TL;DR
Belay pricing is not published as a rate card. Belay quotes each client after a call, and its own FAQ says US-based virtual assistants usually charge $30 to $75 an hour, or about $1,200 to $3,000 a month for part-time help. That suits 10 or so hours of US-based support a week. For a full-time assistant, a dedicated offshore hire through Adaptive Teams usually costs far less per hour.
You searched for a price and found a "talk to us" button. That is the normal experience with Belay, and it makes budgeting hard when you are weighing a virtual assistant against a full hire. This page pulls together what Belay says in public, what outside estimates add, and how the numbers compare with a dedicated assistant on a monthly salary.
Belay pricing compared with a dedicated hire
The table sets the two models next to each other on the points that decide the bill. Belay figures come from Belay's own pages and one outside estimate, linked in the sections below. Adaptive Teams figures are our published terms.
| Belay | Adaptive Teams | |
|---|---|---|
| Published price list | No, quoted after a call | Yes, fee percentages are public |
| How the price is built | Monthly price set by hours and role | Agreed monthly salary plus a staffing fee of 30% to 60% of that salary |
| Typical hourly cost | $30 to $75 for US-based VAs (Belay FAQ) | About $15 for a full-time assistant on a $1,500 salary |
| Where the assistant works from | United States | Remote, usually outside the US |
| Who the assistant works for | Fractional support from a Belay contractor | Your team only, as a dedicated hire |
| Time to a match | As little as one week (Belay homepage) | Depends on the role; recruitment is included |
| If the match fails | The "BELAY Guarantee" | Free replacement in the first 2 months |
| Contract | Agreement sent after a fit is confirmed | Month to month, 30 days notice |
What does Belay actually charge?
Belay does not list prices on its site. Its FAQ on what a US virtual assistant costs gives a market range instead: $30 to $75 an hour, which it translates into about $1,200 to $3,000 a month for part-time support. Belay's FAQ adds that its own model sits at the premium end because the price includes onboarding help and a support system around the assistant.
Do the arithmetic on that range and it points to roughly 40 hours a month. At $30 an hour, $1,200 buys 40 hours. At $75 an hour, $3,000 buys the same 40 hours. So the published range describes about 10 hours of help a week, priced by how senior the work is.
What outside estimates say
Third parties fill the gap with guesses. South, a staffing firm that competes with Belay, publishes a Belay pricing estimate of about $42 to $46 an hour. It puts 20 hours a week at $1,600 to $2,000 a month and 40 hours a week at $2,500 to $3,500. South does not name its sources, so read those numbers as a rival's estimate and ask Belay for a written quote.
What moves your quote up or down
Belay's FAQ names four drivers. Specialized work like bookkeeping or marketing costs more than general admin. More weekly hours raise the monthly figure. Assistants who have supported executives charge more. US-based help costs more than offshore help, which is the one driver you control most directly.
What the Belay price includes
The Belay homepage describes the service as a managed one, with a client success team, regular check-ins and onboarding. It says only 3% of applicants become Belay contractors, reports a 93% first-match success rate, and says it can match you in as little as one week.
That support is real value if you have never worked with an assistant before. Someone else screens candidates, someone else steps in when the fit is wrong, and the assistant arrives briefed on your systems. You pay for that layer inside the hourly rate.
What it does not include
Belay sells fractional support from contractors. You buy a share of someone's week, and their attention is split with their other work. Bookkeeping, payroll and accounting sit in a separate Belay financial line. The homepage also does not list contract length, minimum hours or cancellation terms, so get those in writing before you sign.
How much does a full-time virtual assistant cost each way?
Scale changes the comparison. Ten hours a week at a US rate is affordable. Forty hours a week at the same rate is a full salary.
Take Belay's own range and stretch it to a full-time month of about 160 hours. At $30 an hour that is $4,800 a month. At $75 an hour it is $12,000. Few founders pay that for admin help, which is why most Belay clients buy part-time packages.
The same seat as a dedicated hire
With Adaptive Teams you agree a monthly salary with the candidate, then pay a staffing fee as a percentage of it. The bands are public: 60% for salaries up to $1,500, 50% up to $2,500, 40% up to $3,500, 35% up to $4,500 and 30% above that. Recruitment is included in the fee.
Here is how that works for an executive assistant on a $1,500 monthly salary:
- Salary: $1,500.
- Staffing fee at 60%: $900.
- Total: $2,400 a month for a full-time, dedicated assistant.
Spread over 160 hours, that comes to about $15 an hour. A more senior assistant on $2,000 falls in the 50% band, so the fee is $1,000 and the month costs $3,000. That is still the top of Belay's part-time range, for four times the hours.
If you would rather run the person yourself, recruitment only costs $4,000 flat per hire. You then employ and pay the assistant directly. Our breakdown of what a remote executive assistant costs walks through every model, from freelancers to a US hire.
When Belay is the better pick
A US-based part-time assistant is the right call in a few situations. Pick Belay if your work needs a US resident, for example in-person errands, US phone presence during your local hours, or clients who expect an American voice. It also fits when you have fewer than 10 hours of delegable work a week and no plan to grow it.
Belay makes sense too if you want a vendor to own the relationship. Its client success team handles the match and the check-ins, so you never manage hiring at all. For a solo founder testing delegation for the first time, that safety net can be worth the higher hourly rate.
When a dedicated hire wins
The math flips once the work fills most of a week. An assistant who handles your inbox, calendar, CRM and vendor follow-ups every day builds context that a part-time contractor cannot. That context is where the time savings come from.
A dedicated hire also suits roles that will grow. A second hire, say in operations or bookkeeping, runs on the same fee bands. If you are unsure which shape fits, our comparison of a virtual assistant vs a remote employee sets out the trade-offs.
How to get a real number this week
You can turn this into a budget in an afternoon. Log one week of tasks you could hand off, with the hours each takes. Under 10 hours points to a part-time service. Over 20 points to a dedicated hire.
Then ask both sides the same questions in writing. What is the monthly price for my hours? What happens to unused hours? What are the notice period and any fee for hiring the assistant directly? Belay does not publish these answers, so a written quote is the only way to compare fairly.
Vetting matters more than price once you hand over inbox and payment access. Our guide to hiring an overseas executive assistant you can trust covers the checks we run before a candidate reaches you. For the full recruiting process, see our remote recruitment services.
Frequently asked questions
Does Belay publish its prices?
No. Belay does not show a rate card on its website and quotes each client after a consultation. Its FAQ gives a market range of $30 to $75 an hour for US-based virtual assistants, or about $1,200 to $3,000 a month for part-time support. Ask for the quote and contract terms in writing.
How many hours do you get for Belay's monthly price?
Belay does not publish hour packages. Its own range of $1,200 to $3,000 a month at $30 to $75 an hour works out to about 40 hours a month, or 10 hours a week. Outside estimates mention 20 and 40 hour weekly packages, but Belay has not confirmed those figures publicly.
Is a Belay assistant cheaper than hiring someone full-time?
For part-time help, usually yes, because you skip recruiting and payroll entirely. For full-time work, usually no. At Belay's FAQ rates, 160 hours a month costs $4,800 to $12,000. A dedicated offshore assistant on a $1,500 salary through Adaptive Teams costs $2,400 a month, staffing fee included.
What does Adaptive Teams charge for a virtual assistant?
You pay the agreed monthly salary plus a staffing fee of 60% up to $1,500, 50% to $2,500, 40% to $3,500, 35% to $4,500 and 30% above. Recruitment is included, replacement is free in the first 2 months, and the agreement runs month to month with 30 days notice.
Written by the people who recruit, pay and manage remote teams every day, with Nate Ginsburg and Menno Gottmer. About Adaptive Teams
