10 of the best virtual assistant services, reviewed

You’re craving a solid vacation as you feel yourself approaching burnout mode.

What’s on your current plate?

The question is more like, what isn’t on your plate ?

It’s definitely time for a break, yet you can’t leave your business unattended.

There’s too much on the line with the grueling hours you’ve put in as a solopreneur . The last thing you want is to lose the momentum you’ve gained while growing your business.

Suddenly, a lightbulb switches on.

You need help -- and you’re ready for it.

Your first online business is finally in a decent post-startup position where it can handle an expense like hiring your first virtual assistant . You've read all of the virtual assistant tips and you feel like you have a strong grasp on how to make it work, but there's just one impending question:

Where’s the best place to find a virtual assistant service?  

No need to do any more heavy lifting. We’ve waded through the gamut of options to bring you a condensed list of the top 10 virtual assistance services currently on the market.

Let’s first dig into how we define a top virtual assistant service.

What makes a top virtual assistant service?

As of the time of this writing, there are over 22 million results for the search term “hire virtual assistant”.

It’s a term that people have been interested in for a while, and by recent reports from Google Trends , 2019 has been a great year for anyone selling virtual assistant services.

Interest in hiring a virtual assistant -- or at least, interest in finding out how and where -- hit its highest points in the last five years in January and April of this year.

So there’s a lot of demand in the market, but is there a supply to meet it?

Definitely.

And that’s great for the market, but for the business owner trying to find help fast, it leaves a lot of information to sort through. When everyone says they’re the best in the business, it’s frustrating (at its best) to find the one that’s best for you.

To make it a little easier, this guide will measure virtual assistant services based on three primary metrics:

• Price - VA service plans, what’s included, and how much it costs

• Services - The types of services, skills, specializations featured by the VA service

• Features - What makes the VA service unique

For the sake of simplification, each review will also feature two additional ‘metrics’, which are -- hopefully -- fairly self-explanatory:

• Best for - Describes who the VA service is best for

• Not ideal for - Describes who the VA service isn’t best for

However, there’s a soft caveat to the first measurement, price, that you should keep in mind.

The average VA salary ranges from $400 to $5,600 per month .  

And when you’re comparing price for a virtual assistant service, you’re not just looking at the salary for the assistant -- you’re also paying for the agency that headhunts, manages, and facilitates finding the right VA for you.

So, while all of these services will likely cost you more than if you scouted and hired a virtual assistant directly, their uplifted price points reflect their likewise uplifted convenience.

Sound good? Then without further ado, here are the best virtual assistant services for creators.

10 of the best virtual assistant services

#1. Belay

Belay is a virtual assistant service that matches you up with a college-educated professional who best fits your needs.

Rather than hunting for your VA yourself, an assigned “Client Success Consultant” from the Belay team does the vetting for you, which means you skip the interviewing process. They simply get to know you and your business needs, then work their matchmaking magic.

Price:

Pricing varies depending on your needs. Based on a month-to-month contract, there’s a minimum of 10 hours per week and up to 40 hours a week. Fees range in price from $38-$43 an hour.

Services:

• Scheduling

• Email management

• Social media posting

• Proofing and editing

• Travel arrangements

• Client and team member coordination

Features:

Belay’s easy-to-use site allows you to get started in three simple steps from scheduling a meeting with a Belay team member, getting assigned a “Client Success Consultant”, and then being matched up with the right VA.

Best for:

Businesses based in the US or Canada that need assistance from experienced US-based virtual assistants. Belay claims their VAs are ideal for executives, entrepreneurs, small businesses, attorneys, photographers, consultants, and authors.

Not ideal for:

Those who need assistance outside of the standard first-shift work week. Belay VAs also don’t make sales calls nor support organizations outside the US or Canada.

#2. Fancy Hands

Fancy Hands offers help with a range of administrative and personal tasks, so you can make room for more strategic to-dos on your list. They also have a dedicated personal assistant service that allows you to work with the same person on all your requests.

Their assistants are US-based and can be reached conveniently on any device at any time of day. The company is known for saving you from time-sinks that exist in your daily grind, whether you need help once a week or every day.

Price:

They charge a monthly fee based on the number of requests. A standard request is up to 20 minutes of work. The smallest plan is for three requests a month at $17.99 a month, and the largest plan is $149.99 a month for 30 requests.

Services:

• Expense reports

• Scheduling

• Administrative tasks

• Research

• Calling

• Purchases, gift suggestions

• Concierge

• Personal to-do lists

• Travel arrangements

Features:

Fancy Hands is available from virtually any location via email, phone, or online. Its assistants also integrate with project management tools Asana and Trello, which makes task assignment a cinch if you’re already using these platforms.

Best for:

Those who want to trial VAs with a smaller monthly budget. Also ideal for businesses that want to unload a range of mundane administrative or personal tasks that slow down production. Asana, Trello, and Google calendar users will particularly enjoy their services.

Not ideal for:

Businesses looking for long-term or in-depth creative and project management work. It’s also not ideal if you want someone to join your team exclusively.

#3. MyTasker

MyTasker is an India-based company that offers virtual assistant services 24/7 from highly-skilled VAs. While their services range across a wide variety of specialties, each VA has an area of expertise.

Rather than hiring an individual to join your team, you submit a task and the best-qualified person from their team of VAs gets the job done.

Price:

MyTasker’s plans can accommodate all budgets and are based around hours of service. The cost ranges from $140 a month for 10 hours to $900 a month for 100 hours. You can also hire a full-time virtual employee for $1,200 a month.

Services:

• Administrative tasks

• Web design and development

• Accounting assistance

• Digital marketing

• Writing and editing

• IT support

Features:

MyTasker offers service around the clock. They also have a portal where you can track the progress of your requested tasks. If you’re looking for more vetting, you have the option to interview your VA beforehand.

Best for:

People looking for competitive pricing with a need for at least 10 hours of assistance per month. MyTasker is suitable for businesses of all sizes that want help with a wide range of tasks, projects, and roles during flexible working hours, including holidays.

Not ideal for:

Those looking for someone to make dispatching or cold calls. MyTasker VAs are also not suitable for someone looking for a dedicated team member to work exclusively for your business.

#4. Pepper Virtual Assistants

Pepper Virtual Assistants is a Philippines-based company established in 2009 which offers VA services from highly trained team members. Their dynamic team of VAs specializes in executive and marketing support, project management, and creative services.

The firm provides a well-equipped office to its staff that is fluent in English and college-educated. When you sign up to work with them, you’re designated a team of six members consisting of a senior VA, project manager, VA, back-up VA, copywriter, and IT support.

Price:

Pricing ranges from $297 per month for 20 hours of work to $1,200 per month for 160 hours of service. They also offer online marketing service packages ranging from $500 to $1,950 per month.

Services:

• Executive administrative support

• Marketing administrative support

• Customer service

• Project management

• Social media maintenance

• Bookkeeping support

• Writing and editing

• Creative services

Features:

Their services are available around the clock. You receive support from a dedicated VA team of six, which means you don’t have to worry about your business requests falling through the cracks or an unexpected sick day throwing off your deadlines.

Best for:

Small businesses looking for 24/7 support in a wide range of tasks, including creative services, such as online marketing, copywriting, and web design. If you want a team to support you, their service comes with a designated team of six for every client.

Not ideal for:

Someone looking to hire on a full-time dedicated team member. The team who works on your projects and tasks ultimately works for Pepper Virtual Assistants.

#5. TaskBullet

While TaskBullet is a US-based company, they offer VA services by virtual assistants also located in the Philippines. To use their service, you submit tasks to your dedicated VA and your project manager oversees the progress.

TaskBullet vets and trains their VAs to ensure top service quality. The firm is committed to supporting employment in the Philippines, where many citizens have achieved advanced education and degrees but struggle to find work.

Price:

The “Starter Bucket” plan is $11 an hour billed at $220, and the “Expert Bucket” plan is $6.50 an hour billed at $1,560. Each plan includes a dedicated VA and project manager and your hours roll over for three months.

Services:

• Administrative support

• Data entry

• Marketing

• Sales support

• Research

• Answering service

• Web development

• Social media maintenance

Features:

With Task Bullet, you get access to customer service 24/7 in addition to your dedicated VA and project manager. To delegate tasks, you simply assign them to your point of contact, use Basecamp to stay organized, and then communicate through your preferred channel.

Best for:

Those with several support and marketing tasks to offload but limited budgets to facilitate them. It’s also ideal for users who prefer Basecamp as a project management tool or who are trying to avoid contractual obligations/long-term commitment to their VA service.

Not ideal for:

Businesses that don’t have enough tasks to delegate. While you can rollover your unused hours, they expire after 90 days of purchase. TaskBullet is not ideal if you’re looking to hire a full-time employee to join your team.

#6. Time etc

Founded in 2007, Time etc is a virtual assistant service that offers businesses help with a wide range of roles from administrative and organizational tasks to selling. Their VAs are US-based with an average of 12 years of experience.

While each task may vary across areas of expertise, the hourly rate is the same for all types of tasks, which means pricing is based on the number of hours used.

Price:

Pricing is based on monthly hours, ranging from $360 per month for 10 hours of work to $1,980 per month for 60 hours of work. With each plan, you can send unlimited tasks (so long as they fit within the designated hours) and add extra assistants and users at no additional cost.

Services:

• Administrative organization

• Scheduling

• Travel arrangements

• Invoicing

• Email management

• Writing, content creation, editing, and proofing

• Marketing and social media

• Research

• Sales support

Features:

Time etc’s service is based on the number of monthly hours used. If you don’t use up your hours for the month, they roll over to the next. While you have a dedicated VA to handle your tasks, you can also add extra assistants at no additional cost.

Best for:

Businesses who want help with a wide range of projects and duties, including sales tasks like prospecting and lead management. Ideal for those with larger budgets and an overload of tasks, as you can add unlimited tasks.

Not ideal for:

Businesses with a smaller budget. Also, as is the theme for most of these services, not suitable if you’re looking for a dedicated VA to join your team exclusively.

#7. UAssist.ME

Located in Central America, UAssistME provides VA services across a wide range of skills in both English and Spanish. While the team of assistants works in a business environment located in Central America, they each have lived or studied in the US.

UAssist.ME’s virtual assistants have, at the university level, studied marketing, finance, business, public relations, programming, and design, among other concentrations.

Price:

Plans range from $299 per month for 20 hours each month to $1,798 per month for a full-time support team that consists of three virtual assistants. Each plan provides a fully equipped workstation at the home base location and unlimited US phone calls.

Services:

• Bookkeeping

• Administrative

• Translations and transcriptions

• Customer service

• Billing and collecting

• Technical development

• Graphic design

• Website content development

• Email management

• Answering service

• Social media maintenance

• Programming

Features:

Their hiring process is straightforward: you simply choose a plan, select and interview your assistant, and then start delegating. You’re assigned a dedicated assistant with your plan.

Best for:

Bilingual businesses looking for assistance in English and Spanish across a multitude of expertise. Also ideal for those looking for 20 hours of work per month with competitive pricing.

Not ideal for:

Those needing help beyond normal business hours of 9 a.m to 6 p.m. Also not ideal if you’re looking to hire someone as a full-time team member. Staffing is coordinated through UAssist.ME.

#8. Vasumo

Vasumo is a US-based virtual assistant service that offers a range of advanced marketing and sales support. Their in-house employees are trained and certified for over three months and cover over 300 tasks during their training.

When you sign up for Vasumo assistance, you’re assigned one assistant who works on all of your tasks. All Vasumo assistants are located in one of their offices in Toronto, New York, or San Francisco.

Price:

Pricing plans range from $598 per month for the “Economy” plan to $998 per month for the “First Class” plan. The first plan includes up to 20 hours monthly, and the second plan includes up to 40 hours monthly.

Services:

• Websites, landing pages, and funnel building or maintenance

• Graphic design

• Video and audio editing

• Marketing and advertising services

• Social media maintenance

• Administrative support

• Sales support

Features:

To work with an assistant, you simply sign up for your desired plan and add a task with instructions. Vasumo takes care of the vetting and recruiting for you, while you manage your tasks inside their dashboard. Everything is done digitally and phone-free.

Best for:

Those looking for US-based professionally trained and certified assistants to support a multitude of high-level sales and marketing efforts. Ideal for those working standard US business hours between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Not ideal for:

Someone looking to hire a full-time assistant in an exclusive employee contract. Vasumo’s VAs are staffed by the company itself. It’s also not ideal for those who need flexible business hours.

#9. Virtual Staff Finder

Founded by leading entrepreneur, Chris Ducker, Virtual Staff Finder provides a network of virtual assistants who are based in the Philippines and known for their fluent verbal and written English communication skills.

Their VAs work directly with you, the creator who started a business from home . They’re also paid directly by you, which means you have flexibility in managing role responsibilities.

Price:

Since you pay your VA directly, there’s no set price or a plan in place, which means the salary amount is up to you. However, most VAs accept $250-300 a month for part-time work and between $500-600 per month for full-time work.

Services:

• Administrative support

• Communication management (English)

• WordPress development

• Moderate sales calls

• Social media management

• Email management

• Blog management

Features:

Virtual Staff Finder features a five-step recruiting process, including signing up, outsourcing, testing, interviewing, and hiring.

Best for:

Businesses looking to handpick their virtual assistants from a curated database who need flexible working hours. Also ideal for those wanting to set their own budgets and compensation plans.

Not ideal for:

People who desire short-term assistants. They recommend compensating VAs on a fixed monthly basis, rather than an hourly wage, to encourage long-term working relationships. Also, developing skills are limited to WordPress only.

#10. Zirtual

Zirtual’s network of virtual assistants are vetted, trained, and ready to offer administrative tasks.

The company boasts less than 2% of their VA assistant applicants are hired and, once they are, they’re professionally supported. Zirtual VAs have a diverse set of skills and are proficient in Microsoft, Google, and most popular software suites.

Price:

Plans start at $549 per month for 12 hours of task work per month for one user and go up to 50 hours per week for five users.

Services:

• Scheduling

• Purchases

• Vendor management

• Email management

• Presentation formatting

• Project management

• Data entry

Features:

Your dedicated virtual assistant plans include the option to send emails from your branded domain to add a touch of professionalism to your business. Hours are standard US working hours Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Best for:

People looking for college-educated US-based virtual assistants who need administrative support. Also ideal for businesses who want to start off small at 12 hours of work per month.

Not ideal for:

Those looking for advanced help with design work, sales calls, or in-depth accounting.

Get a helping hand from your virtual assistant service

While there’s an abundance of virtual assistant services out there, the 10 that are most notable are:

• Belay if you want to avoid the vetting and interviewing process altogether and sign up for a VA matchmaking service.

• Fancy Hands if you want to start off small and delegate a moderate number of monthly administrative or personal tasks.

• MyTasker if you’re looking for around-the-clock assistance with competitive pricing.

• Pepper Virtual Assistants if you’re interested in hiring a dedicated team to help you 24/7 with a wide range of tasks.

• TaskBullet if you have a large number of tasks to offload and want to hire competitively priced VAs.

• Time etc if you want help with a wide range of duties and need support that comes with a lot of experience.

• UAssist.ME if you’re in search of an English-Spanish bilingual VA service to help with administrative and marketing support tasks.

• Vasumo if you don’t like using the phone and want to work with a dedicated VA based in the US.

• Virtual Staff Finder if you want to foster a long-term relationship working directly with, and potentially hiring on, a VA based in the Philippines.

• Zirtual if you need a US-based college-educated VA to help with administrative and support duties.

Basically, if you’re looking for support for your day-to-day business without going through the rigamarole of headhunting your own virtual assistant, then these services can take away the burden.

And if you’re looking for an all-in-one platform that your VA can easily use, then you need something like Podia. You can sign up for a free Podia account today .

Just remember: only you know what’s best for your business. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.