Most founder-operators only know one way to hire a virtual assistant: call a managed-service agency, pay a monthly fee, and let the agency run it. It works. It is also the more expensive model by a wide margin, and it never leaves you owning the asset you are paying for. There is a second model that most people never see, and for an operator with a real task backlog and a billing rate worth protecting, it is usually the better fit.
The two models, defined
Managed-service agency. The agency sources the VA, supervises her, and bills you a monthly fee that runs as long as you use the service. The VA reports up through the agency. You are a customer of the agency, not the VA's employer. Examples include Athena, Belay, Magic, Wing, and Superpowers. Pricing commonly lands around $3,000 a month for premium providers, and many agencies impose a buyout fee, frequently reported in the $10,000 to $20,000 range, if you ever want to hire the VA directly.
Direct placement, one-time payment. A recruiter sources and vets the VA, hands her to you, and steps out. You pay once. The VA works for you and only you, with no markup, no monthly fee, and no buyout. This is the Force Multipliers model: we add the Operating Playbook, the onboarding system that makes a first-time delegation actually stick, then get out of the way.
Side by side
| Managed agency | Direct placement | |
|---|---|---|
| Payment structure | Monthly fee, ongoing | One-time placement fee |
| Who employs the VA | The agency | You, directly |
| Markup on hours | Baked into every hour | None |
| Lock-in | Buyout fee to hire directly | No lock-in, no buyout |
| Supervision | Agency manages the VA | You manage, with a system that shows you how |
| Five-year cost (markup only) | ~$108,000 | $3,500, once |
The five-year math
The VA gets paid either way, so the honest comparison strips wages out of both columns and looks only at what the agency keeps. Priced at the premium-provider midpoint of $3,000 a month, the agency markup runs about $108,000 over five years. A direct placement is $3,500, paid once. That is the gap.
Saved over five years versus the managed-service alternative, compared markup to markup, with direct wages excluded from both sides. You own the relationship either way.
When the agency is the right call
This is not a case that managed agencies are bad. They are the right choice for a specific buyer: someone who wants the VA supervised for them indefinitely, does not want to hold the management relationship, and is happy to pay a monthly markup for that convenience. If that is you, a managed service is a clean answer and you should pick a good one.
The direct-hire model is for the opposite operator: someone who wants leverage they own, has a functional business with a real backlog to delegate, and would rather invest once in the right setup than rent the same leverage forever.
The part nobody includes
The reason most people default to agencies is not cost. It is fear. A direct hire feels riskier because you are the one who has to manage it, and most first-time delegations fail in the setup, not the talent. That failure point is exactly what the Operating Playbook is built to remove: what you delegate first, how you run the check-ins, what great looks like at 30, 60, and 90 days. Add a 90-day replacement guarantee and the risk that pushes people toward agencies mostly disappears.
If you want the full breakdown of pricing and what is included at each depth, the pricing section lays out both tiers. If you would rather talk it through, book a call below.