If you are a solo founder weighing up a virtual assistant agency, the marketing language is the least useful part. The numbers are what you can check. Here is the data behind VA Masters, a virtual assistant recruitment agency that places Filipino virtual assistants with businesses worldwide, with the period or sample attached to each figure.
The short version
- Price: from $6.50 per hour, with no upfront, setup or recruitment fees
- Selectivity: about 1 in 508 applicants placed
- Scale: 1,000+ VAs placed and 500+ clients
- Client profile: mostly very small teams
- Reviews: an average of 5/5 on Trustpilot, Indeed and Glassdoor
Pricing
Rates start from $6.50 per hour, depending on the role, and the company says clients can save up to 80% compared with local hiring. The gap reflects the cost of living in the Philippines. It is not a discount on quality, and VA Masters positions its assistants as affordable talent at fair local market rates.
The agency does not charge to start. There are no upfront fees, no setup fees and no recruitment fees. Contract details vary by client, so get the terms in writing.
How selective is the vetting?
All figures in this section come from VA Masters’ Filipino Virtual Assistant Statistics 2026 report, which covers 166,350 applications processed between January 2025 and July 2026.
| Metric | Figure | Period |
| Applicants placed | About 1 in 508 (0.2%) | Jan 2025–Jul 2026 |
| Hires fluent or native in English | 80% (vs 62% of the applicant pool) | Jan 2025–Jul 2026 |
| Hires with 3+ years of experience | 65% (vs 36% of the pool) | Jan 2025–Jul 2026 |
| Median time to close a position | 18 days | Jan 2025–Jul 2026, 296 placements |
| Placements, Q1 to Q2 2026 | Up 110% | Q1 vs Q2 2026 |
Two things stand out. The filter is strict, and it favours experience and English fluency. The hiring pool is also very large, which is how a company can be selective and still fill roles in days rather than months.
In practice, the six stages narrow the field step by step: detailed job posting, candidate collection, screening, a custom skills test when needed, in-depth interviews, and a final client interview with the top two or three candidates.
“Everyone talks about the Philippines as a source of affordable talent. What the data actually shows is a talent pool so deep that we place fewer than one in 500 applicants. The story here isn’t cost, it’s selectivity.” — Alon Pearl, Founder & CEO, VA Masters
Who the clients are
As of July 2026, 87% of active clients have fewer than 50 employees and 57% have 10 or fewer. By geography, 69% of clients are in the US, 11% in the UK and 9% in Australia and New Zealand. About 81% found VA Masters through its website, and 1 in 5 clients expanded their team with further hires.
For a founder, the useful read is simple: this is a model used mostly by small teams like yours.
What the reviews say
VA Masters holds an average 5/5 rating on Trustpilot, Indeed and Glassdoor. The company also reports a 98% client satisfaction rate and about 90% VA retention.
Reviews are most useful when you read what they praise. On Trustpilot, a client wrote that tasks “get done the first time correctly, with minimal hand-holding,” and another said that having repetitive tasks taken off their plate “frees up my time for clients and content.” A VA on Glassdoor said, “They always make sure I am supported.”
What the numbers do not tell you
Statistics describe a process, not your specific hire. Fit still depends on the role you define, the skills test and your own interview. A strong approach is to treat the shortlist as the start of due diligence: run a paid trial task, agree the contract in writing, and set a 30-minute weekly check-in from the first week.
Frequently asked questions
How much does VA Masters cost? From $6.50 per hour, depending on the role. There are no upfront fees, setup fees or recruitment fees.
How selective is VA Masters? About 1 in 508 applicants is placed, based on 166,350 applications processed between January 2025 and July 2026.
What size of business does VA Masters work with? Mostly small teams. As of July 2026, 87% of active clients have fewer than 50 employees and 57% have 10 or fewer.
How good is the English of VA Masters’ assistants? Among hires between January 2025 and July 2026, 80% were fluent or native English speakers, compared with 62% of applicants.
Where can I read the original data? In the full Filipino Virtual Assistant Statistics 2026 report. For the company itself, see VA Masters.
Data as of July 2026. See the full report for the latest figures.
