There's a version of this question that's easy to answer - hourly rates, day rates, basic salary ranges - and a version that's actually useful. This guide is the second kind.
UK executives searching for EA support encounter four different cost structures that aren't comparable: freelance VAs charging by the hour, in-house hires with a salary that obscures the real cost, and agency retainers - which come in two forms: part-time support at a fraction of the in-house cost, or full-time support that is still cheaper than hiring directly once employment overhead is included.
Each looks different on paper. Each performs differently in practice. What follows is a specific, accurate breakdown of what EA support costs in the UK in 2026 - in-house, agency, and the gap between them - so you can make the decision with real numbers rather than estimates.
A virtual executive assistant is a senior-level EA who works remotely - managing your inbox, calendar, travel, stakeholder communications, and strategic admin - without being based in your office or on your payroll. Unlike a generalist virtual assistant, a virtual EA operates at C-suite level. The best ones are placed through specialist agencies that handle employment, training, and quality oversight on your behalf.
The figure most executives see first is the gross salary. It's also the least useful number for making a real decision.
In the UK, a senior executive assistant earns between £5,417 and £7,083 per month gross. Glassdoor's March 2026 data puts the average EA salary in the UK at £43,268/year, with London top earners reaching £75,296.
For a top-tier EA supporting a CEO or founder, £7,083/month is the realistic starting point - not the ceiling.
But gross salary is not what you pay.
Once you add employer National Insurance contributions (currently 15% on earnings above the secondary threshold, effective from April 2026), pension auto-enrolment, and standard benefits, a £7,083/month EA costs £8,280/month before you've spent a penny on recruitment or equipment.
Monthly |
Annual | |
|---|---|---|
| Senior EA gross salary | £5,417 | £65,004 |
| Top-tier EA gross salary | £7,083 | £84,996 |
| Total employer cost (top-tier) | £8,280 | £99,360 |
That's close to £100,000 a year for a single EA hire - and it assumes the hire works out on the first attempt.
Beyond the salary and contributions, three costs catch most executives off guard:
Add these up over a realistic two-year tenure and the true year-one cost of an in-house EA in the UK sits comfortably above £110,000 once recruitment is included.
The structure is different. If you hired an EA directly, you'd be paying gross salary, National Insurance, pension, recruitment fees, equipment, and ongoing HR overhead - before your EA has answered a single email.
With DonnaPro, you pay one monthly retainer. Nothing else.
DonnaPro offers two options depending on how much support you need:
Both options include quality oversight, absence cover, and no recruitment overhead. Neither requires a long-term contract.
The year-one cost comparison across all three options:
In-House EA |
DonnaPro Part-Time |
DonnaPro Full-Time | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | £8,280+ | £2,350 | £5,660 |
| Recruitment | £12,750–£17,000 | £0 | £0 |
| Equipment + software | £3,000–£5,000 | £0 | £0 |
| HR and compliance overhead | Ongoing | None | None |
| Year-one total | £115,000–£125,000+ | £28,200 | £67,920 |
The gap at year one isn't a rounding difference. It's the difference between a significant fixed employment cost and a flexible retainer that includes everything.
This is the most searched question in this category among UK executives - and it deserves a direct answer rather than a hedge.
Yes. For most CEOs and founders operating in the UK, a virtual executive assistant is worth it.
The ROI calculation is straightforward once you value your own time honestly. If you're a founder or CEO generating £200-£500/hour in value, and you're spending 10–15 hours a week on work an EA should own - email triage, scheduling, travel logistics, research, meeting prep - the arithmetic is not complicated.
At 12 hours/week reclaimed at £250/hour, that's £3,000/week, or £144,000/year in recovered productive capacity. Against a monthly retainer of £2,350, the payback period is measured in weeks.
The more important question isn't whether it's worth it. It's whether the EA you work with is operating at C-suite level or functioning as a task-taker who creates dependency without real leverage. The former transforms how you work. The latter just adds another relationship to manage.
That distinction matters more than the price.
See how DonnaPro works specifically for UK CEOs and founders - pre-trained EAs, a team behind every engagement, and 60+ hours back every month.
See DonnaPro for UK executives
UK executives sometimes assume that European-based virtual EAs represent a drop in capability for a lower price. The assumption is wrong, and the data shows why.
Senior EA salary benchmarks across comparable European markets - Germany (€5,833/month), Netherlands (€5,000/month), France (€4,833/month) - are not dramatically lower than UK rates once converted.
What differs is the employer contribution rate: France at roughly 45%, Germany at 21%, Sweden at 31%.
The UK's 15% employer NI is actually among the lower rates in Europe.
What this means in practice: the cost advantage of an outsourced European EA for a UK CEO isn't primarily about lower wages. It's about removing employment overhead entirely - NI, pension, recruitment, management, continuity risk - and replacing it with a single monthly figure.
DonnaPro's EAs are based in Europe and work within UK business hours with full timezone coverage. The language is English, the capability is C-suite level, and the saving versus a direct UK hire is over £70,000 in year one - without sacrificing the quality of support.
According to DonnaPro, the most successful delegation relationships include explicit "definition of done" criteria agreed upfront - removing ambiguity about expectations.
This is the question worth asking before any comparison becomes meaningful.
Whether you start part-time or full-time, your EA is not a generalist task-handler. Every EA placed with a UK CEO or founder is vetted specifically for C-suite support - complex inbox architecture, stakeholder management, board and investor communications, multi-leg international travel, and the kind of proactive thinking that means problems get solved before you hear about them.
Rubina Raut, Founder & CEO of WUKA (wuka.co.uk), describes what that looks like after three months:
Three months in, and it's a relief to have someone who fully gets my tone of voice. Saga handles my inbox with confidence, answers questions independently, and keeps things moving without me needing to chase anyone - even while I was on my first real holiday in years.
Dominic White, an investor and entrepreneur running multiple businesses, puts the day-to-day value simply:
She's proactive, reliable, and keeps everything running smoothly without me having to ask. Our daily check-ins keep me on top of things, and her inbox summaries are a lifesaver when I'm travelling.
That's the outcome worth pricing against, not the hourly rate.
According to DonnaPro's client data, executives working with a their virtual EA reclaim an average of 60+ hours per month.
Walid Kholmi, CEO of Home Transformers, describes the experience more directly:
I had high expectations, but the reality has been above a 10. Because my EA has a background in my industry, she understands exactly what I need immediately - it feels like she is a core part of the team, not an external hire. I'm no longer losing time managing tasks; instead, I'm using that freedom to focus on the sales team and close deals daily.
The UK virtual assistant market splits into three distinct models, and they are not equivalent:
The difference between a freelance VA and a DonnaPro EA isn't primarily about price. It's about what you can hand over and trust will be done. For a CEO-level role - inbox ownership, investor communications, complex travel, proactive problem-solving - the capability bar is different. For a closer look at how this works specifically for UK clients, see our virtual executive assistant services in the UK.
Not every CEO is ready for a virtual EA, and not every situation calls for one. Based on DonnaPro's experience across UK clients, the profile that consistently gets the most value is:
The right fit:
Less likely to be the right fit:
The simplest test: if you can identify 10 hours a week of work you'd hand over today if the right person were available, a virtual EA will pay for itself.
DonnaPro is a virtual assistant agency working exclusively with CEOs and founders across UK & Europe. Every engagement includes finding, vetting, onboarding, and ongoing quality management - so you're not hiring a freelancer and hoping for the best. At DonnaPro you get a C-suite EA, a team behind them, and a proven system built across 110+ industries.
Book Your Free Strategy SessionDonnaPro offers two options in the UK: a part-time EA at £2,350/month and a full-time EA at £5,660/month. Both are flat retainers that include employment, quality management, and cover - with no recruitment fee or HR overhead. By comparison, a senior in-house EA costs £8,280/month fully loaded once employer NI (15%) and pension contributions are included. Even the full-time DonnaPro option is cheaper than a direct hire.
A virtual assistant typically handles general administrative tasks at a basic to mid-level. A virtual executive assistant operates at C-suite level - managing complex calendars, stakeholder communications, investor relations, board prep, and strategic admin. The capability, vetting standards, and price point are different. For a full breakdown, see Virtual Assistant vs Executive Assistant.
For most founders spending 10+ hours a week on work an EA should own, yes - with a clear margin. At £2,350/month and 60+ hours reclaimed per month, the ROI at any meaningful executive hourly rate is substantial within weeks. The key variable is whether the EA operates at genuine C-suite level or handles only task-based admin.
No. When you work with DonnaPro, the employment relationship is with the agency - not with you. You pay one monthly retainer to DonnaPro. That's it. Nothing else to manage, nothing else to budget for.
With DonnaPro, the time from onboarding to a fully operational EA is typically one to two weeks. A direct in-house hire takes six to twelve weeks from job posting to start date, then another four to eight weeks to reach full productivity.
With a direct hire, you absorb the notice period, potential severance costs, and the full recruitment cycle again. With DonnaPro, replacement is handled by the agency with no recruitment fee and no gap in support that's solely your responsibility to manage.
DonnaPro EAs are based in Europe and work within UK business hours with full timezone coverage. They are not based in the UK, which is why the cost structure differs from UK-based EA agencies. The capability and English language proficiency is equivalent to a senior UK-based EA.
Yes. Senior EAs supporting CEOs and founders regularly manage investor correspondence, board materials, personnel communications, and commercially sensitive information. NDAs are standard. DonnaPro's vetting process is more rigorous than most internal HR hiring processes for EA roles.
Most UK CEOs who reach this point already know they need support. The question is whether they get someone who takes tasks - or someone who takes ownership. DonnaPro EAs are trained specifically for C-suite delegation: they anticipate, they act, and they get things done without being chased. One retainer. No surprises.
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