Compare / AI agent vs virtual assistant cost
AI agent vs virtual assistant: what each costs per month
Written by Wanna AI. Checked on 17 Oct 2026, refreshed every 30 days. Wanna is our product and one of the three columns. "Virtual assistant" means a person who works for you remotely, not a voice assistant on a phone.
Short answer. The pages we read put a virtual assistant between a few hundred and several thousand dollars a month, depending on hours, country and agency management. Entry plans of general AI agents run from free to about $100 (monthly). Wanna OS is $20, $49 or $149 (monthly). The three buy different things, so we claim no saving.
How we compared
Each figure was read on 17 Oct 2026 from the page named next to it. Two of the person pages come from companies that sell virtual assistants, so those are sellers' figures. For AI agents we read the pricing pages of Lindy, Zapier and Claude, each reached from its Pricing link. Wanna's come from its own pricing and live pages. We tested none of them.
Side by side
| Virtual assistant (a person) | General AI agent | Wanna OS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Part-time, 20 hours a week, offshore: "$350 to $1,300 per month" (Cherry Assistant, Jul 2026). Full-time managed: "$1,988 and $3,000 per month". Full-time U.S.-based, hired direct: "$4,000 to $8,000 per month" (MyOutDesk, Jun 2026). | Lindy Team from $29.99 (monthly) for 3,000 credits to $99.99 for 15,000, per active user. Claude Pro $20 (monthly); Max from $100 (monthly). Zapier Agents: Free, 400 activities a month; Pro from about $33.33 (annual billing), 1,500 activities. | Free: the plan, the matches, the first drafts. Starter $20 (monthly), 1 company, 200 credits (about 20 tasks). Growth $49, 5,000 credits (about 500 tasks). Scale $149, up to 5 companies, 16,000 credits (about 1,600 tasks). |
| The unit | An hour of a person's day | A credit, an activity or a seat | A task (10 credits); about 1 a day on Starter, 17 on Growth |
| What you supply | A brief for each job, access, time to check | You build the agent, connect apps, write instructions | A link to your site |
| Honest minuses | Rates vary. Indeed: "Typically, a Virtual Assistant works for an average tenure of less than a year." You pay for hours, not results. | Metered: Lindy's monthly credits "don't roll over" and every user is billed. It acts only inside the apps and rules you set up. | Early: on 17 Oct 2026, 15:29 UTC, the live page counted 3 companies of people, 19 tasks done in 7 days and 0 paying companies. No SOC 2 report yet. |
Where the figures disagree
Indeed's job-description page gives an average of "$15.84 per hour" (Indeed). MyOutDesk reports another Indeed page at $25.60 an hour from 822 self-reported salaries, so one marketplace shows two numbers. At 87 hours a month (20 hours a week), our multiplication of $15.84 gives about $1,378; at 160 hours, about $2,534. That is our arithmetic, not a quote, and it leaves out agency fees and your briefing time.
Dividing each Wanna plan by its stated tasks gives one dollar a task on Starter, about ten cents on Growth and about nine cents on Scale. A task is Wanna's own unit, such as a prepared letter, and an hour of a person is a different unit; we do not convert one into the other.
Where each fits
For phone calls, travel and a calendar a virtual assistant is the closer fit. A general AI agent bills by usage, so a heavy month costs more. Wanna bills a fixed monthly amount with a stated credit pool, and starts from your site: it proposes the next growth task and drafts it for your OK. You can start free first.
What Wanna does not replace
Wanna does not replace a person you can phone. It does not answer your phone, book your travel, run your calendar or enter data into your systems, or move your money or sign for you. We have no case of a company that dropped its assistant for Wanna. Prices change; check each page. Related: AI CEO vs a virtual assistant, Wanna vs Lindy.
FAQ
How much does it cost to replace a virtual assistant with an AI agent? There is no single number, because they are different jobs. On the pages we read, an offshore part-time assistant is quoted at $350 to $1,300 (monthly) and general AI agents at free to about $100 (monthly) on their entry tiers. An agent does not make calls or book travel.
How much does a virtual assistant cost per month? The two seller pages quote $350 to $1,300 for part-time offshore, $1,988 to $3,000 for full-time managed and $4,000 to $8,000 for full-time U.S.-based. Indeed averages $15.84 an hour.
Is an AI agent cheaper than a virtual assistant? Its entry plans are lower, but Lindy's larger credit tiers reach into the thousands and you set it up yourself. We claim no saving.
How much does Wanna cost compared with a virtual assistant? The plan, the matches and the first drafts are free. Paid plans are $20, $49 and $149 (monthly). Wanna prepares letters, posts and applications for your OK; it does not do a virtual assistant's errands.
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