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An offshore VA at $1,200/mo means $14,400/yr per person. A custom AI agent handling the same task load costs $300/mo to run after a one-time build. This calculator shows the exact payback period, Year 1 savings, and 5-year delta between keeping your VA team and replacing the repeatable work with AI.
Top task categories handled by VAs
AI agent cost inputs
Monthly cost comparison
Payback timeline
Build cost fully recovered in month 5 of operation.
Year 1 net savings (after build cost)
$16,200
VA team monthly cost
$2,400/mo
AI agent monthly cost
$300/mo
Year 2+ annual savings
$25,200/yr
Payback period
Month 5
5-year total savings vs. VA-only
+$117,000
VAs remain valuable for nuanced judgment, client relationships, and novel situations. AI handles the volume and consistency. Most Scouq clients keep one VA for oversight after deploying.
VA team cost: VA count x monthly cost per VA. Annual = monthly x 12. Source: user input (overseas VA typical range $800-$2,000/mo).
AI monthly run cost: Modal LLM inference + CPX31 hosting pro-rated. Default $300/mo. Source: Scouq CPX31 production Modal usage logs, 2025-2026.
Year 1 net savings: Annual VA cost - (AI monthly x 12) - build cost.
Year 2+ annual savings: Annual VA cost - (AI monthly x 12). Build cost already recovered.
Payback period: Build cost / (VA monthly - AI monthly). Source: Scouq internal project pricing basis.
Task coverage rates: Data entry 95%, lead research 90%, scheduling 80%, reporting 95%, inbox triage 70%, customer support 60%, content 50%. Source: Scouq client build observations, 2025-2026.
We scope which of your VA tasks are automatable, design the agent workflow, and ship a fixed-price build. Most VA-replacement agents go live in 3 to 5 weeks. No hourly surprise billing.
Related: AI Agent Build Cost Estimator . Voice AI ROI Calculator
Task automation coverage
Each task category gets a coverage rate based on Scouq client builds: data entry 95%, lead research 90%, scheduling 80%, inbox triage 70%, customer support 60%, content 50%. These are the observed autonomous completion rates -- the remaining percentage goes to a human review queue.
Build cost
The build cost range is $6,000 to $15,000 for a custom AI agent covering 2-4 task categories with standard integrations. Default $9,000 is Scouq's mid-range Quick Build tier for a VA-replacement workflow. This is our actual pricing basis.
Monthly run cost
AI agent run cost is Modal LLM inference plus CPX31 hosting, pro-rated. Default $300/mo covers roughly 2,000 tasks per month at Scouq's observed production rates. Higher task volume or more complex LLM prompts increase this.
5-year savings
We compare 5 years of VA cost (count x monthly x 60) against 5 years of AI run cost (monthly x 60) plus the one-time build cost. No inflation adjustment -- this is a conservative flat comparison.
