Hire or outsource calculator for agency seats
Build the pay plan for a producer or service seat and see its first-year and ongoing cost next to a virtual assistant for the same hours and a recruiter's fee. Every pay number is yours. Vendor prices come from the 0 VA firms and 2 recruiters that publish one.
Your seat
- Seat cost, first yearEnter your pay plan
- Seat cost, each year afterEnter your pay plan
- Seat cost per month, after year oneEnter your pay plan
A virtual assistant for the same hours
Vendors with the most published facts come first, then those with a verified identity, published prices and more years in business. Paid placement never changes that order.
| Firm and plan | Published price | Per month for your hours | Per year | Against your seat |
|---|
Hiring through a recruiter
| Recruiter | Published fee terms | Fee with your numbers | First-year cost of the hire | Guarantee |
|---|
Published virtual assistant prices
Vendors with the most published facts come first, then those with a verified identity, published prices and more years in business. Paid placement never changes that order.
0 of 15 virtual assistant firms we cover publish a price. Each row is the firm's own rate, with its unit and the month we confirmed it.
| Firm | Plan | Price | Confirmed | Hours or capacity |
|---|
No published price: InsBOSS, FBSPL, Agency VA, Staff Boom, Intogreat Solutions, Patra, ReSource Pro, Selectsys, Cover Desk, Xceedance, Elevate Teams, Armasourcing, All Virtual Staffing, Agency Aid and Insuserve-1. Most of these quote after a sales call.
What an unlicensed assistant can't do
An unlicensed assistant can't sell, solicit or negotiate insurance, give coverage advice or bind for your agency. They can take service and admin work off licensed staff. Rules vary by state, so check yours. 7 of 15 firms say they offer licensed staff and 4 publish where they draw the line for unlicensed staff:
- InsBOSS: Selling, solicitation, negotiation, binding, coverage advice, recommending coverage changes, quoting with advice attached and signing policy documents stay with your licensed staff. Assistants prepare the paperwork and route coverage questions to you.
- Selectsys: Selectsys keeps its work operational and says no underwriting judgment or authority passes to its staff.
- Elevate Teams: Assistants never bind, recommend coverage, give licensed advice or make underwriting calls. On Elevated they gather quote details and key them into raters and carrier sites, then a licensed agent at your agency reviews and binds.
- Armasourcing: Armasourcing recommends leaving coverage advice and binding to your licensed staff. You review endorsements and policy changes, and you should check your state's rules before an assistant helps clients enroll in life or health coverage.
Published recruiter fee terms
Vendors with the most published facts come first, then those with a verified identity, published prices and more years in business. Paid placement never changes that order.
2 of 16 recruiters publish a fee amount, 5 publish how the fee is figured and 3 publish a guarantee period.
| Recruiter | Fee basis | Published fee | Guarantee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capstone Search Group | Percentage of first-year compensation. | Not published | Not published |
| Insurance Relief | Temporary and temp-to-hire billed per hour worked. Direct-hire fee basis not stated. | Not published | Not published |
| EZ Recruiting & Consulting | Flat fee per placement, no salary percentage. | $3,000 per hire (October 2026) | 60 days from the candidate's start date. Remedy: One replacement search at no additional fee. |
| Evergreen Agency Talent | Flat monthly subscription. No fee or commission when a hire is made. | $397 per month, 6-month initial term (October 2026) | Not published |
| The Carlisle Group | Not published | Not published | Retained: One year. Engaged: 120 days to one year, negotiable. Remedy: Replacement. |
| Questpro | Not published | Not published | 90-day satisfaction promise under the Questpro Promise. |
| Your Recruiting Department | Weekly or monthly service fee plus a placement fee per hire. RPO replaces placement fees with a monthly cost. | Not published | Not published |
No published fee terms: The James Allen Companies, The Jacobson Group, KBIC, The Jonus Group, MarshBerry Talent Search, DW Simpson, King's Insurance Staffing, IOS Staffing Services and General Placement Service.
How this tool works
The seat cost is your pay plan. Pay is base salary, bonus and the producer's share of the commission you expect on new and renewal business. In year one, commission counts only for the months after the ramp. Payroll tax and benefits are added as the percent you enter, and licensing and onboarding are added once in year one.
For a virtual assistant, an hourly price is multiplied by your hours per week over 52 weeks. A monthly price is the firm's flat price for a full-time assistant, so it doesn't change with your hours. A price in another unit, such as a service module, is shown but not converted. Setup fees are not included because most firms don't publish an amount.
For a recruiter, a flat fee or the minimum subscription term is added to your first-year cost. A percent fee uses the percent you enter against first-year pay. We never fill in a percent a firm hasn't published, and we don't publish a score or grade for any firm. Check every price and term with the firm before you sign.