Virtual assistant Philippines: real rates, real test scores.
A virtual assistant in the Philippines is a remote worker, usually engaged as an independent contractor, who handles admin, customer support, data entry, social media or sales tasks for businesses abroad, often on the client's hours. The Philippines is also where most DonutJobs candidates live, so this guide prices the hire with our own pool data instead of agency brochures.
Below: what Filipino candidates ask per hour and what that costs per month, what their English, typing and internet checks show, which skills run deepest, how to hire in five steps, time-zone overlap, local customs, and how DonutJobs compares with OnlineJobs.ph.
21,106 candidate profiles on DonutJobs list the Philippines as home: 78.5% of the talent pool, as of Sep 2026.
Free plan: 1 active job, up to 10 applications, no credit card.See all plans
How much does a Filipino virtual assistant cost?
The median Filipino candidate on DonutJobs asks $5 an hour. At that rate a part-time VA working 20 hours a week costs about $433 a month, and a full-time VA working 40 hours about $867 a month, before platform and payment fees.
| Rate point | Per hour | 20 hours a week | 40 hours a week |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25th percentile asking rate | $3 | about $260/mo | about $520/mo |
| Median asking rate | $5 | about $433/mo | about $867/mo |
| 75th percentile asking rate | $5 | about $433/mo | about $867/mo |
| Median base rate employers post (all DonutJobs jobs) | $3 | about $260/mo | about $520/mo |
Why the top of the table looks flat. The current signup screen offers $2, $3, $5 and $8 shortcuts and says most jobs pay $2 to $5 per hour, so answers cluster on those values. That is why the 75th percentile lands on $5. In practice, a flat $5 an hour meets or beats the asking rate of at least three in four Filipino candidates in this sample. Treat it as the middle of the market on DonutJobs, not a ceiling, and expect to pay more for a specialist whose portfolio you have checked.
Employers post lower base rates than candidates ask: the median hourly job on DonutJobs pays $3 base, and 767 of the 1,262 hourly posts add commission on top, which is common in chat and sales roles. If your role is a flat hourly rate with no commission, price it with the asking rates above, not the posted ones.
What goes into the monthly budget
The wage is most of it, but not all of it. These are the lines employers forget when they compare a Filipino VA with a local hire.
The wage
About $433 to $867 a month at the $5 median for 20 to 40 hours a week. Agree up front whether you pay by the hour or a fixed monthly amount.
The platform
On DonutJobs: the Free plan (1 job, 10 applications, no card) or $99 a month, from $55 a month on a 6-month term. No per-hire fee and no cut of wages. See pricing.
Transfer fees
Wise, Payoneer and PayPal price transfers and currency conversion differently. Compare the amount that lands in pesos before the first payday, not just the headline fee.
A December bonus
If you honour the 13th-month custom (see the customs section below), budget one extra month of pay per year, about 8.3% on top of annual wages.
Backup internet and power
Typhoon season brings outages in parts of the country. A small allowance for mobile data or a power bank keeps work moving, and some employers chip in once the VA is past the trial.
Your own time
Plan about an hour a day in the first two weeks for training, questions and review. It drops quickly once your processes are written down.
What the checks show for Filipino candidates
Candidates can complete up to four checks: internet speed, English, typing speed and a recorded voice sample. Scores show on their profiles, and employers can filter to candidates who passed the thresholds they set. These are the medians for Filipino candidates who took each check.
32 WPM
median typing speed
10,435 Filipino typing tests
73%
median English score (C1 band)
8,858 Filipino English tests
77.7 Mbps
median download speed
9,064 Filipino speed tests
7,125
Filipino profiles with internet, English and typing scores
33.8% of Filipino profiles
3,129
of them also recorded a voice sample
14.8% of Filipino profiles have all four
29%
of typing tests reach 40 WPM or more
pool-wide, 12,680 tests
DonutJobs data, as of Sep 2026. Medians are computed on Filipino profiles that completed each check; the 40 WPM share is pool-wide (all countries). Checks are optional. English bands are DonutJobs labels for the in-app multiple-choice test (70 to 79% is C1), not an official CEFR certificate. Internet speeds are entered by the candidate from the in-app speed test.
What this means for your filters. A 32 WPM median is fine for inbox, calendar and email support, where accuracy matters more than speed. Live chat and data entry need faster hands: set the typing filter to 40 WPM or more and you keep roughly the top 29% of test takers.
For client-facing work, filter on the English band first, then listen to the voice sample, because a written test does not tell you how someone sounds on a call. For video calls and VoIP, a download speed of 25 Mbps is a sensible floor; 77.9% of all internet checks on DonutJobs clear it.
Which skills are easiest to hire for
Supply by skill across the whole DonutJobs pool, where 78.5% of profiles are Filipino. Deep categories give you more applicants to filter; thin ones need a sharper job post and more patience.
Post your Filipino VA role free and see who applies.
How to hire a virtual assistant from the Philippines in 5 steps
Hiring directly takes a job post, a filter, a short paid trial and a way to pay. This is the order that wastes the least time.
Rather have someone else do steps 1 to 4? Managed virtual assistants are sourced, contracted and managed by DonutJobs, and a virtual executive assistant covers senior support.
Time zone overlap with the Philippines
The Philippines runs on Philippine Time (PHT, UTC+8) all year and does not use daylight saving time. A Filipino VA can cover your whole working day on a night shift, or overlap part of it on a day shift.
| Your office hours | Same hours in Manila | Typical setup |
|---|---|---|
| US Eastern (New York) | 9 pm to 5 am (EDT), or 10 pm to 6 am (EST) | Full-overlap night shift, a long-standing norm in Philippine outsourcing |
| US Pacific (Los Angeles) | 12 am to 8 am (PDT), or 1 am to 9 am (PST) | Night shift for full overlap, or async work with a short handover call |
| UK (London) | 4 pm to 12 am (BST), or 5 pm to 1 am (GMT) | An afternoon-to-midnight mid shift covers your day; a Manila day shift barely overlaps |
| Central Europe (Berlin) | 3 pm to 11 pm (CEST), or 4 pm to 12 am (CET) | Afternoon and evening shift in Manila |
| Australia East (Sydney) | 7 am to 3 pm (AEST), or 6 am to 2 pm (AEDT) | A normal early day shift, the easiest overlap of all |
Put the shift in the job post in both time zones, for example "9 pm to 5 am Manila time (9 am to 5 pm New York)". Candidates who want night work apply, and those who do not save you an interview.
Full overlap is not always needed. Many teams run a four-hour shared window for calls and questions and keep the rest of the day for async tasks. Plan the window with the time zone visualiser before you post.
Customs worth knowing: 13th-month pay, night work, holidays and pay days
These are local expectations. Knowing them makes your offer clearer and helps you keep good people.
13th-month pay. Philippine law requires local employers to pay employees an extra month of pay each year, usually in December. Overseas clients who engage a VA as an independent contractor often honour the custom anyway, as a December bonus of about one month's pay, because it is so widely expected. Say in your offer whether you will.
Night work. Local labour rules give employees a premium for night hours, and many freelancers price night shifts higher for the same reason. If you need US hours, expect it in the rate.
Holidays. The Philippines has a long list of national holidays. Holy Week and the Christmas season are when time-off requests peak, so agree on paid holidays and cover before the first one arrives.
Pay days. Local payroll commonly runs twice a month, around the 15th and the last day of the month. Paying on the same rhythm is easy with Wise, Payoneer or PayPal, and it is appreciated.
General background, not legal or tax advice. What applies to you depends on how you engage the person (contractor or employee) and where your business is based, so ask a qualified adviser about your setup.
Agency, marketplace or direct: which route fits?
There are three ways to hire a Filipino VA. They differ in who screens the candidates and in how much of your money reaches the person doing the work.
| Route | What you pay | Who screens | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agency or BPO | One monthly fee with recruiting, management and margin built in | The agency | No time to hire, and you want a replacement if it does not work out |
| Freelance marketplace, such as Upwork | The VA rate plus marketplace fees on payments | You, from proposals | One-off projects and short contracts |
| Direct job platform, such as DonutJobs or OnlineJobs.ph | The VA rate plus a flat subscription ($0 to $99 a month on DonutJobs) | You, with filters and a trial task | Long-term roles you manage yourself |
DonutJobs covers two of these routes: the self-serve platform for hiring directly, and managed virtual assistants if you would rather have one person sourced, contracted and managed for you.
DonutJobs vs OnlineJobs.ph for hiring Filipino VAs
OnlineJobs.ph is the long-running Philippines-only job board and the default for many employers. The real differences are how you screen and what the free plan lets you do.
| Feature | DonutJobs | OnlineJobs.ph |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | 1 job, up to 10 applications, chat with applicants, no card | Up to 3 job posts and 15 applications per job, but no contacting or hiring workers |
| Paid plans | $99/mo, or from $55/mo on a 6-month term | PRO $69/mo, PREMIUM $99/mo, cheaper when paid yearly |
| Screening | Filter by English, typing and internet scores; play voice samples | Profiles and reviews; background checks and AI matching on PREMIUM |
| Where candidates live | 78.5% Philippines, plus 142 other countries | Philippines only |
| Per-hire fees | None | None |
Free plan
- DonutJobs
- 1 job, up to 10 applications, chat with applicants, no card
- OnlineJobs.ph
- Up to 3 job posts and 15 applications per job, but no contacting or hiring workers
Paid plans
- DonutJobs
- $99/mo, or from $55/mo on a 6-month term
- OnlineJobs.ph
- PRO $69/mo, PREMIUM $99/mo, cheaper when paid yearly
Screening
- DonutJobs
- Filter by English, typing and internet scores; play voice samples
- OnlineJobs.ph
- Profiles and reviews; background checks and AI matching on PREMIUM
Where candidates live
- DonutJobs
- 78.5% Philippines, plus 142 other countries
- OnlineJobs.ph
- Philippines only
Per-hire fees
- DonutJobs
- None
- OnlineJobs.ph
- None
The honest verdict
Pick OnlineJobs.ph if you want a much larger Philippines-only pool and are happy to screen applications yourself. Pick DonutJobs if you want to filter by measured English, typing and internet scores and hear voice samples before you read a single application, want to chat with applicants on the free plan, or also hire outside the Philippines.
OnlineJobs.ph facts perOnlineJobs.ph pricing, checked 25 Sep 2026.
Filipino virtual assistant FAQ
How much does a Filipino virtual assistant cost per hour?
The median Filipino candidate on DonutJobs asks $5 an hour and the 25th percentile asks $3, based on 1,259 new Filipino profiles (Sep 2026). That is about $433 a month for 20 hours a week or $867 for 40 hours. Add your platform fee and payment transfer costs on top.
How do I hire a virtual assistant from the Philippines?
Write a job post with the tasks, weekly hours, shift and rate, and post it on a job platform. Filter applicants by English, typing and internet scores, listen to their voice samples, run a short paid trial with your top two or three, agree the pay method in writing, and onboard with written processes and a daily overlap window.
Are Filipino virtual assistants good at English?
English is an official language in the Philippines and it shows in the data: the median Filipino test taker on DonutJobs scores 73% on our English test, which the app labels C1, across 8,858 tests as of Sep 2026. For calls, also listen to the recorded voice sample on the profile.
Can a Filipino VA work US business hours?
Yes, and many do. The Philippines is on UTC+8 with no daylight saving, so a 9 am to 5 pm day in New York is a night shift in Manila, which is a long-standing norm in the local outsourcing industry. State the shift in your job post so candidates who want night work apply, and expect a night-shift premium.
Do I have to pay 13th-month pay to a Filipino virtual assistant?
Philippine law requires local employers to pay 13th-month pay to employees. Overseas clients who engage a VA as an independent contractor often pay a December bonus of about one month's pay anyway, because it is widely expected. What applies to you depends on how you engage the person, so ask a qualified adviser. This is not legal advice.
What is the best way to pay a virtual assistant in the Philippines?
Most Filipino freelancers are set up for Wise, Payoneer or PayPal, and many also use local e-wallets. Ask which one they prefer, compare transfer and conversion fees, and pay on a fixed schedule, often twice a month. DonutJobs does not handle wages: you pay your VA directly, so no platform takes a cut of their pay.
Is it cheaper to hire a Filipino VA directly or through an agency?
Hiring directly is usually cheaper, because an agency's monthly fee includes its recruiting, management and margin on top of the wage. Hiring directly on DonutJobs costs the VA's rate plus a flat platform fee: $0 on the Free plan or $99 a month on Agency. An agency makes sense when you want no hiring work at all.
How many Filipino virtual assistants are on DonutJobs?
21,106 candidate profiles list the Philippines as their country, 78.5% of the pool, as of Sep 2026. Of those, 7,125 have completed the internet, English and typing checks and 3,129 have also recorded a voice sample, so you can filter to scored candidates. Skill tags are self-reported, so confirm them in a trial.
Hire your Filipino VA
with the scores up front.
Post the role free, filter applicants by their English, typing and internet scores, listen to their voice samples, run a paid trial, and pay your VA directly with no cut taken.
Free plan: 1 active job, up to 10 applications, no credit card. Agency plan $99/month, no per-hire fees.Compare plans