Executive Assistant Cost & Operational Comparison
In-House US Executive Assistant
In-House US Executive Assistant
In-House US Executive Assistant
- Monthly / Annual Cost: $7,000 – $11,000/mo ($85,000 – $130,000+/yr base salary)
- Hidden Overhead: +25% to 40% in payroll taxes, health insurance, 401(k), & tech ($20k–$35k+/yr)
- Recruiter & Setup Fees: $15,000 – $25,000 upfront placement retainers
- Hiring & Match Speed: 60 – 90 days recruitment and interview cycle
- Vetting Standard: Internal HR dependent; inconsistent executive screening
- Management Burden: High management overhead, training ramp-up, and turnover risk
- Contract Terms: Full-time employment liability + severance risk
Freelance VA
In-House US Executive Assistant
In-House US Executive Assistant
- Monthly / Annual Cost: $1,600 – $3,000/mo ($20,000 – $35,000/yr variable hourly)
- Hidden Overhead: High leader time spent training, supervising, and correcting errors
- Recruiter & Setup Fees: $0 upfront (but 40+ leadership hours spent screening)
- Hiring & Match Speed: 1 – 3 weeks of self-serve trial and error
- Vetting Standard: Unverified self-reported resumes and star ratings
- Management Burden: Reactive "task-taker" model requiring step-by-step SOPs
- Contract Terms: Gig-based with high churn and zero backup support
⭐ Be Kapwa Executive Partner
In-House US Executive Assistant
⭐ Be Kapwa Executive Partner
- Monthly / Annual Cost: $1,483.50/mo ($17,802/yr) (Part-Time) | $2,451/mo ($29,412/yr) (Dedicated Full-Time)
- Hidden Overhead: $0 (all taxes, benefits, sourcing, vetting, & tech covered)
- Recruiter & Setup Fees: $0 (zero placement fees or headhunter retainers)
- Hiring & Match Speed: 3 – 5 business days placement
- Vetting Standard: Top 1% Philippine executive talent evaluated on high EQ & proactive care
- Management Burden: Proactive initiators who anticipate needs and eliminate noise before it reaches you
- Contract Terms: Transparent month-to-month partnership (no lock-ins)
- Best For: Founders, CEOs, business owners, and senior executives
The True Cost of Hiring: Base Salary vs. Total Overhead
In-House Hidden Overhead (+25% to 40%)
The Be Kapwa Model (Zero Hidden Overhead)
The Be Kapwa Model (Zero Hidden Overhead)
- Taxes & Benefits: Health insurance, payroll taxes, and benefits add $20,000–$35,000+ on top of base salary.
- Recruiting Fees: Executive search firms typically charge $15,000–$25,000 per placement.
- Workspace & Tech Stack: Dedicated hardware, software licenses, and onboarding tools add $3k–$5k upfront.
- Turnover Costs: Replacing a mismatched in-house hire costs up to 1.5x–2x their annual salary.
The Be Kapwa Model (Zero Hidden Overhead)
The Be Kapwa Model (Zero Hidden Overhead)
The Be Kapwa Model (Zero Hidden Overhead)
- All-Inclusive Flat Retainer: One clear monthly investment covering talent sourcing, vetting, payroll, and benefits.
- Zero Recruitment Fees: Matched with top-tier talent in 3–5 days without upfront headhunter fees.
- Built-In Continuity: Vetted Philippine Executive Partners supported by ongoing operational care and backup.
- Flexible Month-to-Month: Scale or adjust your support as your business evolves without long-term lock-ins.
The Math Behind Reclaiming 15–20 Hours Every Week
Transform operational friction into high-leverage business growth.
If you don’t have an Executive Partner, you ARE the executive assistant.
When a founder, CEO, or business leader's effective time is valued at $250+/hour, spending 15–20 hours a week in administrative weeds costs your company over $195,000 a year in lost executive bandwidth.
A dedicated Be Kapwa Executive Partner doesn't just check off tasks—they take full operational ownership of your day so you can operate strictly at the top of your intelligence.
Your calendar, travel, inbox and follow-ups. Scored in 2 minutes.
See where you're stretched and what to hand off first.
Side-By-Side Breakdown
Operational Drag Eliminated (15–20 Hours Reclaimed)
Operational Drag Eliminated (15–20 Hours Reclaimed)
Operational Drag Eliminated (15–20 Hours Reclaimed)
- Inbox Triage & High-Stakes Gatekeeping (5–7 hrs/wk):
Waking up to an organized inbox. Spam eliminated, routine threads handled, contextual replies pre-drafted in your voice, and only critical decisions escalated to your desk. - Aggressive Calendar Architecture & Focus Defense (4–6 hrs/wk):
Ending meeting ping-pong. Guarding 3–4 hour deep-work focus blocks, tactfully declining low-leverage requests, and synchronizing complex time-zone scheduling. - Executive Briefings & Meeting Prep (3–4 hrs/wk):
Never walking into a call unprepared. Attendee dossiers, background context, and relevant files prepared in advance—with post-meeting action items tracked and assigned. - Frictionless Travel & Vendor Logistics (2–3 hrs/wk):
Zero logistical headaches. Seamless multi-city itinerary planning, travel adjustments, expense logging, and vendor management handled without you lifting a finger.
High-Leverage Growth Reinvested (Where You 5x–10x ROI)
Operational Drag Eliminated (15–20 Hours Reclaimed)
Operational Drag Eliminated (15–20 Hours Reclaimed)
- Accelerating Revenue & Closing Key Deals:
Redirecting 60+ hours a month into high-value sales conversations, closing enterprise pipeline, and expanding commercial opportunities. - Investor Relations, Capital & Strategic Partnerships:
Dedicate focused time to pitching investors, managing board updates, and closing ecosystem partnerships that scale your reach. - Product Vision & Competitive Innovation:
Uninterrupted headspace to refine your core offerings, build proprietary IP, and make the big strategic bets that move market share. - Executive Leadership & Scaling Your Team:
Mentoring key team members, removing cross-functional bottlenecks, and setting the organizational cadence without daily firefighting.
The Do's & Don'ts of Hiring an Executive Assistant
❌ The Don'ts (Common Delegation Traps)
✅ The Do's (The Executive Partner Standard)
✅ The Do's (The Executive Partner Standard)
- DON’T hire a "task-taker" and expect mind-reading:
If an assistant only follows rigid step-by-step SOPs, you become a full-time micromanager. You're working for your assistant instead of leading your company. - DON’T delegate steps—delegate ownership:
Telling an assistant "email John, then check his reply, then ask me what to do" keeps you as the bottleneck. Delegate the outcome: "Ensure this meeting happens before Friday." - DON’T treat the EA as an afterthought:
Isolating your assistant from meeting context and business goals forces them to operate in the dark, leading to constant back-and-forth interruptions. - DON’T settle for high-churn freelance platforms:
Hiring one-off freelancers on gig marketplaces means starting from scratch every few months when they disappear or take on too many clients.
✅ The Do's (The Executive Partner Standard)
✅ The Do's (The Executive Partner Standard)
✅ The Do's (The Executive Partner Standard)
- DO hire for high EQ and proactive anticipation:
Look for partners with the discernment to look around corners, resolve calendar conflicts before they reach your desk, and communicate with executive presence. - DO establish clear decision guardrails early:
Define what decisions they can make autonomously (e.g., rescheduling meetings under 30 mins, triaging standard inbox requests) vs. what needs your sign-off. - DO give access to your context and priorities:
Treat your EA as an active partner. When they understand your strategic goals and personal preferences, they can protect your energy and time effortlessly. - DO build a dedicated, long-term relationship:
Invest in a dedicated partner who learns your voice, understands your team, and compounds in value month after month.
Pricing & Cost Frequently Asked Questions
We offer simple, transparent monthly retainers with zero placement fees or hidden overhead:
- Part-Time Support: $1,483.50/month ($17,802/year) — Ideal for leaders needing targeted inbox triage, calendar defense, and daily administrative coordination.
- Dedicated Full-Time Support: $2,451/month ($29,412/year) — Dedicated, full-time partnership for founders, CEOs, and executives requiring comprehensive operational support, meeting preparation, client communications, and travel logistics.
Compared to an in-house US executive assistant ($85,000–$130,000+/year plus 25%–40% in taxes and benefits), Be Kapwa delivers up to 75% in total cost savings while providing top-tier, high-EQ executive partnership.
No. There are $0 placement fees, $0 onboarding charges, and $0 recruiter retainers.
Your flat monthly retainer covers everything: comprehensive vetting, candidate matching, payroll, local compliance, benefits, and ongoing operational support. You only pay for your active monthly plan.
Traditional US executive search firms typically charge $15,000 to $25,000 in upfront placement fees, followed by high ongoing W-2 salaries, healthcare, payroll taxes, and severance liabilities.
With Be Kapwa, you bypass headhunter retainers completely and get matched with top 1% vetted Philippine Executive Partners in 3 to 5 business days at a predictable, all-inclusive monthly rate.
Our entire mission is to make your life easier—and our contracting reflects that exact same mindset. We offer flexible month-to-month agreements, but if your business prefers or finds it easier to work on an annual agreement, we can seamlessly do that too. Whatever your business needs.
We keep our terms client-first for two simple reasons:
- We know you’ll love the partnership: We put everything into understanding your working style, providing proactive initiators, and giving you the high-level support you need from day one.
- If your needs ever change, we make it effortless: Whether your business evolves, you need to adjust support levels, or you need a different match, changes are seamless and painless—with zero penalties, zero hassle, and zero-cost rematching.
From how we support your day to how we do business together, our goal is always zero friction.
Ready to Reclaim 15–20 Hours Every Week?
Book a discovery call today to match your business with a dedicated Philippine Executive Partner in 3 to 5 business days.
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