There are three ways to hire a Filipino virtual assistant, and they differ on two questions: who finds and screens the person, and who handles them after they start. Get those two right and the choice gets easy. Here’s how the options compare on cost, effort and risk.
Quick answer: Hire directly if you have a few hours to screen candidates and are happy to pay and manage your VA yourself; it’s the cheapest. Use a done-for-you hiring service if you want someone else to find and screen candidates but still want to hire directly, with no ongoing markup. Use an agency or managed service if you want someone else to handle pay, attendance and replacements every month, and you’re willing to pay a monthly markup for it.
| Hire directly | Done-for-you hiring | Agency or managed service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who finds & screens | You | The service | The agency |
| Who pays & manages the VA | You | You | The agency |
| How you pay | A job board fee (from $29 one-time) | One fee per hire | Placement: 15–25% of first-year salary. Managed: a monthly markup, often 10–25% |
| Ongoing fees | None | None | Monthly, for as long as a managed VA works for you |
| Your time | Most | Little up front | Least overall |
| If it doesn’t work out | You hire again | Usually a replacement period | The agency replaces them |
| Best for | Owners comfortable interviewing | Busy owners who want a direct relationship | Owners who want payroll and HR off their plate |
You post a job, review applicants, run interviews and pay your VA yourself, usually as an independent contractor. It’s the cheapest route because nobody takes a cut of the salary, and you build a direct relationship from day one. The cost is your time: writing a good post, sorting applicants and running two or three interviews. Job boards range from free Facebook groups to $69–$99 a month on OnlineJobs.ph; on WorkBase PH it’s $29 one-time per post. See how to hire without a monthly subscription for every low-cost option. Once you’ve hired, our guide to managing a remote team in the Philippines covers time zones, tools, feedback and the 2026 public holidays.
Want to hire directly?
Post a job on WorkBase PH for a flat $29, with no subscription and no fees for the people you hire. Filipino specialists are matched to your role, and their profiles can include a video or audio intro.
Post a Job — $29 → Or let our team hire for you →A done-for-you service does the recruiting part (sourcing, screening, interviews, reference checks) and hands you a shortlist. You choose who to hire and then pay and manage them directly. Unlike a traditional recruiter, a flat-fee service doesn’t charge a percentage of salary, so the fee doesn’t grow with the role’s pay, and there’s nothing monthly afterwards. It suits owners who are short on time but don’t want a middleman on the payroll.
“Agency” covers two different models. A recruitment agency charges a one-time placement fee, usually 15–25% of the hire’s first-year salary, and you employ the person afterwards. A managed VA agency or staff-leasing provider keeps the VA on its own books and bills you every month: their pay plus a markup, often 10–25%, sometimes as one all-in hourly rate. You get the least admin, since the agency handles pay, attendance and replacements, but you pay that markup for as long as the arrangement runs. Our recruitment agency fees guide breaks the models down further.
Take a mid-level VA at $700 a month ($8,400 a year). The salary is the same every way; what changes is what you pay on top:
You don’t have to pick a different company for each option. WorkBase PH gives you three ways to hire Filipino remote talent:
Directly is cheaper, because no one takes a cut of the salary, but you do the screening and manage the VA yourself. An agency costs more, either a one-time placement fee or a monthly markup, but takes work off your plate. A done-for-you service sits in between: someone else screens, and you still hire directly.
Recruitment agencies usually charge 15–25% of the hire’s first-year salary, once. Managed VA agencies and staff-leasing providers bill every month: the VA’s pay plus a markup, often 10–25%.
A service that finds, screens and interviews candidates for you, then hands you a shortlist to choose from. You hire and pay the person directly. With WorkBase PH it’s one flat fee per hire, quoted up front, with no percentage of salary and no subscription.
You do, usually as an independent contractor. You agree the rate, pay them directly (Wise and Payoneer are common) and manage their work. With a managed agency, the agency is the one paying them.
Hiring directly. Free groups and referrals cost nothing in fees, and WorkBase PH costs $29 one-time per job post. See our guide to hiring a Filipino VA without a monthly subscription.
Post a job for $29 one-time and hire yourself, have our team do the hiring for one flat fee per hire, or let us manage your hire month to month.
See Done-For-You Hiring →Prefer to hire yourself? Post a job for $29 one-time →Building more than a hire? Explore Launch Startup Services →
Sources: agency fee ranges from our recruitment agency fees guide (John Clements, Manila Recruitment, GigaBPO); OnlineJobs.ph pricing as published, September 2026; VA pay from our salary guide. Agencies set their own terms, so always confirm in writing.
Related: Hire Without a Subscription → · Recruitment Agency Fees in the Philippines · 5 Best Recruitment & Staffing Agencies · How to Hire a Filipino VA