Best virtual assistant companies for small business, by what you need
It depends on what you hand off. For a few hours of US-based admin, Time Etc publishes prices from $390 a month. For a dedicated assistant, Wishup (India) starts at $1,299 for 4 hours a day and Stealth Agents (Philippines) at $1,600 for 160 hours. For repeat batch work, a managed team such as HerWorkCircle prices per piece.
The short list
- [Time Etc](https://www.timeetc.com/pricing): best for a few hours a month of US or UK-based admin, with no setup fee and no notice period.
- [Wishup](https://www.wishup.co/pricing): best for one dedicated assistant in India, 4 or 8 hours a day, month to month.
- [Stealth Agents](https://stealthagents.com/pricing/): best for a full-time assistant in the Philippines on US hours.
- [Belay](https://belaysolutions.com/faq): best for a US-based executive assistant on a month-to-month plan.
- [Athena](https://www.athena.com/faqs): best for founders who want one full-time executive assistant for their own day.
- [Prialto](https://www.prialto.com/pricing): best for executives who want a managed assistant with an engagement manager and backup.
- [MyOutDesk](https://www.myoutdesk.com/pricing/): best for a full-time dedicated hire with an account manager.
- [OnlineJobs.ph](https://www.onlinejobs.ph/): best if you want to hire and manage a Filipino worker directly.
- [HerWorkCircle](/hire): best for repeat batch work, such as listings, data checking and support tickets, checked by a second person.
How we chose and what we checked
We are one of the options on this list, so we've ordered it by the kind of help you need, not with ourselves first, and we say when each provider is the better choice. Every price below is copied from the provider's own page on 25 October 2026, with a link. Where a provider doesn't publish a price, we say so instead of guessing.
Ratings are the public Trustpilot or Clutch figures we saw on the same day. Many other lists that rank for this search are written by assistant companies, and few date their prices, so check the date on anything you compare.
Virtual assistant companies compared
| Provider | What you buy | Published price | Staff based in | Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time Etc | Hours with one assistant | $390 a month for 10 hours; £310 + VAT in the UK | US (UK site: UK) | None; cancel with no notice period |
| Wishup | One dedicated assistant | $1,299 (4 hours a day) or $1,999 (8 hours a day) | India, or US for $5,400 | Month to month, cancel anytime |
| Stealth Agents | One full-time assistant | $1,600 to $3,000 a month for 160 hours, plus an onboarding fee | Philippines | Page shows a 3-month commitment and a 30-day cancellation notice; confirm |
| Belay | A US-based assistant | Executive assistant rates not published; social media manager plans from $2,070 a month | US | Month to month |
| Athena | One full-time executive assistant | $3,000 a month on a 12-month commitment, or $3,600 after 90 days | Overseas: Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya and the Philippines, per its About page | 12 months, or 90 days then monthly |
| Prialto | A managed assistant for 55 hours a month | From $1,500 a month a unit, plus a $250 setup fee (waived with a 1-year agreement) | Not stated on its pricing page | 90-day minimum per unit |
| MyOutDesk | A full-time dedicated hire | From $1,988 a month | Not stated on its pricing page | Not published |
| OnlineJobs.ph | A job board to hire directly | Plan prices in our OnlineJobs.ph comparison | Philippines | You set terms with the worker |
| HerWorkCircle | Finished batch work | No rate card: a price for a trial batch, agreed before work starts | India | None; a small trial batch first |
Time Etc: for a few hours a month of admin
Time Etc sells monthly bundles of an assistant's hours. Its US pricing runs from $390 for 10 hours ($39 an hour) to $2,160 for 60 hours ($36 an hour); the UK plans run from £310 for 10 hours, excluding VAT. There's no setup fee, and you can cancel with no notice period.
Best for: owners who need help in small doses, from an assistant based in the US or UK. Downside: at $36 to $39 an hour, large repeat volumes get expensive. Rating: 4.8 from 282 reviews on Trustpilot.
Wishup: one dedicated assistant in India
Wishup assigns one assistant by the month. Its pricing page lists the Prime plan at $1,999 for 8 hours a day or $1,299 for 4, Elite at $2,999 or $1,999, and a US-based assistant at $5,400 or $3,000. It is month to month and you can cancel anytime.
Best for: daily admin, inbox and calendar work by one person who learns your habits. Downside: you pay for the seat whether or not there's work that week. Rating: 4.7 from 110 on Trustpilot. More in our Wishup comparison.
Stealth Agents: a full-time assistant in the Philippines
Stealth Agents places one full-time assistant, 160 hours a month, at $1,600, $2,400 or $3,000 depending on seniority, plus a one-time onboarding fee whose amount isn't shown. Its pricing page states a 3-month commitment, while its FAQ and Terms say you can cancel with 30 days written notice.
Best for: a full-time assistant on US hours with broad executive or operations work. Downside: a full-time seat is a lot if your work comes in batches. Rating: 4.9 from 87 on Trustpilot. More in our Stealth Agents comparison.
Belay: a US-based executive assistant
Belay's FAQ says every executive assistant is US-based and support runs month to month at a flat monthly rate, typically from 45 hours a month. It doesn't publish assistant rates; its social media manager plans start at $2,070 a month.
Best for: US owners who want a US-based assistant for high-trust work. Downside: no published assistant price, so you can't compare before a sales call. Rating: 3.8 from 63 on Trustpilot. More in our Belay pricing comparison.
Athena: one full-time executive assistant
Athena matches a leader with one full-time executive assistant. Its FAQ lists $3,000 a month with a 12-month commitment, or $3,600 a month after an initial 90-day commitment. Its assistants are based overseas, in communities it names in Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya and the Philippines.
Best for: a founder's own inbox, calendar and travel. Downside: a long commitment and one person's week, which suits a leader's day more than batch work. More in our Athena comparison.
Prialto: a managed assistant with backup
Prialto sells a "unit" of 55 hours a month with an engagement manager and backup cover. Its pricing page says pricing starts at $1,500 a month with a 90-day minimum per unit and a $250 setup fee in the first month, waived with a 1-year agreement; the same page also shows $1,600 a unit. Full-time dedicated assistants start at $3,600.
Best for: executives who want a managed, continuity-backed assistant. Downside: a 90-day minimum, and two unit prices on one page, so get the quote in writing. Rating: 4.5 from 25 on Trustpilot.
MyOutDesk: a full-time dedicated hire
MyOutDesk places full-time dedicated staff, with managed outsourcing listed from $1,988 a month and specialised roles from $2,500 on its pricing page. It doesn't offer part-time placements.
Best for: a full-time hire with an account manager. Downside: full-time only. Rating: 5.0 from 68 on Clutch; no Trustpilot reviews when we checked.
OnlineJobs.ph: hire a Filipino worker yourself
OnlineJobs.ph is a job board: you post a job, hire a worker in the Philippines directly, and manage and pay them yourself. Its site blocked our visit on 25 October 2026; our OnlineJobs.ph comparison has its plan prices from an earlier check.
Best for: owners who want to recruit and manage their own remote staff. Downside: screening, training and quality checks are your job. Rating: 3.5 from 293 on Trustpilot.
HerWorkCircle: checked batch work from a team in India
We run a managed team of skill-checked women across India. You send repeat work in batches, such as product listings, catalog updates, data checking, research lists or written support tickets, and a second person checks every piece before it reaches you. You pay per piece or per hour, agreed before work starts.
Best for: repeat work with written rules, at volumes that rise and fall. Not for: phone work, or one person in your inbox and calendar every day; an assistant above suits that better. Judge us on a small paid trial batch. If you're weighing an assistant from India, our guide to hiring a virtual assistant from India covers costs and hiring models.
Questions to ask any virtual assistant company
- What's the minimum term, and how much notice to cancel? Some pages show two different answers.
- Are there setup or onboarding fees, and what do they cover?
- How many hours does the price include, and what happens above them?
- Who checks the work before it reaches me? One assistant checking their own work is not the same as a second person.
- What happens when my assistant is away or leaves?
- Where will the person work from, and in which hours? India suits overnight work for the US and shared hours with the UK, Europe, the Gulf and Singapore; the Philippines suits US evenings and Australian days.
Which one to choose
| If you need | Look at |
|---|---|
| A few hours of admin a month | Time Etc |
| One dedicated assistant, part or full time | Wishup, Stealth Agents, MyOutDesk |
| A US-based executive assistant | Belay, Time Etc |
| A founder's full-time executive assistant | Athena, Prialto |
| To hire and manage someone yourself | OnlineJobs.ph |
| Repeat batches of listings, data or support tickets, checked before delivery | HerWorkCircle |
If you're not sure, try the cheapest small test each provider offers before you sign up for a month. For batch work, send us a short brief and we'll price a trial batch.
Questions
What is the best virtual assistant company for a small business?
It depends on the work. Time Etc suits a few hours of admin a month, Wishup and Stealth Agents suit one dedicated assistant, Belay suits a US-based executive assistant, and a managed team suits repeat batch work.
How much does a virtual assistant company cost?
On 25 October 2026 published prices ran from $390 a month for 10 hours (Time Etc) to $1,299 to $1,999 a month for an assistant in India (Wishup) and $1,600 to $3,000 for a full-time assistant in the Philippines (Stealth Agents). Athena lists $3,000 a month on a 12-month commitment.
Which virtual assistant companies have no long contract?
Time Etc lets you cancel with no notice period, Wishup is month to month, and Belay runs month to month. Stealth Agents' page shows both a 3-month commitment and 30 days written notice, so confirm it.
Are virtual assistants in India or the Philippines better?
Neither is better overall. India suits overnight work for the US and shared hours with the UK, Europe and the Gulf; the Philippines suits US evenings and Australian working days.
Is a virtual assistant or a managed team better for repeat work?
For batches with written rules, such as listings or data checking, a managed team that prices per piece and checks every piece usually fits better. For a leader's daily admin, one assistant does.
Sources
- Pricing (US): monthly plans, no setup fee, cancel any time Time Etc
- Plans and pricing (UK), excluding VAT Time Etc
- Pricing: Prime, Elite, US-based and bookkeeping plans Wishup
- Pricing: packages, onboarding fee, commitment and FAQ Stealth Agents
- FAQ: US-based assistants, month to month, 45 hours a month Belay
- Pricing: Prialto unit and full-time plans, 90-day minimum, setup fee Prialto
- Social media manager plans and prices Belay
- FAQs: prices and commitments Athena
- About: where its assistants are based Athena
- Terms: cancellation with 30 days written notice Stealth Agents
- Pricing: managed and specialised outsourcing MyOutDesk
- MyOutDesk profile and reviews Clutch
- Company reviews: Time Etc, Wishup, Stealth Agents, Belay, Prialto, OnlineJobs.ph (seen 25 October 2026) Trustpilot