Where to Find a Virtual Assistant: 6 Options Compared
Upwork, OnlineJobs.ph, LinkedIn, referrals, agencies, and managed VA services compared on cost, speed, quality, and risk.
There’s no shortage of virtual assistants. There’s a shortage of time to sort through them. Here are the six main places small businesses find VAs, with honest tradeoffs for each.
1. Upwork and Fiverr
Best for: one-off projects and specialized freelancers.
Huge talent pools and built-in payment protection. But platform fees add up on long-term work, many freelancers juggle several clients, and you do all the vetting. Great for “design five social templates.” Harder for “be my full-time assistant.”
2. OnlineJobs.ph
Best for: owners hiring a Filipino VA directly and willing to screen.
A job board specifically for Filipino remote workers. Many candidates want long-term, full-time roles with one employer, which is ideal. You pay a subscription to contact applicants, then you handle screening, testing, contracts, and payment yourself. Expect to review a lot of applications.
3. LinkedIn and job boards
Best for: nearshore and specialized roles.
Useful for Latin American talent and for experienced specialists (bookkeepers, marketers). Volume can be overwhelming, and you’ll still do every step of screening.
4. Referrals
Best for: anyone with a network of owners who already use VAs.
Often the best quality. A VA vouched for by another owner comes with real performance data. The catch is supply: good VAs are usually busy, and referrals are slow to scale beyond one hire.
5. Traditional VA agencies
Best for: owners who want someone to call when things go wrong.
Agencies pre-vet and often provide backup coverage. The tradeoff is cost and transparency. Many charge a single all-in hourly rate and pay the VA a fraction of it. That isn’t automatically bad, but it can hurt retention if the VA feels underpaid, and you can’t see the split.
6. Placement and managed services
Best for: owners who want a vetted hire and transparent costs.
Models like GrowthToro charge a one-time placement fee to recruit and test candidates, then either hand the VA to you (direct hire) or manage payroll, time tracking, and support for a flat monthly fee. You see exactly what the VA earns.
Comparison at a glance
| Source | Your time | Upfront cost | Ongoing cost | Quality control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upwork/Fiverr | High | Low | Platform fees | You |
| OnlineJobs.ph | High | Subscription | None | You |
| High | Low | None | You | |
| Referrals | Low | None | None | Referrer |
| Agency | Low | Low | Markup on wage | Agency |
| Placement/managed | Low | Placement fee | Optional flat fee | Provider |
How to choose
Ask yourself two questions:
- Do I have 10–20 hours to source and screen? If not, skip the DIY options.
- Do I want to manage payroll, contracts, and replacements? If not, choose a managed model.
Read our deeper comparison of agencies vs freelancers, or start a GrowthToro match and get three tested finalists in about two weeks.
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