PLEASE NOTE: This post was originally published in September 2010. Since then the ‘work from home’ industry in the Philippines has, and will continue to develop immensely over. I’ve therefore decided to update this post regularly, so that no matter when you visit, it’s always up to date!
Last Updated: January, 2017
One thing is for sure – if you pay peanuts, you’ll get monkeys!
Since launching Virtual Staff Finder back in 2010, we’ve received thousands of questions on the subject of working with virtual assistants – particularly from the Philippines. Everything from hiring and training them, right the way down to working with your VA on a day to day basis, and how to keep them motivated.
However, the number one question we hear more than anything else is “How much do I pay my Filipino Virtual Assistant…?”.
So, to answer this question in a concise, yet highly knowledgable way – based on years of experience – and the fact that myself and my VSF Team are based here in the Philippines, all year round, this post has been put together as a general guide to doing just that – paying your Virtual Assistant based in the Philippines.
Please bear in mind these salary guidelines are for home-based Virtual Assistant’s from the Philippines, working from their homes, for you directly. If you don’t want to work with virtual staff directly, nor train them, motivate them or even speak to them – then I suggest looking into a more professional outsourcing set-up.
Different Types of Virtual Assistants
So, here you go a guideline on the four main types of Virtual Assistant’s, what you can expect them to be able to do, task wise, and what you should be looking to pay them for both full-time, and part-time positions. Hope this clears a few things up for everyone.
There are also other types of virtual workers available from the Philippines, such as video editors, audio editors, graphic designers and the like, however, based on us working with hundreds of entrepreneurs over the time we’ve been in business at Virtual Staff Finder, we’ve found this set of four to be the most sought-after.
Please note: After a full signup audit in November 2013, we realized that 72% of our clients are looking for General VAs (GVA), and therefore now only focus on this one role at Virtual Staff Finder.
Paying Your Virtual Staff in the Philippines
For the longest time, Paypal has been the standard for paying your staff in the Philippines… and it remains that way. It’s super easy for your staff to get their hands on their money, and a whiz for you to set-up – just be cool and pay the fees!
Salary Guidelines
Ultimately, its down to you, as the virtual boss to decide what you are happy paying for your virtual staff. However, to be able to attract, hire and keep great staff working for you virtually by outsourcing to the Philippines, you also have to be very aware that the industry has, and continues to change immensely. The people are becoming more and more experienced, and more and more in-demand.
They know this, and therefore it is no longer possible (in our eyes, anyway) to get a General VA for $250 a month. Not if you want them to do a great job for you, anyway!
The following are current average full-time salary guidelines that you can follow, keeping in mind that there are less experienced workers willing to work for less, and more experienced workers that will want to see much bigger numbers – its all relevant:
- General Virtual Assistant (GVA) – $500-$800 a month
- Article / Content Writer – $500-$700 a month
- SEO / Web Marketer VA – $750-$950 a month
- Web Developer – $800-$1,400 a month
Additional / Emerging Virtual Staff Roles
I’ve seen more people recently asking for additional types of virtual staff on a regular basis over the last year or so. They are as follows, and again – all rates are approximate and based upon market conditions and experience levels, obviously:
- Graphic Designers – $700 – $1,200 a month
- Audio / Video VA’s – $600 – $1,200 a month
- Mobile App Developer VA’s – $800 – $1,400 a month (Note: not popular in the Philippines currently. Look to Eastern Europe for this for the time being!)
* Part-time rates would obviously be 50% of full-time rates.
Now, again, these are just guidelines. For example, 5-6 years ago, you could get a full-time General Virtual Assistant from the Philippines to work for you for that $250 I mentioned earlier. But, times change, and the home-based virtual staffing world is changing, too.
If you have any more questions on this subject feel free to comment below, or for more in-depth answers and advice, just reach out to the fantastic Virtual Staff Finder team directly.
