Updated May 23, 2026
Key Takeaways
- The VA savings calculation requires three inputs: hours currently spent on delegatable tasks, your opportunity cost per hour, and total VA cost per month.
- Most business owners underestimate both the hours spent on administrative tasks (usually 15-25 hrs/week) and their opportunity cost per hour.
- The payback period for most VA arrangements is 30-60 days - the math favors hiring faster than most people expect.
- Use conservative inputs in your estimate - even with pessimistic assumptions, VA ROI is typically strongly positive.
- Stealth Agents at $10/hr full-time costs ~$1,600-$2,000/month - most business owners recover that in recaptured time value within the first two weeks.
Before hiring a virtual assistant, most business owners want to know: will this actually save me money? The answer almost always yes - but the calculation matters because it tells you how many hours to delegate and what to pay.
Here is the framework for calculating VA cost savings before you make the hire.
The Three Inputs
Input 1: Hours currently spent on delegatable tasks
Track your time for one week. Mark every task that meets these criteria:
- Recurring (you do it regularly)
- Does not require your unique expertise or authority
- Could be handled remotely with written instructions
Examples: email sorting, scheduling, research, data entry, social media posting, customer follow-up, invoice tracking, report compilation.
Most business owners who do this exercise find 15-25 hours per week of delegatable work. Use your actual number.
Input 2: Your opportunity cost per hour
This is not your salary divided by hours worked. It is what one additional hour of focused work on your highest-value activities would produce.
Estimation method:
- How many new clients/deals could you close per month if you had 20 extra selling hours?
- What is the average deal value?
- Value per additional hour = (deals/month × deal value) / 20 hours
For most founders and business owners: $100-$500/hr is the realistic range.
Input 3: Total VA cost per month
Include all components:
- VA hourly rate × hours/month
- Your management time (4-6 hrs/month × your opportunity cost)
- Tools: $20-$50/month
- Payment processing: $5-$20/month
The Calculation
| Monthly value of recaptured time: | Hours delegated per month × your opportunity cost per hour |
|---|---|
| Monthly VA total cost: | VA labor + management overhead + tools + payment |
| Net monthly savings: | Value of recaptured time - Total VA cost |
| Payback period: | First-month onboarding investment (hours) × opportunity cost / net monthly savings |
Worked Examples
Example 1: Solopreneur, 20 hrs/week delegatable tasks
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours delegatable per month | 80 hrs |
| Opportunity cost | $150/hr |
| VA rate (Philippines, Stealth Agents) | $10/hr |
| VA hours/month | 80 hrs |
| Component | Monthly Amount |
|---|---|
| Value of recaptured time (80 × $150) | $12,000 |
| VA labor (80 × $10) | $800 |
| Management overhead (5 hrs × $150) | $750 |
| Tools | $40 |
| Total VA cost | $1,590 |
| Net monthly savings | $10,410 |
| ROI | 655% |
Example 2: Conservative case, 10 hrs/week, lower opportunity cost
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Hours delegatable per month | 40 hrs |
| Opportunity cost | $75/hr |
| VA rate | $10/hr |
| Component | Monthly Amount |
|---|---|
| Value of recaptured time (40 × $75) | $3,000 |
| VA labor (40 × $10) | $400 |
| Management overhead (4 hrs × $75) | $300 |
| Tools | $30 |
| Total VA cost | $730 |
| Net monthly savings | $2,270 |
| ROI | 311% |
Example 3: Break-even analysis — what opportunity cost makes a VA worthwhile?
For a full-time VA at $1,800/month all-in, recapturing 160 hours/month:
Break-even opportunity cost = $1,800 / 160 hrs = $11.25/hr
If your time is worth more than $11.25/hr - which it is for virtually any business owner - a full-time VA at Stealth Agents' rates is cost-positive.
Common Estimation Mistakes
Using salary as opportunity cost. Your salary is what you currently earn. Your opportunity cost is what you could earn if that time were freed for high-value work. For most business owners, these are significantly different.
Underestimating delegatable hours. When you have not tracked your time, it is easy to underestimate how much is spent on administrative work. Do the time-tracking exercise before estimating.
Forgetting the ramp period. Month one requires more of your time - onboarding, SOP writing, feedback. Build in 15-20 extra hours of your time for month one, which reduces month-one ROI but does not change the long-term calculation.
Only counting direct task time. Recaptured time is only valuable if redirected to high-value work. If you use the freed time to watch Netflix, the value is zero. The calculation assumes you use the time productively.
The Quick Estimate
If you do not want to run the full calculation, use this rule of thumb:
If you spend more than 10 hours per week on tasks a VA could handle, and your time is worth more than $20/hr, a Philippines-based VA at $10/hr pays for itself. The payback period is measured in weeks, not months.
Stealth Agents' dedicated VAs starting at $10/hr represent one of the most cost-accessible entries into dedicated VA support. The savings calculation almost always favors moving forward faster than most business owners expect.