $1,200/mo (~173 hrs full-time) | $390/mo (10 hrs) |
| Mid tier | $1,600 to $2,200/mo full-time | $1,480/mo (40 hrs) to $2,160 (60 hrs) |
| Effective hourly rate | ~$7 to $16/hr | $36 to $39/hr |
| Capacity model | Exclusive full-time, dedicated to you | Dedicated assistant, shared capacity (assistant works other clients too) |
| Geography | South Africa | US-based (Time Etc states "based all over the U.S.") |
| Employment model | VirtuHire is Employer of Record (EOR) | Time Etc managed-service, assistant is Time Etc contractor |
| Contract minimum | Month-to-month after one-month deposit | No minimum, cancel anytime |
| Hour rollover | Not applicable (full-time) | Unused hours roll over on 20-hour-plus plans |
| Setup fee | None | None |
| US timezone overlap | 4 to 6 hrs with US East Coast | Full overlap, all US timezones |
The real math: hour-bank vs full-time
Here is the breakeven analysis the page exists to deliver. Time Etc's 40-hour tier is $1,480 per month. That is 10 hours per week of US-based dedicated support. VirtuHire's entry tier is $1,200 per month for a full-time placement, which is ~173 hours per month (or ~40 hours per week). On hours alone, VirtuHire delivers ~4.3x the capacity per dollar above the 40-hour Time Etc tier.
The hour-bank calculation gets interesting in the middle. At 10 hours of work per week (40 hours per month), Time Etc is $1,480. At that same workload, VirtuHire is $1,200 for a full-time placement. VirtuHire is cheaper in absolute dollars while delivering 4x the available capacity. The catch: you have to have work to fill that capacity. If you genuinely only have 10 hours per week of work, you are paying for 173 hours and using 40. That is fine if you expect the workload to grow; it is wasted budget if you do not.
The cleaner math is at the entry tier. Time Etc's 10-hour tier ($390) is the lowest-commitment US-based VA option on the market. VirtuHire does not compete here. If your real need is 10 hours per month of generalist task work, Time Etc is structurally the right answer.
What "dedicated" means in each model
Both Time Etc and VirtuHire say "dedicated assistant." Read the structure carefully because the word means different things.
At Time Etc, dedicated means the same US-based assistant handles your tasks every time you submit. Their attention is split across other clients in their remaining hours. This is good for task-bundle work (calendar coordination, travel booking, expense submission, research) where context is reset each task. It is harder for work that requires deep context (CRM ops, sales sequence management, customer relationship handoffs) because the assistant is rebuilding context each session.
At VirtuHire, dedicated means the placed assistant works only for you, 40 hours per week. They sit in your standups, learn your tools, build relationships with your team, and develop context that compounds over months. Chantel, an Order Processing Specialist placed at $1,200/mo, runs end-to-end ecommerce order workflow for her US client and has become the operational owner of that function, not a task executor. Tom, a Sales Account Manager at $2,200/mo, runs his own pipeline calls and follow-ups inside the US client's CRM. That depth is structurally impossible at 10 to 40 hours per month per client.
When Time Etc is the right call
- Your real workload is 10 to 20 hours per month. If you genuinely have 2 to 5 hours per week of task work and a full-time hire is overkill, Time Etc's entry tier is sized correctly. Do not overhire because the per-hour cost looks better.
- You specifically need a US-based assistant. Voice work with US-accent callers, US-residency compliance, or US-specific cultural context (US tax software setup, US benefits navigation) is a legitimate reason to pay the premium for US-based talent.
- You want the lowest-commitment entry point in US VA staffing. $390/mo with no minimum and the ability to cancel by email is one of the lowest-friction VA service structures available. It is a fine first test.
- You want the managed-service wrapper. Time Etc manages the assistant relationship; you submit tasks and receive output. If you do not want to onboard an offshore hire and integrate them into your team, the managed model is value.
- The work is task-bundle, not relationship-driven. Calendar scheduling, travel booking, gift sourcing, light research, and one-off admin work suit the hour-bank model. Recurring relationship work (CRM ownership, customer email, ops process running) does not.
When VirtuHire is the right call
- You have 20+ hours per week of recurring work. Once the work is 80+ hours per month, the hour-bank model gets expensive and the lack of deep context becomes a real friction. A dedicated full-time placement is structurally the right answer.
- You want a team member, not a task processor. If the work requires the assistant to own a function (customer support queue, sales pipeline, ops process), they need full-time exclusive capacity. That is what VirtuHire delivers.
- You are cost-sensitive at scale. A US Time Etc 60-hour tier is $2,160 per month. A senior VirtuHire GTM engineer (Eugene) is $2,800/mo full-time. The cost-per-hour difference compounds across roles and months.
- You can fill 40 hours per week of work. If you have one full-time-equivalent of work, you are leaving capacity on the table with the hour-bank model. VirtuHire delivers exclusive full-time capacity at less than the cost of Time Etc's 40-hour tier.
- You are open to South African talent. The accent is closer to US-neutral than most offshore markets. Written English is strong. Timezone overlap with US East Coast is 4 to 6 hours during US morning hours, no graveyard rotation.
Mini case study: Chantel, Order Processing Specialist ($1,200/mo)
Chantel runs the end-to-end order processing workflow for a US ecommerce client. Scope: order entry, customer email on processing status, return coordination, vendor follow-up, and weekly reporting. At $1,200/mo full-time, the equivalent Time Etc workload (40 hours per week of dedicated capacity, even if priced as the 60-hour tier maxed out at $2,160) would be (a) more expensive and (b) structurally unable to deliver the relationship continuity Chantel has built with the customer base. The US client tried two prior task-based VA arrangements before placing Chantel; the consistent failure mode was that task-bundle workers could not retain context across orders or customers. A full-time dedicated person solved a problem that more hours of fractional support could not.
Mini case study: Tom, Sales Account Manager ($2,200/mo)
Tom runs a US client's outbound sales pipeline as a full-time dedicated sales account manager. He owns a CRM pipeline, makes follow-up calls, runs email sequences, and updates Salesforce. The equivalent Time Etc engagement would require an assistant capable of CRM ownership working 40 hours per week split across clients, which is not how the hour-bank model works. For dedicated sales execution roles, the hour-bank structure is the wrong tool. Time Etc is a fine choice for sales-adjacent task work (research, list cleaning, sequence building) but not for ownership of a pipeline. VirtuHire is the closer fit for that mandate.
Contract terms and switching costs
Both providers are flexible. Time Etc has no minimum commitment and no setup fee. VirtuHire is month-to-month after a one-month deposit, with a 30-day no-cost replacement guarantee. Switching from Time Etc to VirtuHire is straightforward (the work transfers cleanly because both are dedicated-assistant models). Switching from VirtuHire to Time Etc happens occasionally when a buyer realized they overhired (work was actually 10 hours per week, not 40). Both providers are designed to minimize switching pain; the structural lock-in is the workload itself.
How we built this comparison
VirtuHire pricing and outcome data come from internal placement records as of August 2025: 272 active clients, 750+ total placements, 93% retention rate. Time Etc pricing was pulled directly from timeetc.com/pricing in May 2026: 10 hours/mo at $390, 20 hours at $760, 40 hours at $1,480, 60 hours at $2,160, no minimum, no setup fee. This guide is written by VirtuHire US, a South Africa-specific placement provider. We tell prospects directly when Time Etc's hour-bank model is the right fit; the wrong question is "which is cheaper," the right question is "which structure matches the work."
Last reviewed: May 2026. Verify current Time Etc pricing on timeetc.com/pricing.
Related reading
- VirtuHire vs Belay: US W-2 part-time vs offshore full-time.
- VirtuHire vs Boldly: US premium part-time vs offshore full-time.
- South African virtual assistants for US businesses: full placement service overview.
- Full 2026 virtual assistant cost guide: named-competitor pricing across every market.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Time Etc cost in 2026?
Time Etc's published pricing offers four standard packages: 10 hours/month at $390 ($39/hr), 20 hours at $760 ($38/hr), 40 hours at $1,480 ($37/hr), and 60 hours at $2,160 ($36/hr). All plans include a dedicated US-based assistant. There is no minimum commitment and no setup fee. Unused hours roll over (on 20-hour-plus plans). Larger plans available on request.
Is Time Etc dedicated or shared?
Time Etc assigns a dedicated US-based assistant. The hour-bank structure (10 to 60 hours per month) means the assistant is also working with other clients in their remaining hours. So "dedicated" here means the same person works your tasks every time, but their capacity is fractional. This is structurally different from VirtuHire, where the placement is full-time exclusive to your business.
When is Time Etc the right call?
Time Etc makes sense when you need a US-based assistant for accent or US-residency reasons, when 10 to 20 hours per month is the actual workload (not a placeholder for "eventually more"), when you value the hour-rollover and no-minimum-commitment structure, or when you want a managed-service wrapper for a small workload. Time Etc's 10-hour tier at $390 is one of the most accessible entry points in US-based VA staffing.
What is the breakeven point between Time Etc and VirtuHire?
At 30 hours per month, Time Etc costs roughly $1,110 (interpolated). VirtuHire's entry tier is $1,200 per month for ~173 hours of full-time work. The breakeven on hours is roughly 30 to 35 hours per month: above that, VirtuHire delivers more capacity per dollar. The real decision is not the breakeven number, it is whether the work warrants a full-time dedicated person who learns your business, or stays at task-bundle scale forever.
When is VirtuHire the right call?
VirtuHire is the right call when you need a full-time dedicated person (40 hours per week), when you want one assistant who learns your business deeply (not someone whose attention is split across other clients), when you are growing past 20 hours per week of recurring tasks, or when you want offshore cost (60 to 85% below US salary rates) to redirect budget toward additional headcount. Chantel and Tom are two examples of VirtuHire placements who became indispensable inside 90 days.
Are Time Etc's assistants better than offshore?
Time Etc's pool is US-based, which is a real differentiator if you need a US accent for voice work or US residency for compliance reasons. For most text-and-CRM work, the quality difference between Time Etc's US assistants and VirtuHire's South African placements is operationally invisible. The trade-off is cost (Time Etc $36 to $39/hr, VirtuHire $7 to $16/hr effective) and full-time vs hour-bank capacity.