Hire MBA-Level Virtual Personal Assistants from the Philippines, Latin America, and South Africa.

Save up to 70% compared to local USA salaries, without sacrificing quality.

Our Full Time Dedicated Virtual Personal Assistants have experience with these well-known companies:

Ataraxis helps growing companies hire Full Time Dedicated Virtual Personal Assistants in 2 weeks or less

Whether you’re new to offshore hiring or looking to expand, we’ll guide you every step of the way.

Hire cost effective Virtual Personal Assistants with great communication skills who are willing to work in your time zone

We’ll help you find the ideal candidate and provide support through the onboarding process

We review hundreds of candidates each week and only accept the top 2%

No hidden fees or long term contracts

What our customers say

THE PROBLEM

Too Many Responsibilities, Not Enough Hours in the Day

Your inbox never clears. Your calendar stays full. Small tasks pile up faster than you can knock them down.

As the business grows, so does the volume of coordination, follow-ups, and admin work competing for your attention.

When everything depends on you or a stretched internal team, priorities blur, execution slows, and important work gets delayed. What should be quick decisions and simple tasks turn into constant distractions.

A Virtual Personal Assistant from Ataraxis takes ownership of those day-to-day responsibilities, keeping operations moving smoothly while you stay focused on leadership, strategy, and growth.

Cost Comparison: Hiring an MBA-Level Virtual Personal Assistant with Ataraxis vs. Local Hire

Starting at $11/hour

Hiring virtual personal assistants through Ataraxis adds organized multitaskers to your team at a fraction of U.S. salaries, managing calendars, taming inboxes, and handling day-to-day tasks while your budget stays lean.

Cost of hiring in the USA vs Offhsore - Virtual Personal Assistant - Landscape

Upwork vs Fiverr vs OnlineJobs.PH vs Ataraxis:
A Comparison

Here’s how virtual personal assistant companies like Upwork, Fiverr, OnlineJobs.PH, and Ataraxis compare on key hiring criteria.

Pros and Cons of Upwork, Fiverr, Online jobs PH, Ataraxis - Table

Virtual Personal Assistants for Hire

Need to hire a virtual personal assistant? These pros are ready to start ASAP

Grace - Featured Virtual Assistant

Grace

Virtual Administrative Assistant

MBA, with 8 years of experience in healthcare, finance, and HR

Aida - Featured Virtual Assistant

Aida

Virtual Executive Assistant

MBA, with 9 years of experience in marketing, accounting, and professional services

Meleekte - Featured Virtual Assistant

Mel

Virtual Assistant

Master’s degree, with 8 years of experience in finance, software, and consulting

Michelle - Featured Virtual Assistant

Michelle

Virtual Secretary

MBA, with 12 years of experience in manufacturing, real estate, and hospitality

Hire MBA-Level Virtual Personal Assistant

What is a Virtual Personal Assistant?

A Virtual Personal Assistant (VPA) is a remote professional who provides personalized administrative and lifestyle support to busy executives, entrepreneurs, and business owners. They handle day-to-day tasks, allowing clients to stay focused on high-priority responsibilities.

Junior Virtual Personal Assistant

A Junior Virtual Personal Assistant typically has 0–2 years of experience and supports routine tasks such as managing calendars, booking appointments, handling basic email correspondence, and performing light research or data entry. They are proficient in tools like Google Workspace or Microsoft Office and work well with clear instructions.

Ideal for individuals or teams needing entry-level administrative support to stay organized and on schedule.

Mid-Level Virtual Personal Assistant

With 2–5 years of experience, a Mid-Level Virtual Personal Assistant independently manages day-to-day personal and professional tasks, including travel coordination, inbox and calendar management, expense tracking, and vendor communication. They are skilled in task prioritization, time management, and working across multiple platforms and tools.

Perfect for busy professionals seeking reliable, proactive support with minimal supervision.

Senior Virtual Personal Assistant

A Senior Virtual Personal Assistant brings 5+ years of experience and excels in handling high-level personal and executive tasks, often acting as a trusted gatekeeper and workflow manager. They are adept at managing multiple calendars, overseeing personal projects, liaising with stakeholders, and making time-sensitive decisions. Senior VAs often optimize systems, anticipate needs, and provide strategic support.

Ideal for executives or entrepreneurs needing a highly capable, discreet, and experienced assistant to streamline their daily operations.

Differences Between a Virtual Assistant, Virtual Executive Assistant, Virtual Personal Assistant and Virtual Secretary

Virtual Assistant (VA)

Provides general administrative and organizational support, handling tasks like email management, scheduling, and basic project coordination.

Virtual Executive Assistant (VEA)

Focuses on supporting senior executives and high-level management. VEAs typically handle complex scheduling, strategic planning, executive-level communication, and sensitive business information.

Virtual Personal Assistant (VPA)

Primarily assists with personal tasks and errands, including travel planning, appointment setting, managing personal calendars, and general lifestyle management.

Virtual Secretary (VS)

Manages daily office tasks like calendars, documents, minutes, and inboxes, acting as the main contact for teams and clients while using digital tools to keep operations smooth.

What to Expect from Your Ideal Virtual Personal Assistant Candidate

Your ideal Virtual Personal Assistant should bring strong communication skills and insight into both your personal preferences and business goals. You’ll enjoy collaborating with someone who manages travel plans, calendar coordination, light customer follow-up, and inbox triage, all powered by smart apps that keep tasks moving quickly.

Hiring the right Virtual Personal Assistant lets you offload everyday logistics and routine admin, giving you more hours for strategic work that grows the company and more breathing room for life outside the office.

Delegate these time consuming tasks to a Full Time Virtual Personal Assistant

Calendar and Schedule Coordination

Manage personal and professional calendars, book appointments, and send reminders to ensure day runs smoothly.

Inbox and Message Management

Sort and prioritize emails and DMs, draft responses, and flag critical communications for follow-up.

Travel and Logistics Planning

Arrange business and personal travel, including flights, accommodations, and detailed itineraries.

Task and Time Management

Track to-dos, set deadlines, and manage task boards to keep daily operations organized and efficient.

Online Research

Conduct research on vendors, industry trends, competitors, and potential business tools or partnerships.

Meeting Preparation and Follow-Up

Organize meeting agendas, take notes, and follow up with action items and summaries.

Personal Errands and Reservations

Book appointments, handle online orders, schedule services, and manage other life admin remotely.

Document and File Organization

Maintain digital filing systems, organize shared drives, and ensure easy access to key documents.

Basic Bookkeeping Support

Track personal and business expenses, manage receipts, and assist in preparing monthly financial summaries.

Social Media and Brand Support

Draft content, schedule posts, and monitor DMs or mentions to support personal branding and business visibility.

Client and Vendor Communication

Send follow-ups, confirm appointments, and maintain polite, timely communication with external contacts.

Tool and Subscription Management

Monitor renewals, compare service plans, and manage software or app subscriptions to support workflow and budget.

Benefits of hiring a Virtual Personal Assistant

Cost Efficiency

Save on office space and overhead by hiring remote professionals.

Flexibility

Scale hours and tasks up or down as your business needs change.

Improved Productivity

Free up your time to focus on strategic priorities.

Specialized Skills

Access professionals with expertise in administrative, recruitment, and technical tasks.

Why hire a Virtual Personal Assistant through Ataraxis?

Pre-Vetted Talent

Ataraxis does the heavy lifting by thoroughly screening and vetting virtual personal assistants before they’re matched with you. This means you won’t waste time sorting through unqualified candidates.

Fluency in English

Ataraxis virtual personal assistants are fluent in English and skilled at communicating professionally, ensuring there’s no miscommunication in your day-to-day tasks.

Time Zone Flexibility

Unlike many freelancers who may not align with your work hours, Ataraxis virtual personal assistants are willing (and happy) to work in your time zone, making collaboration seamless.

College Educated and Experienced

All Ataraxis VAs are college educated and have specialized experience in various fields, so you can trust them to hit the ground running.

Excellent Service

Hiring through Ataraxis gives you access to ongoing support. If your team of virtual personal assistants needs adjustments, Ataraxis is there to help, unlike freelancer platforms where you’re on your own.

Long Term Relationships

Freelancer platforms often attract short-term gig workers who juggle multiple client projects at the same time. Ataraxis virtual personal assistants are committed to building lasting partnerships with one employer, becoming a true extension of your team.

What are the best regions to hire a virtual personal assistant from?

When you’re ready to hire a virtual personal assistant, the best location depends on the mix of cost, language skills, time-zone overlap, and talent depth your business needs. Here’s a quick tour of the best regions, each with clear advantages and a few trade-offs, to help you decide where to hire a virtual assistant who fits your workflow.

See how each country ranks in the Global Outsourcing Talent Index.

The Philippines

Pros:

It’s no surprise that many business owners choose to hire a Filipino virtual personal assistant. Candidates from this region have strong English proficiency, familiarity with western business culture, and experience working for U.S. clients. 24/7 support is also easy because night-shift work is common.

This region excels in customer service, lead generation, virtual assistance, data entry, bookkeeping, medical billing, and healthcare administrative support. 

Cons:

Increasing demand for Filipino VPAs is slowly pushing wages up and internet outages during typhoon season occasionally interrupt service. 

*Ataraxis virtual personal assistants from this region have power and internet backups to minimize service interruption and are willing to work in your time zone. 

Latin America (Colombia, Argentina, etc.)

Pros:

Near-shore time zones mean you can hire a virtual personal assistant who works the same hours as your U.S. team, reducing lag on urgent tasks. Businesses with a large Spanish-speaking customer base may also benefit from hiring bilingual virtual assistants. 

This region excels in sales development, business development, digital marketing, customer success, and account management. 

Cons:

Hourly rates are much higher and the talent pool is much smaller compared to the Philippines and other regions.

South Africa

Pros:

Highly educated, English-first workforce with a neutral accent, which is a big plus for phone-based support, especially for U.K. and Australian companies. South Africa overlaps with U.S. mornings and U.K. afternoons, which is ideal for trans-Atlantic operations.

This region excels in virtual assistance, healthcare administrative support, sales development, business development, digital marketing, customer success, content moderation, and account management.

Cons:

Cost of talent sits between Latin America and the Philippines, trimming, but not eliminating, cost savings.

East Africa

Pros:

Rapidly growing BPO sector that is less competitive compared to the Philippines and Latin America. Top candidates from this region have accents that are almost indistinguishable from U.S. based staff. 

This region excels in virtual assistance, executive assistance, software engineering, accounting, data entry, social media management, and business development. 

Cons:

Infrastructure and internet reliability still improving outside major hubs.

The Caribbean (Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago)

Pros:

Near-shore location for U.S companies delivers real-time collaboration for East-Coast teams and fluent English support. Very competitive operating costs versus onshore hires.

This region excels in customer service, BPO call centers, healthcare claims, technical support, and help desk support.

Cons:

Smaller population means fewer specialised VPAs, so scaling a large team may be harder. Hourly rates trend closer to Latin American levels given limited supply.

Eastern Europe (Poland, Bulgaria, Romania)

Pros:

Countries in this region are well-known for high education levels and strong work ethic. Arguably, the deepest talent pools for technical roles and has an ideal time zone overlap for European companies. 

This region excels in software engineering, quality assurance, DevOps, data analytics, and other technical roles. 

Cons:

Costs are much higher than the Philippines, East Africa, and time zone differences may be a bigger obstacle for U.S. companies.

How to hire a virtual personal assistant

Hiring your first virtual personal assistant is perfectly doable on your own, but most business owners underestimate the hours it takes to sift through resumes, schedule calls, and run multiple interview rounds. Research shows that the DIY path typically drags on for weeks (or months), involves several interviews, and can still lead to mis-hires if you rush the vetting stage.

Here's a step-by-step guide: 
1
Map out your tasks

List everything you want your virtual personal assistant to own and create detailed instructions. Clarifying scope upfront helps with long term retention and minimizes confusion. 

2
Set your budget and hours

Having a set schedule helps create structure and consistency. 

3
Create a job description

Write a descriptive JD with required experience, KPIs, schedule expectations, etc. 

4
Find and screen virtual personal assistant candidates

Post your job description to virtual personal assistant websites and craft a recruitment message you can use to reach out to candidates directly.  

5
First round interviews

Expect to screen 40-100 candidates to find your ideal virtual assistant.

6
Skills test

Give 2-3 finalist candidates a short take-home assignment to test their attention-to-detail, responsiveness, and work product. 

7
Culture and reference checks

A bad hire can cost up to 50% of first-year pay, so doing your due diligence is cheap insurance. 

8
Sign contract and start onboarding

Draft an employment or contractor agreement, include an NDA, and grant tool access.

Cheat Code

When you hire a virtual personal assistant through Ataraxis, you skip steps 2-7, saving you weeks of lost productivity. 

Frequently Asked Questions​

We source top talent globally from regions including the Philippines, Latin America, South Africa, and East Africa, and beyond.

Our team screens over 200 applicants with a 5% acceptance rate. Every candidate goes through:

  • An initial interview to assess communication skills, time zone alignment, and work-from-home readiness
  • A take-home assessment tailored to the role
  • A culture-fit interview to ensure long-term compatibility
  • Reference and background checks prior to client introduction

You’ll only meet the top 3–4 finalists we’ve personally vetted and approved.

For each role, we’ll shortlist 3–4 highly qualified finalists based on your requirements. You’ll have the opportunity to interview each candidate and decide who’s the best fit for your team.

We set up and maintain secure VPN access and use timekeeping and productivity monitoring tools to ensure accountability. All staff are trained in data security best practices to maintain compliance and confidentiality.

Ataraxis has been operating for just under two years, but our roots run deep. Our founder has led a successful recruitment business for nine years, employing global talent within that company as well. (We eat our own cooking.)

Yes. Once hired, your chosen candidate will work exclusively for you on a full-time basis. They’ll act as a dedicated member of your team, fully aligned with your goals and workflow.

We take care of all the back-end work including compliance, paperwork, and payroll. You’ll simply receive a monthly Stripe invoice for each person you hire, making the process seamless and hassle-free.

No. Our agreements are month-to-month, giving you complete flexibility. There are no deposits or lock-in contracts.

Hiring a virtual personal assistant saves money compared to having full-time office staff. This lets you and your team focus more on growing your business and doing what you do best.

Great virtual personal assistants often come from countries and regions like the Philippines, South Africa, Latin America, East Africa, and Eastern Europe. These countries are known for their skilled workers who speak fluent English and have strong work ethics.

Yes! At Ataraxis, your virtual personal assistant will match your local time zone, making teamwork easy and smooth.

US-based virtual personal assistants usually cost $25 to $50 per hour. Ataraxis offers MBA-level, full-time virtual personal assistants starting at just $11 per hour. This means you get great help for up to 70% less.

We keep your information safe by using secure VPN connections, regular monitoring, and privacy agreements signed by every virtual personal assistant.

Payments are easy and secure with Stripe. We also promise 100% satisfaction – if you’re not happy, we’ll fix it right away.

Ataraxis only offers full-time virtual personal assistants because they provide more consistent help, become part of your team, and show greater commitment.

Ataraxis uses software to monitor your assistant’s activities, ensuring they are always working efficiently and staying productive.

 It’s best to set up clear communication methods right from the start. You can use popular tools like Slack, WhatsApp, Zoom, or email, based on what works best for you.

Your satisfaction is our #1 priority. If you’re not happy, we’ll quickly address the issue and find you a better match, or issue a prorated refund if needed.

Great communication skills, attention to detail, strong work ethics, time zone alignment, work from home readiness, and problem solving skills. We carefully choose assistants based on their skills, experience, availability, and special abilities to make sure they match your business needs.

Yes! Many businesses find virtual personal assistants deliver even better quality work, especially for specialized tasks.

Paying very low rates, like $2-3 per hour, usually means getting less skilled workers and lower quality work. Ataraxis offers affordable assistants who are highly skilled.

It usually takes 1-2 weeks to get your virtual personal assistant fully onboarded and familiar with your business, ensuring you work well together from the very beginning.

Interested in hiring Virtual Personal Assistants?