Most of the business owners I speak to aren't really asking "VA or employee?" They're asking how to get their week back without making an expensive mistake. That's a fair thing to worry about, because both options cost real money and both can go wrong.
I started the business behind VAConnect in 2008, after leaving a corporate job. So here's how I'd think about it if I were sitting in your chair in the US or the UK.
First, look past the salary
A salary is not the cost of an employee. On top of it sit payroll taxes, benefits, recruitment, equipment, desk space, leave cover and the weeks it takes a new person to get up to speed. In the UK add employer National Insurance and pension contributions. An invoice from a managed VA agency already includes the recruitment, the management and the replacement if it doesn't work out.
Compare the total cost of a person in your business with the total cost of the invoice. Anything else flatters the employee.
The cost gap, laid out plainly
Here's the comparison our clients usually make, using our published USD packages. Executive assistant and project manager rates sit a little higher than general admin.
| Managed VA (VAConnect) | Full-time employee | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | From $1,088 for 40 hours (about ten hours a week); half-day and full-day packages on our pricing page | Salary plus payroll taxes, benefits and recruitment |
| Office, equipment, benefits | None for you to provide | Yours to provide |
| Time to start | One to two weeks from go-ahead | Usually months |
| Commitment | Month to month, one month's notice | Employment contract and notice periods |
| If it doesn't work | We fix it or replace the VA at no extra cost | You start again |
There's no office, benefits or equipment for you to provide, and recruitment, training and management are in the monthly price. Full details are on the VAConnect pricing page.
Where an employee genuinely wins
I'll be straight with you: sometimes an employee is the better call. If the role has to be in the room, handles physical stock, or needs someone in your office every day, hire locally. Our model is 100% remote and I won't pretend otherwise.
An employee also makes sense when the job is core to your long-term culture and you have the time and the management capacity to recruit, train and keep that person.
The hidden cost employees are supposed to solve
Owners usually hire to buy back time. The catch is that hiring takes a lot of time first: writing the ad, reading CVs, interviewing, onboarding, managing. If you're already stretched, that work lands on the person with the least spare capacity, which is you.
With us, Nikki writes the job description from our call, screens candidates and puts each one through a Boiler Room, a 45-minute simulation of a day in your role. Only people who score 80% or higher reach your shortlist of three or four.
The speed and risk difference nobody prices in
A local hire is a long process and a hard one to reverse. A VA through us starts within one to two weeks of your go-ahead, and the first month runs as a trial for both sides. We bill month to month with one month's notice, so you're never locked in.
If something isn't right, we first try to fix it. If the fit can't be repaired, Nikki re-screens and you interview again, at no extra cost. That's the risk you carry yourself with an employee, or with anyone you hire and manage directly.
Why “managed” changes the comparison again
"Managed" means we stay involved after the placement. A client success manager is your point of contact and a team success manager looks after your VA: monthly one-on-ones, coaching and KPI follow-up. Every two to three months we review how things are going with you and, separately, with your VA.
Your VA also has VAVarsity, our training platform, and Atomic Energy, our anti-burnout programme. It's a big part of why we keep 98% of our clients over 14 months, on contracts they can leave with a month's notice.
So which makes sense for you?
If the work is remote, repeatable and you need it covered within weeks, a managed VA almost always wins on cost and risk. If the role is physical, deeply cultural or needs daily office presence, hire an employee.
If you're somewhere in between, book a discovery call. Nikki and I will ask where the gap is, tell you honestly which option fits, and send the welcome pack with our rate sheet. It's not to sign, it's for transparency.
At a glance: Virtual Assistant vs Full-Time Employee
| Factor | Virtual Assistant (managed) | Full-Time Employee |
|---|---|---|
| Where they work | Remote, from South Africa | Your office or remote |
| Who recruits | We do, with a Boiler Room test | You do |
| Who manages day to day | You direct the work; we manage performance and wellbeing | You |
| Cover and continuity | VA builds an SOP; replacement at no extra cost | Your problem to solve |
| Time overlap | US Eastern: morning to early afternoon. UK: full working day | Full |
| Contract | Month to month | Employment contract |