Author:
Blendi Muriqi
The best VA agency for a U.S. startup depends on its stage and how many roles it needs filled:
Delegate.co places dedicated, Philippines-based assistants across executive, operations, bookkeeping, marketing, and customer support roles, starting at $13 an hour. Founders get a shortlist of up to 5 vetted candidates in 3 to 5 days, on month-to-month terms.
The first remote hire at a startup is rarely just an assistant. It’s usually the person who keeps the founder’s calendar, chases invoices, cleans up the CRM, and posts on LinkedIn, all in the same week. A few months later, it’s two or three people doing those jobs separately.
That’s why the right agency at pre-seed can be the wrong one at Series A. This comparison is organized around that shift.
Your situation |
What to look for |
Agencies that fit |
|---|---|---|
Founder doing all the operations, first hire
|
One dedicated generalist, low commitment, low cost
|
Delegate.co, Wing Assistant, Magic
|
Growing team that needs an EA plus operations, bookkeeping, or marketing
|
Several roles from one provider, one point of contact
|
Delegate.co, Athena, BELAY
|
Roles that need U.S.-based staff
|
U.S.-based assistants employed by the agency
|
BELAY, Boldly
|
Work that can’t stop when someone is out
|
A backup assistant built into the plan
|
Prialto, Delegate.co (free replacement)
|
Agency |
Model |
Roles |
Published starting price |
Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dedicated, Philippines-based, managed
|
EA, operations, bookkeeping, marketing, customer support, sales support
|
Starts at $13/hour
|
Month to month, 30-day notice
| |
Dedicated full-time EA, employed by Athena
|
EA, plus bookkeeping, marketing, PM, and HR specialists
|
$3,000/month (full-time EA)
|
Monthly after initial 90-day commitment
| |
U.S.-based, fractional
|
Executive, marketing, operations, sales assistants; bookkeeping and accounting
|
Not published (flat monthly fee)
|
Not published
| |
Dedicated, any time zone
|
General VA plus 25+ listed roles
|
$699/month (80 hours)
|
No long-term contract
| |
Dedicated, 40 hours a week
|
VA, EA, customer support, admin, e-commerce
|
$360/week (VA)
|
No contracts
| |
Managed units with backup
|
Dedicated assistant, engagement manager, backup assistant
|
$1,600/month per 55-hour unit
|
90-day minimum per unit
| |
U.S.-based staff employed by Boldly
|
EA, admin, PM, marketing, customer service, bookkeeping
|
$2,600/month (40 hours)
|
Cancel anytime
|
Prices are each company’s published rates as of October 2026. Confirm current terms with the provider.
Model: Dedicated, Philippines-based assistants who are recruited, vetted, onboarded, and paid by Delegate.co. Each client works with a dedicated client success partner.
Best for: Startups that start with one operator and expect to add more roles, such as an EA first, then a bookkeeper or marketing assistant, without restarting the hiring process each time.
What they do: Executive and admin support, operations, bookkeeping, marketing (content and design, scheduling, paid ads, SEO tools), customer support, and sales support.
Core capabilities:
Pricing: From $13 an hour, with plans starting at 80 hours a month. Month to month, with 30-day notice.
Model: One dedicated, full-time executive assistant employed by Athena, matched through a survey and onboarding process.
Best for: Founders who want a single full-time EA and are comfortable with a 90-day start.
What they do: Executive assistance, plus bookkeeping, marketing, project management, and HR specialists.
Core capabilities: Algorithmic matching with tailored onboarding (one to two weeks from sign-up to kickoff), a partnership manager, a delegation training library, and a rematch if the partnership isn’t working. Athena says it accepts 1% of applicants.
Pricing: $3,000 a month for a full-time EA, monthly after an initial 90-day commitment. Specialist pricing isn’t published.
Model: U.S.-based professionals on fractional plans, matched by people rather than algorithms.
Best for: Founders who need their assistant based in the U.S.
What they do: Executive, marketing, operations, and sales assistants, plus bookkeeping, accounting, payroll, and fractional finance roles.
Core capabilities: A discovery process before matching, a client success consultant, and a rematch at no added cost if the first match isn’t right. BELAY says it matches in as little as one week and accepts the top 3% of U.S.-based applicants. Assistants work Monday to Friday, 9 to 5 in their own time zone.
Pricing: A flat monthly fee. Prices and contract terms aren’t published.
Model: Dedicated assistants working any hours in the client’s time zone, with a customer success manager.
Best for: Founders who want the lowest published monthly price for a dedicated generalist.
What they do: General virtual assistance, plus listed roles in executive support, marketing, bookkeeping, customer service, and sales development.
Core capabilities: “Live in 48 hours,” free replacement, quality control and supervision, and a workspace app.
Pricing: $699 a month for 80 hours or $999 a month for 160 hours. No long-term contract.
Model: Dedicated assistants on 40-hour weeks, with team plans for scaling businesses.
Best for: Founders who want to pick their assistant before paying, with weekly pricing.
What they do: Virtual, executive, customer support, admin, and e-commerce assistance.
Core capabilities: You pay only after selecting the assistant you want. The EA plan includes Magic’s 24/7 service, and team plans add custom hiring, custom training, and volume discounts.
Pricing: $360 a week for a virtual assistant or $540 a week for an executive assistant, at 40 hours a week on four-week billing. No contracts, cancel anytime.
Model: Managed assistant “units,” each with an engagement manager and a backup assistant.
Best for: Founders whose work can’t pause when an assistant is out.
What they do: Dedicated assistance, with full-time and enterprise plans for larger teams.
Core capabilities: Team-based backup coverage, custom processes built by an engagement manager, onboarding in three to five days for individuals and small teams, and no overage fees. Standard hours are 9 to 6, Monday to Friday, in U.S. and U.K. time zones.
Pricing: $1,600 a month per 55-hour unit, or from $3,600 a month for full-time (three or more units). 90-day minimum per unit, plus a $250 setup fee that’s waived on annual agreements.
Model: U.S.-based staff employed directly by Boldly, on monthly subscriptions. North America and Europe-based staff are also available.
Best for: Founders who want experienced, U.S.-based support and can budget for it.
What they do: Executive assistance, admin, project management, marketing, customer service, and bookkeeping, plus specialist tasks like design and writing.
Core capabilities: You meet the recommended assistant before subscribing. Boldly offers a satisfaction guarantee that refunds the month’s fees and describes its staff as having 10 to 15 years of experience.
Pricing: From $2,600 a month for 40 hours, up to $6,500 for 100 hours. Specialist tasks are $79 an hour. Cancel anytime.
A few things decide whether an agency still fits six months in:
Still deciding what kind of help you need? See dedicated VA vs. in-house admin, one dedicated assistant vs. a support team, and managed vs. freelance VAs. If an EA is the priority, compare the best EA companies for founders.
It depends on stage. For a first hire on a budget, Delegate.co, Wing Assistant, and Magic offer dedicated assistants with published pricing and no long-term contracts. For several roles from one provider, Delegate.co, Athena, and BELAY cover executive, operations, bookkeeping, and marketing work. For U.S.-based staff, BELAY and Boldly specialize in it.
Published starting prices range from $699 a month for 80 hours (Wing Assistant) to $3,000 a month for a full-time EA (Athena). Delegate.co starts at $13 an hour. U.S.-based providers cost more: Boldly starts at $2,600 a month for 40 hours.
Terms vary. Delegate.co is month to month with 30-day notice. Wing Assistant, Magic, and Boldly have no long-term contracts. Athena has an initial 90-day commitment, and Prialto has a 90-day minimum per unit.
U.S.-based assistants cost more and suit roles that need U.S. presence or overlapping business hours. Offshore assistants, including Philippines-based ones, cost less and can cover hours your team doesn’t. Many startups use offshore assistants for operations and admin.
Some can. Delegate.co places executive, operations, bookkeeping, marketing, and customer support assistants through the same shortlist process. Athena and BELAY also offer specialist roles alongside executive assistants.
Most startups don’t stop at one assistant. The second and third hires are where the choice of agency shows.
With Delegate.co, every role follows the same process:
Your EA, bookkeeper, and marketing assistant come from one provider, on one invoice, at rates from $13 an hour, month to month. When you’re ready to grow the team, read when to hire a second VA and how to manage a remote VA team.
Book a strategy call with the list of roles you expect to fill this year, and we’ll map the order to hire them.
