Set your rate by working backwards from what you need, not by copying a number from a Facebook group. Take your monthly target in pesos, divide it by the hours you can realistically bill, convert to dollars at a realistic exchange rate, then gross it up for platform and payment fees. The result is your floor: the lowest rate at which the work pays for itself. You then quote at or above that floor depending on the client and the job.

Below is the full calculation with real figures as of September 2026, followed by how to quote hourly, monthly and fixed-price work. The numbers belong to a hypothetical VA; replace every one with your own.

Step 1: your monthly target in pesos

List what the work has to cover each month. Example for a VA in Quezon City working part-time from home:

Item Monthly amount
Contribution to household and personal costs ₱29,500
Internet (fiber plan) plus prepaid data as backup ₱2,200
Share of electricity for work hours ₱1,500
Equipment fund (headset, laptop repair or replacement) ₱1,000
SSS, PhilHealth and Pag-IBIG as a self-employed member (your actual contribution) ₱2,000
Income tax reserve (see below) ₱1,800
Subtotal ₱38,000
Buffer for slow months, sick days and holidays (10%) ₱3,800
Monthly target ₱41,800, round to ₱42,000

The tax line. Self-employed individuals whose gross receipts stay under the ₱3 million VAT threshold can elect the 8% income tax option, paid on gross receipts above ₱250,000 a year. If this VA receives about ₱520,000 a year, the tax is 8% x (₱520,000 - ₱250,000) = ₱21,600 a year, or ₱1,800 a month. Whether the 8% option suits you depends on your situation; Freelancer Taxes and BIR Registration explains the choices. This is a planning estimate, not tax advice.

Step 2: hours you can actually bill

Available hours are not billable hours. Some of your work week goes to proposals, client messages that are not billable, invoicing, learning tools, and gaps between clients.

Hours available for VA work per week        30
Share realistically billed at the start     70%
Billable hours per week                     21
Billable hours per month (x 4.33)           91

Seventy percent is an assumption for someone still finding clients. Track your own time for a month and replace it.

Step 3: your floor in pesos and dollars

Monthly target / billable hours        ₱42,000 / 91 = ₱461.54 per hour
Convert at BSP reference rate          ₱461.54 / 62.75 = $7.36 per hour

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas reference rate was ₱62.75 per US dollar on 25 September 2026. You will not get exactly that rate. Payment services and banks convert at their own rate, often a little lower, plus any fees. For planning, assume you receive 1% less than the reference rate:

Effective rate you receive             62.75 x 0.99 = ₱62.12
Floor in dollars                       ₱461.54 / 62.12 = $7.43 per hour

Check what your own payment route actually delivers by comparing a past transfer with the BSP rate on that day. Payoneer vs Wise vs PayPal Fees shows how to compare routes.

Step 4: gross up for platform fees

If a platform takes a percentage, divide your target by what you keep. Do not add the percentage.

Upwork, 10% fee on this contract:   $7.43 / 0.90 = $8.26 per hour  -> quote $8.50
Upwork, 15% fee on this contract:   $7.43 / 0.85 = $8.74 per hour  -> quote $9.00
Fiverr (you keep 80%):               $7.43 / 0.80 = $9.29 per hour of work
Direct client, no platform fee:     $7.43 per hour                  -> quote $7.50 to $8.00

Why dividing matters: adding 10% to $7.43 gives $8.17, and 10% of $8.17 leaves you $7.35, below your floor. Upwork’s own help page uses the same method in its example: to keep $20 an hour at a 10% fee, charge $22.22.

Upwork’s fee is set per contract between 0% and 15% and shown before you submit (Upwork Help, September 2026), so run the sum on the proposal screen each time.

Check the result

$8.50 x 91 hours                 = $773.50 billed
less 10% Upwork fee               = $696.15
x ₱62.12 effective rate           = ₱43,245 received
Monthly target                      ₱42,000  -> covered

Step 5: compare against the market

Your floor tells you what you need. The market tells you what clients in your niche pay. Collect 20 current posts for your exact service (for example “Shopify customer support” on Upwork and OnlineJobs.ph) and write down the rate or budget in each. Keep employee salaries, contractor hourly rates and fixed-price budgets in separate columns, because they are not the same thing.

  • If most posts sit above your floor, quote in the lower-middle of that range to start.
  • If most sit below your floor, do not just drop to match. Look for a better-paid niche, clients in a different market, or more billable hours (see the full-time comparison below).

As a reference for local pay: the NCR minimum wage for non-agriculture workers became ₱755 a day on 26 September 2026 under Wage Order NCR-28, roughly ₱94 an hour. Your freelance floor of ₱462 an hour is about five times that per hour, and it should be. An employee is paid for every hour worked, gets mandatory benefits, and has no unbilled hours to absorb. You have all of those to cover yourself.

Monthly offers: convert before you compare

Long-term roles, such as those on OnlineJobs.ph, are often quoted monthly. Here is why a lower hourly figure can still work: you bill far more hours.

Offer: $700 per month, 40 hours a week
Paid hours per month         40 x 52 / 12 = 173.3
Hourly                        $700 / 173.3 = $4.04  (₱251 at ₱62.12)
Monthly in pesos              $700 x 62.12 = ₱43,484   -> meets ₱42,000

The same ₱42,000 target needs $7.43 an hour on 91 billable hours, but only $3.90 an hour on 173 paid hours. So compare offers on two numbers: pesos per paid hour, and pesos per month. Then ask what the monthly figure leaves out: paid leave, holidays, a 13th-month bonus, who pays transfer fees.

Pricing fixed-price work

Estimate hours honestly, multiply by your rate, and state the scope.

Inbox setup for a real estate agent
  Audit of last 2 weeks of email             2.0 hours
  Labels and filters, tested                  2.0 hours
  5 reply templates                           1.5 hours
  Handoff notes and 20-minute walkthrough     1.0 hour
  One revision round                          1.0 hour
  Buffer for questions and checks             0.5 hours
  Total                                       8.0 hours
  x $8.50                                     $68.00   -> quote $70 fixed

The quote should say what it includes and what it does not: one Gmail account, up to two weeks of email reviewed, five templates, one revision round, no ongoing inbox management. A second inbox is a new quote.

How to state your rate

Lead with the work, then the number, then the review point.

Hourly:

For the inbox and calendar support we discussed, 10 to 12 hours a week, my rate is $8.50 an hour. I will send a short weekly time report, and we can review the arrangement after the first month.

Monthly:

For a 40-hour week on US Eastern hours, my rate is $750 a month, paid twice monthly by Wise. That includes the end-of-shift report and coverage of your support inbox and calendar.

When the budget is lower:

At $6 an hour I can cover your inbox three days a week instead of five, with the daily summary on those days. If the volume grows, we can revisit the hours.

Reduce scope before you reduce the rate. You do not need to explain your rent or your family circumstances.

Raising your rate later

Review after three months of time records, or when the work changes. Clear reasons to raise it: you now handle more responsibility (payments, hiring, client calls), you are faster and the client gets more per hour, or your costs rose. Give existing clients at least 30 days’ notice:

Since March I have taken over invoicing and supplier follow-up on top of the inbox. From 1 July my rate will be $10 an hour. I am happy to talk it through if you would like to adjust the hours.

For new clients, simply quote the new rate.

Common mistakes

Mistake What to do instead
Dividing the target by available hours Divide by billable hours
Using the Google exchange rate Use the rate your payment route actually gives you
Adding the platform fee percentage Divide by (1 - fee)
Comparing a monthly offer to an hourly one directly Convert both to pesos per paid hour and per month
Forgetting tax and contributions Put them in the monthly target from day one
Quoting “inbox management, $70” State hours, inclusions and exclusions

FAQ

What is a normal beginner VA rate in the Philippines?

There is no single verified figure, and rates vary widely by niche, client country and arrangement. Use your floor plus a count of 20 current posts for your exact service. That gives you a defensible number for your market today.

Should I show my rate publicly?

On Upwork your profile shows an hourly rate, so set it at your floor or above. Elsewhere, quote per client after you understand the scope.

Should I charge in pesos or dollars?

Charge foreign clients in their currency, usually USD, so they see a familiar number and you are not exposed to their conversion. Charge Philippine clients in pesos.

What if a client asks for a discount?

Offer less scope, a longer commitment at the same rate, or a small paid trial. Cutting below your floor means you subsidize the client.

Sources and further reading

Fees, limits and platform rules change. The date at the top shows when this guide was last updated, and the sources section links to the official pages it relies on. If something has changed, tell us and we will correct it.