Filipino VA pay expectations flatten after two years: Armasourcing
MANILA, PHILIPPINES — Filipino virtual assistants ask a median salary of US$714 per month (approximately PHP 40,000) for full-time remote work in 2026, with the middle 50% of applicants requesting between US$571 and US$900, according to a salary report published by Armasourcing.
The data cover 1,385 applications submitted to Armasourcing between October 2025 and July 2026, compiled by Eli Gutilban, chief executive officer and founder of the company, from first-party application records.
More than half of Filipino VA applicants ask under $800 a month
Armasourcing, a Philippine virtual staffing firm, found that 52% of applicants ask below US$800 per month and 22% ask US$1,000 or more.
Business process outsourcing (BPO) and virtual staffing employers can benchmark accounting and bookkeeping candidates at a median US$893 per month, while social media specialists ask a US$600 median and creative video and design roles ask US$536.
Applicants quoting hourly rates, who account for 13% of submissions, ask a median of US$6 per hour, with the middle 50% in the US$5 to US$7 range.
Employers considering outsourcing in the Philippines will find that 82% of the surveyed applicant pool holds a university degree and 4% hold a master’s degree or doctorate, according to Gutilban’s analysis. Cebu emerged as the single most represented metro among applicants, narrowly ahead of Metro Manila, with Davao a close third.
Veterans ask only 13% more than entry-level candidates
Applicants with seven or more years of experience ask a median of US$804 per month, a US$90 premium over the US$714 median for applicants with no more than one year of experience, reflecting near-flat salary expectations beyond the entry tier.
Customer service, administrative assistant, and general virtual assistant roles all converge at a US$800 median asking price, indicating competitive pricing across the most common VA categories regardless of role type.
Salary expectations stabilize rapidly with experience: the two-to-three year tier already asks a US$800 median, capturing most of the gap between newcomers and veterans within the first few years.
“The asking curve goes flat at about the two-year mark,” said Eli Gutilban, Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Armasourcing.
For buyers evaluating staff augmentation options in Southeast Asia, the Armasourcing data establish a clear pricing floor: US$714 per month for a full-time generalist hire and US$893 for accounting and bookkeeping support.
The shallow experience premium (13% across the full experience spectrum) indicates that clients optimizing for cost can achieve competitive quality at or near the market median without targeting senior candidates.
The survey’s finding that Cebu now leads Metro Manila in applicant volume confirms that Filipino VA talent is no longer concentrated in a single metro, giving employers access to quality candidates across multiple cities.
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- Prospexia offers U.S. firms 50% off Filipino VAs · 6 Aug
- Trump work visa rule boosts Filipino VAs, AI startup founder says · 23 Feb
Disclosure: Outsource Accelerator uses AI tools in the backend of its editorial workflow. Every article is reviewed and verified by a human editor before publication.
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