# VA vs in-house front desk cost calculator

Source: https://seconddesk.net/tools/va-vs-in-house-calculator
Updated: 2026-11-07

Enter your hours, rates and an in-house salary to see what a virtual assistant and an in-house hire each cost per year, including your management time and recruiting.

## Your numbers

- Hours per week needed. Example: 40 hours. Change it to the hours you need.
- VA hourly rate ($). Example: $14, Second Desk's full-time rate. Part time is $16 with a 20 hour weekly minimum.
- Your management hours per week for the VA. Example: 3 hours. Change it to the time you expect to spend.
- Cost of your management time per hour ($). Example: $50 per hour. Change it to what your time is worth.
- In-house annual salary ($). Example: $42,000. Change it to the salary you would pay.
- Benefits and payroll taxes (%). Example: 20%. Change it to your own estimate.
- Recruiting and training cost ($). Example: $3,000. Change it to your own estimate.

Every starting value is an example. Replace each one with your own numbers.

## Results

- VA annual cost
- In-house annual cost
- Annual difference (in-house minus VA)
- VA effective cost per hour

## How does the calculator work out each cost?

- VA annual cost: hours per week times 52 times the VA hourly rate, plus your management hours per week times 52 times the cost of your time.
- In-house annual cost: the salary plus benefits and payroll taxes as a percentage of salary, plus recruiting and training.
- Annual difference: the in-house annual cost minus the VA annual cost.
- VA effective cost per hour: the VA annual cost divided by the hours the VA works in a year.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does a medical virtual assistant cost with Second Desk?

Part time is $16 per hour with a 20 hour weekly minimum. Full time is $14 per hour for 40 hours per week. After the first 30 days, it is month to month.

### How much does an assistant cost per week?

At the published rates, the 20 hour part time minimum is $320 per week at $16 per hour, and 40 full time hours are $560 per week at $14 per hour.

### Is there a contract?

Month to month after the first 30 days.

### What work stays with your licensed staff?

Clinical judgment and clinical decisions, crisis triage and calls from clients in distress, clinical notes, and diagnosis and clinical history.

Rates: https://seconddesk.net/pricing. Meet a candidate: https://seconddesk.net/contact