The best virtual assistant companies, ranked by what you actually need.
1. Staffify — best for a dedicated, full-time assistant
Staffify
Best dedicated full-timeStaffify places one assistant inside your business, full-time, working only for you. Roughly 200 applicants are screened per role and you interview the final 3. Payroll, HR, training on your specific tools, real-time monitoring, and a lifetime replacement guarantee are all inside the hourly rate. Placement takes 14 to 20 days.
When it's the wrong choice: you need fewer than 15 hours a week, you require US-based staff, or you want to start tomorrow with zero onboarding. See the honest math on the how it works page.
2. Belay — best US-based fractional assistant
Belay
Best US-based fractionalBelay places US-based assistants, bookkeepers, and social media managers on fractional engagements. Strong screening, US time zones and cultural context by default, and a polished client experience. You pay a significant premium per hour for the US-based guarantee.
When it's the wrong choice: you need 30-plus hours a week — the per-hour premium compounds fast at volume. Full breakdown: Staffify vs Belay.
3. Time Etc — best light hourly plans
Time Etc
Best light hourlyTime Etc sells bundles of assistant hours from US and UK-based VAs. Good for founders who need 5 to 20 hours a month of overflow help and want to scale hours gradually. Simple pricing, low commitment.
When it's the wrong choice: steady daily workload. Hourly bundles get expensive past ~20 hours a week and the assistant splits attention across clients. Full breakdown: Staffify vs Time Etc.
4. Wing — best budget task plans
Wing
Best budget entryWing offers offshore assistants on subscription plans with a task-queue workflow and its own management app. The entry price is one of the lowest for managed offshore help, which makes it a common first stop.
When it's the wrong choice: when you want one person who deeply learns your business — lighter plans pool or rotate attention, and screening depth differs. Full breakdown: Staffify vs Wing.
5. Boldly — best premium US subscription
Boldly
Best premium US subscriptionBoldly employs its assistants as W2 staff (mostly US and Europe) with long tenure and deep executive-support experience, sold as a monthly subscription. It's the white-glove option for executives who want US-based continuity and are happy to pay for it.
When it's the wrong choice: cost-sensitive full-time needs — the per-hour rate is roughly triple a dedicated offshore hire. Full breakdown: Staffify vs Boldly.
6. Magic — best on-demand tasks
Magic
Best on-demandMagic runs a text-based, on-demand assistant service: send a request, their team executes. Zero onboarding, zero commitment, good for sporadic tasks and experiments.
When it's the wrong choice: recurring operational work — request-based pricing breaks down at volume, and no single person accumulates knowledge of your business. Full breakdown: Staffify vs Magic.
Side by side.
| Company | Model | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Staffify | Dedicated full-time, offshore, managed | Steady 20-40+ hrs/week, one person who learns your business | Not for under ~15 hrs/week |
| Belay | US-based fractional | US-only requirement, part-time executive support | Per-hour premium at volume |
| Time Etc | Hourly bundles, US/UK | 5-20 hrs/month overflow | Expensive past 20 hrs/week |
| Wing | Offshore subscription | Budget entry, task queues | Attention pooling on light plans |
| Boldly | Premium US/EU W2 subscription | White-glove executive support | ~3x offshore cost |
| Magic | On-demand requests | Sporadic tasks, experiments | Costly at recurring volume |
How we ranked.
By use case, not by score. Every company on this list is legitimate and wins a real category — pretending otherwise is how vendor listicles lose your trust. We weighted the things clients feel after month one: whether the same person shows up every day, screening depth, what happens when a placement fails, and the true all-in hourly cost once payroll, management, and replacement risk are counted.
Common questions.
What does a virtual assistant cost in 2026?
Dedicated full-time offshore VAs through a managed service run $11 to $20 per hour all-in ($2,000 to $4,500/month), US-based fractional services run $35 to $65 per hour, and freelance marketplaces span $5 to $50 per hour with you owning the screening and replacement risk. Full numbers in our VA cost guide.
Which VA company is best for a small business?
If you have steady daily work (20-plus hours a week), a dedicated full-time model like Staffify usually delivers the lowest cost per productive hour. If you need a few hours a month, an hourly bundle service like Time Etc fits better. The wrong answer is paying full-time rates for part-time need, or part-time rates for full-time need.
Are offshore virtual assistants as good as US-based ones?
For most operational roles, yes — when screening is real. The failure mode isn't geography, it's process: unvetted hires, no training, no management, no replacement path. That's why screening depth and post-placement management matter more than the map.
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