Freelance RateSetting a rate as a virtual assistant
How this work is usually priced, where the unpaid hours hide, and a worked example you can change to your own numbers.
How this work is priced
Virtual assistants often sell a block of hours a month or a monthly package. The danger is a package that quietly grows: a client sends a few more tasks every week and the price stays the same.
The unpaid work
Hours that no client pays for here include onboarding a new client, learning their tools, small messages that arrive all day, reports, waiting for approvals. They are the reason a billable share of 70% is used in the example, not 100%.
Costs to count
Internet and a backup connection, a laptop, project and communication tools, accounting and scheduling software. Each belongs in the yearly costs box.
A worked example
These figures are made up to show the working in Indian rupee. Use your own.
| Take-home wanted | ₹3,60,000 |
| Business costs | ₹24,000 |
| Profit needed before tax and savings (8% + 8%) | ₹4,28,571 |
| Income to bill in the year | ₹4,52,571 |
| Billable hours (44 weeks, 40 hours, 70% billed) | 1,232 |
| Hourly floor | ₹367 |
| Day rate floor | ₹2,939 |
What changes the answer
- If your billable share falls by 10 points to 60%, the hourly floor rises from ₹367 to ₹429.
- If you take 3 more weeks off, it rises to ₹394.
- If your costs are 25% higher than you planned, it rises to ₹372.
A tip for this work
Sell hours, not tasks, and say what happens when the hours run out: extra hours at a stated rate or the work waits for next month. Track time even on a fixed package so you see if it still pays.
Try your own figures
Common questions
Hourly or monthly package?
A monthly package gives steady income and the client a simple bill. Set it from your hourly rate times the hours included, and review it every few months against the time you really spend.
How do I handle small extra tasks?
Log them. After a month show the client the total, then either agree a bigger package or charge for the extra hours at the stated rate.
Keep going
Example figures on this site are made up to show the working. They are not market rates or averages. Tax, social-insurance, sales-tax and holiday rules differ by country and change, so this site does not state them: ask the tax authority of your country or an accountant. Checked 14 November 2026.