Where is the best place to hire a virtual assistant?

The best place to hire a virtual assistant depends on how much hiring support you need. Freelance marketplaces offer large candidate pools but usually require more employer-led screening. VA agencies handle more of the sourcing and matching process. Hiring platforms can provide a middle ground by giving employers candidate choice while assisting with screening and coordination.

Your best option depends on four factors: candidate selection, screening support, total hiring cost, and how much control you want over the final hire.

Key takeaways

• Best for maximum candidate choice: Freelance marketplaces.

• Best for less employer involvement: Managed virtual assistant agencies.

• Best for balancing choice and hiring support: Screening-assisted hiring platforms.

• Best for Filipino talent: Compare Philippines-focused platforms based on screening, fees, candidate quality, and employer control.

Best places to hire a virtual assistant at a glance

Virtual assistant websites use different hiring models. Some give you access to a large pool of freelancers, others recruit and match candidates for you, while hiring platforms can assist with parts of the hiring process without taking the final decision away from the employer.

The most important difference isn't simply the number of candidates available. It's how much work you need to do between finding candidates and making a hire.

How to choose the best place to hire a virtual assistant

Finding the best place to hire a virtual assistant starts with deciding how much recruiting work you want the platform to handle. The right option should match not only the type of VA you need, but also your preferred level of screening, support, and control.

A website with thousands of virtual assistants can give you plenty of options, but someone still needs to review applications, evaluate experience, communicate with candidates, and decide who is worth interviewing.

Use these factors to narrow your choices.

Step 1. Decide how much screening you want to do

Start with a simple question:

Do you only need access to candidates, or do you also want help narrowing them down?

With a freelance marketplace or direct-hire job board, employers generally take greater responsibility for:

• writing the role or job post

• reviewing profiles and applications

• evaluating experience

• shortlisting candidates

• following up with applicants

• coordinating interviews

This can work well if you are comfortable recruiting or already have someone on your team who can manage the process.

A managed VA agency typically handles more of the sourcing and matching.

A screening-assisted hiring platform sits between these approaches. You remain involved in choosing the person you hire while getting help with repetitive parts of the recruiting workflow.

Step 2. Decide whether you need project-based or ongoing support

The right platform also depends on the work. 

If you need someone to work closely with leadership, manage competing priorities, and take greater ownership, you may need an Executive Assistant rather than a general VA. Our virtual assistant vs executive assistant guide explains how the two roles differ.

A freelance or gig marketplace may be enough if you need someone for a defined project, such as:

• cleaning a spreadsheet

• conducting online research

• formatting documents

• uploading products

• scheduling a batch of social media posts

Long-term support is different.

If you need recurring help with inbox management, customer support, bookkeeping, operations, executive support, or other ongoing responsibilities, prioritize reliability, communication, availability, experience, and ownership rather than simply choosing the lowest project price.

Step 3. Consider where you want to hire

Virtual assistants can be hired locally or internationally.

Some platforms provide global talent pools, while others focus on specific markets such as the Philippines.

If you already know you want Filipino remote talent, using a Philippines-focused platform can narrow your candidate search. A global marketplace may make more sense if location is less important or you need a particularly specialized skill.

Where you hire can also affect rates, time-zone overlap, candidate availability, and hiring competition.

Step 4. Compare total hiring cost

Don't compare platforms using the VA's hourly rate alone.

Your actual hiring cost can include:

• candidate compensation

• subscriptions or platform fees

• recruitment fees

• agency markups

• software

• onboarding

• payment or payroll costs

• the time you spend screening candidates

For a detailed breakdown of rates and monthly budgets, see our guide to how much it costs to hire a virtual assistant.

Hire your first VA from the Philippines.

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Step 5. Decide how much control you want

Some employers want to personally review candidates, conduct interviews, negotiate compensation, and choose exactly who joins their team.

Others would rather delegate more of the process.

Neither approach is automatically better.

The best place to hire a virtual assistant is the one that gives you the right balance between hiring support and control for your business.

Step 6. Look at candidate quality, not just candidate quantity

A large candidate database does not automatically make hiring easier.

Look for evidence of:

• relevant experience

• clear communication

• reliability

• attention to detail

• role-specific skills

• judgment

• ownership

• remote-work readiness

For ongoing roles, the goal isn't simply to find someone who can perform a task. It's to find someone you can trust to handle that work consistently.

Which VA hiring model should you choose?

Use your biggest priority to narrow down the options.

Once you know which model fits, comparing individual virtual assistant websites becomes much easier.

7 best places to hire a virtual assistant

The following options serve different hiring needs. Rather than treating one website as universally ‘best,’ compare each based on what you want the platform to do for you.

1. HeyVA: best for Filipino remote talent with screening assistance

Type: Hiring platform
 Talent: Filipino remote professionals
 Best for: Employers who want Filipino talent without manually handling every repetitive screening step
 Watch for: HeyVA focuses specifically on talent from the Philippines rather than a global freelance pool.

HeyVA is designed for employers who want to stay in control of hiring while reducing the repetitive work involved in getting from applicants to stronger candidates.

Alexandra, HeyVA's AI hiring manager, can assist with:

• defining the role

• screening applicants against your criteria

• candidate follow-ups

• interview coordination

Alexandra helps reduce repetitive screening work so you can focus more attention on candidates who better match the criteria you've set.

You still decide who you want to interview and who ultimately gets hired.

That makes HeyVA particularly relevant for founders, executives, agency owners, small businesses, and growing teams that want Filipino remote talent but don't want another candidate database to manually sort through.

If this hiring model fits your business, you can hire a virtual assistant through HeyVA based on the skills, experience, and rate you're looking for.

Hire your first VA from the Philippines.

 Get Started → 

2. Upwork: best for a large global freelance talent pool

Type: Freelance marketplace
 Talent: Global
 Best for: Broad candidate selection and flexible freelance arrangements
 Watch for: Employers generally take a more active role in screening and selecting freelancers.

Upwork gives businesses access to virtual assistants across many countries, experience levels, and specializations.

Employers can post jobs, search profiles, review work histories and feedback, invite candidates, and conduct interviews before hiring.

That flexibility makes Upwork useful when you want access to a large talent pool or need a freelancer with a particular skill.

The trade-off is employer involvement. Having more candidates to choose from can also mean spending more time deciding which candidates are genuinely right for the role.

3. OnlineJobs.ph: best for direct access to Filipino remote workers

Type: Direct-hire marketplace
Talent: Philippines
 Best for: Employers comfortable managing recruitment themselves
Watch for: Direct hiring generally requires greater employer involvement in candidate evaluation.

OnlineJobs.ph focuses on Filipino remote workers and gives employers the ability to search profiles, post jobs, communicate with applicants, interview candidates, and hire directly.

If you're considering OnlineJobs.ph but want to compare other ways to hire Filipino talent, see our guide to the best OnlineJobs.ph alternatives.

This can make it a strong option if you already know you want to hire from the Philippines and prefer a hands-on recruiting process.

Its direct-hire model gives employers considerable control, but that control also means taking greater responsibility for deciding which candidates deserve further consideration.

4. Fiverr: best for defined or short-term VA tasks

Type: Gig marketplace
Talent: Global
Best for: Clearly scoped tasks and short-term projects
 Watch for: A task-based model may not suit every long-term support role.

Fiverr can make sense when you already know exactly what needs to be completed.

Examples might include:

• data entry

• online research

• document formatting

• simple administrative projects

• content uploads

For clearly defined deliverables, a gig marketplace can be simpler than running a full recruitment process.

If you need someone to learn your business, work with you consistently, and take ownership of recurring responsibilities, a longer-term hiring model may be a better fit.

5. BELAY: best for employers who want a managed service

Type: Managed VA service
 Talent: U.S.-focused
Best for: Employers who want more of the matching process handled
Watch for: Compare total service pricing rather than the assistant's hourly compensation alone.

BELAY takes a more managed approach to virtual assistance than an open freelance marketplace.

Instead of requiring employers to browse a large database and recruit independently, the service focuses on matching businesses with virtual support.

This model may suit employers who place a higher value on reducing their involvement in sourcing and matching.

6. Time etc: best for part-time managed assistance

Type: Managed virtual assistant service
 Talent: U.S./UK-focused
Best for: Recurring part-time administrative support
 Watch for: The managed model provides a different level of candidate control than an open marketplace.

Time etc is designed for businesses and executives looking for ongoing virtual assistance without independently recruiting through a large freelancer database.

This can make it useful when you need recurring administrative support and prefer a more managed sourcing experience.

7. Wing Assistant: best for ongoing managed remote support

Type: Managed remote staffing service
 Talent: Global
Best for: Businesses looking for recurring remote support
 Watch for: Compare the overall service model with direct hiring if candidate control is a priority.

Wing Assistant focuses more on ongoing remote support than one-off freelance projects.

This model may appeal to businesses that need recurring operational or administrative help and prefer a provider to manage more of the staffing process.

Virtual assistant marketplace vs agency vs hiring platform

Choosing the right hiring model can be more important than choosing the website itself. Check this for a clear comparison between each model.

When comparing the best places to hire a virtual assistants, look beyond the size of the candidate pool. Consider how each platform handles sourcing, screening, candidate communication, fees, and employer involvement.

Freelance marketplace: Best when you want broad candidate access and are comfortable sourcing and screening people yourself.

VA agency: If you prefer more support with sourcing, screening, or matching, compare the best virtual assistant agencies to see how different providers handle the hiring process.

If you need to build a broader remote team rather than hire a single VA, a remote staffing agency is another hiring model worth considering.

Hiring platform: Best when you want to retain candidate choice while getting support with parts of the recruiting workflow.

If you're comparing managed services with other ways to hire Filipino talent, our guide to choosing a virtual assistant agency in the Philippines explains these models in more detail.

What's the best virtual assistant website for your situation?

There isn't one answer for every employer. Start with the outcome you care about most.

Best if you want Filipino virtual assistants

Look at Philippines-focused hiring platforms and marketplaces.

HeyVA is designed around Filipino remote talent with screening assistance, while OnlineJobs.ph gives employers a more direct route to searching and recruiting Filipino candidates.

The right choice depends largely on how much screening you want to manage yourself.

Best if you want the largest possible talent pool

A global freelance marketplace is generally a better fit when candidate volume and geographic diversity are your priorities.

This can be useful if location matters less than finding a particular skill or specialization.

Best if you want less candidate screening

Choose a managed VA service or screening-assisted hiring platform if you want to spend less time reviewing applicants.

This can be particularly useful for founders and small teams that need more capacity but don't want the hiring process to create another time-consuming workload.

Best for one-off tasks

A gig or freelance marketplace can be the simplest option when the assignment has a clear deliverable and limited scope.

You may not need a full recruitment process for a few hours of defined work.

Best for ongoing administrative support

For recurring support, prioritize reliability, communication, availability, experience, and working-style fit.

A long-term hiring platform, direct-hire marketplace, or managed VA service may make more sense than choosing someone purely on project price.

If you're still deciding whether ongoing support would make a meaningful difference to your workload, explore the reasons to hire a virtual assistant before choosing a hiring platform.

Best if you want a managed hiring experience

Consider a VA agency or managed service if you want the provider to handle more of the sourcing and matching process.

This can reduce employer involvement, although you should compare service costs, candidate choice, and the amount of control you retain.

Is the Philippines a good place to hire a virtual assistant?

Yes. The Philippines is an established market for remote and outsourced support, with professionals working across administrative, customer support, operations, marketing, bookkeeping, e-commerce, and executive-assistance roles.

Employers can hire Filipino virtual assistants through Philippines-focused platforms or find them through global freelance marketplaces.

The Philippines can be particularly attractive to international employers looking for long-term remote talent and competitive hiring costs.

But hiring from the Philippines should not mean hiring based on the lowest available rate.

Evaluate candidates for experience, communication, reliability, role-specific skills, judgment, and their ability to take ownership of the work.

What should you check before choosing a virtual assistant platform?

Before choosing a platform, ask these seven questions:

1. Does it have candidates for the role you need?
    A large database is not useful if the relevant skills and experience are missing.

2. Who handles candidate screening?
    Find out whether you receive an open applicant pool, matched profiles, or candidates who have already gone through some form of screening.

3. How much of the hiring process will you manage?
    Consider job posting, applicant review, follow-ups, interviews, and final selection.

4. What will you actually pay?
    Compare candidate compensation separately from subscriptions, platform fees, recruitment fees, or agency charges.

5. Can you interview and choose candidates yourself?
    For ongoing roles, direct interviews can help you assess communication and working style.

6. What happens if the hire doesn't work out?
    Replacement and rehiring support can vary considerably between providers.

7. Is the model suitable for the relationship you want?
    A platform built for one-off projects may not be the best choice for someone you expect to support your business for years.

How HeyVA approaches virtual assistant hiring

Access to candidates isn't always the hardest part of hiring. Deciding which applicants are worth your time often is.

HeyVA is built to help reduce that workload while keeping the employer in control of the hiring decision.

1. Tell HeyVA what you need and who you're looking for

Start with the responsibilities you want delegated, the experience you need, and what a successful hire should be able to own.

2. Alexandra assists with screening

Alexandra, HeyVA's AI hiring manager, can help evaluate applicants against the criteria you set.

The goal is to reduce repetitive screening work rather than replace employer judgment.

3. Review stronger matches

Focus your attention on candidates who more closely align with the requirements you've defined.

4. Interview the candidates you want to meet

Alexandra can assist with candidate follow-ups and interview coordination so you spend more of your time evaluating people rather than chasing schedules.

5. Make the final hiring decision

You stay in control.

HeyVA can assist with the hiring workflow, but you decide who to interview and who ultimately joins your team.

If you want Filipino remote talent with screening assistance rather than another candidate database to sort through yourself, find a virtual assistant with HeyVA.

Choose the best place to hire a virtual assistant

The best place to hire a virtual assistant depends on how much control, screening support, and flexibility you want. The right platform should help you find the right person without creating more work for your team.

If you're looking for Filipino remote talent, HeyVA helps reduce repetitive screening and coordination while keeping you in control of the final hiring decision.