Our Detailed Guide to Virtual Assistant Services in 2024

17 minutes

Today, business is defined by digital communication and transactions. So, virtual assistant services have become increasingly crucial to business success. These indispensable professionals offer a diverse range of skills and services, enabling small and large businesses alike to present a professional image.

Whether you're a solopreneur looking to offload routine tasks, a small business seeking to scale efficiently, or a large enterprise in need of specialized expertise, finding the perfect virtual assistant service can be a game-changer for your business. However, with the proliferation of virtual assistant services in the market, finding the right fit for your business can be a daunting task.

Let’s take a look at what you should know to choose the best virtual assistant service in 2024.

Selecting Virtual Assistant Services

Pinpointing the ideal virtual assistant services for your business requires careful consideration of various factors. Here are key criteria that can help you make an informed decision.

Skill Set and Expertise

Assess the range of skills offered by the virtual assistant service, ensuring they align with your business needs. Look for expertise in areas such as administrative support, customer service, content creation, social media management, and more. By prioritizing skill sets and experience when hiring virtual assistants, businesses can delegate tasks confidently, knowing they have competent professionals capable of delivering high-quality results.

Customer Service

Effective communication is essential for seamless collaboration with your virtual assistant. Evaluate the service's communication channels, response times, and language proficiency. You want to deal with a company that would ensure smooth interactions and understanding. Get a service that puts customers first and tries to accommodate their needs in the best way possible.

Availability and Flexibility

Determine the availability and flexibility of the virtual assistant service to accommodate your business hours and workload fluctuations. Look for services that offer round-the-clock support or flexible scheduling options to meet your needs.

Security and Confidentiality

Protecting sensitive business information is paramount. Prioritize virtual assistant services that adhere to strict security protocols, including data encryption, confidentiality agreements, and secure communication channels.

Reputation and Reviews

Finally, listen to people who have been there before you. Although you have to take plenty of things online with a grain of salt, you can find reputable reviews and testimonials of VA staffer agencies on websites like Clutch and Capterra. Research the reputation of the virtual assistant service before signing on. A strong track record of reliability, professionalism, and client satisfaction is indicative of a reputable service provider.

Key Qualities to Look For

Besides checking out the service provider, you should also be taking a closer look at the assistant you’re going to hire. Although many service providers don’t allow clients to interview candidates, some, like Wing, would. Here are things you could check for during your conversation with the assistant.

Communication Skills

Many assistants are college-educated and have English as a second language. However, your mileage may vary, which could be a factor if you’re delegating client- or customer-facing roles to your assistant. If you want to assess your prospective VA’s communication skills, you can request an interview or a video clip of them speaking.

Proactive Problem-Solving

Seek virtual assistants who demonstrate initiative and proactivity in addressing challenges and finding solutions. With an assistant who doesn’t turn to you for every little thing, you could significantly enhance productivity and efficiency in your business operations. Here are things you can ask to gauge someone’s problem solving skills:

1. Can you provide an example of a situation where you took the initiative to address a problem or improve a process without being asked?
2. How do you approach a new task or project when you encounter obstacles or challenges along the way?
3. Tell me about a time when you identified an inefficiency in your previous role and took steps to rectify it. What was the outcome?

Adaptability and Learning Agility

Choose virtual assistants who are adaptable and quick to learn new skills and technologies. The ability to adapt to evolving business needs and embrace new challenges is essential for long-term success. Here are questions you can ask to see if your candidate is adaptable:

1. Can you provide an example of a time when you had to quickly learn a new skill or software to complete a task or project? How did you approach the learning process, and what was the outcome?
2. Describe a situation where you were assigned to a project outside of your usual scope of work. How did you adapt to the new requirements and responsibilities, and what challenges did you encounter?
3. Give me an example of a situation where you had to work with a new team or colleague with different work styles or communication preferences. How did you adapt to ensure effective collaboration and teamwork?

Cultural Fit and Compatibility

Consider the cultural fit and compatibility of the virtual assistant with your business values, work culture, and communication style. Assessing compatibility helps reduce turnover rates and enhances employee satisfaction and engagement.

Additionally, hiring individuals who fit well with the company culture can contribute to stronger teamwork, communication, and collaboration, ultimately driving organizational success. You want to hire a reliable, trustworthy virtual assistant, and often, this means hiring someone who fits in with the team.

Here are questions you can ask to gauge someone’s cultural fit:

1. Can you describe your ideal work environment and the type of culture where you thrive the most?
2. What attracted you to our company, and how do you see yourself contributing to our culture?
3. Can you share an example of a time when you successfully integrated into a new work culture or team? What steps did you take to adapt and build relationships?

Quality Assurance

Look for virtual assistant services that implement quality assurance measures and provide performance metrics to track productivity, accuracy, and efficiency. Assessing this skill helps mitigate risks associated with errors or oversights, ultimately safeguarding the reputation and credibility of the company's products or services. Additionally, candidates with a strong focus on quality assurance contribute to improved efficiency, customer satisfaction, and long-term success for the organization. Here’s what you can ask to assess this skill:

1. How do you ensure accuracy and precision in your work, particularly when handling complex tasks or projects with tight deadlines?
2. Can you provide an example of a time when you identified a potential error or discrepancy in a project or process? How did you address it, and what was the outcome?
3. What strategies do you use to prevent defects or mistakes from occurring in your work? How do you prioritize quality while managing competing priorities?

Budget Considerations

While it may be tempting to opt for cheaper virtual assistant services, evaluating your budget helps strike a balance between affordability and quality, ensuring that you invest in a service that meets your needs without compromising on value or reliability. Here’s what to look for:

1. Transparent Pricing: Evaluate the pricing structure of virtual assistant services to ensure transparency and clarity. Look for services that offer straightforward pricing plans with no hidden fees or unexpected costs.
2. Scalability and Value for Money: Consider the scalability of the virtual assistant service and assess whether the pricing aligns with the value delivered. Look for services that offer flexible pricing options and deliver tangible ROI for your investment.
3. Cost-Efficiency vs. Quality: Strike a balance between cost-efficiency and quality when choosing a virtual assistant service. While budget considerations are important, prioritize quality and reliability to avoid compromising on the effectiveness of support provided.

By carefully evaluating these criteria and considerations, you can confidently select the best human virtual assistant service that aligns with your business objectives, enhances productivity, and drives growth in 2024 and beyond.

Top Virtual Assistant Companies in 2024

Today, many virtual assistant companies boast exceptional offerings, reliability, and client satisfaction. Here, we provide a comprehensive review of the best virtual assistant providers, each offering unique strengths and specialized services to meet diverse business needs.

Wing Assistant

Wing Assistant, established in 2018, caters to the diverse needs of businesses and professionals worldwide. With a mission to empower clients with efficient and reliable support, Wing Assistant offers a comprehensive range of virtual assistance services from the top 0.5% of talent. Wing is highly rated on review sites, and it has been recognized as one of Clutch’s 100 fastest growing companies in 2023.

Services Offered

Wing has 20+ lines of business and offers a wide range of talent, from customer service representatives to sales professionals, content writers, graphic designers, medical scribes, e-commerce and real estate virtual assistants, and more. Wing also offers bilingual English-Spanish assistants and US-based virtual assistants.

Wing’s Pricing

You could get a part-time general virtual assistant at Wing from $699 per month. Meanwhile, full-time assistants start at $1,099 per month. Specialized talent will have different rates; Wing has a comprehensive pricing structure you can access on this page.

When to Hire Wing

Wing is a well-rounded virtual assistant service, capable of serving companies of all sizes. You can also offload everything from simple to-do lists to entire business processes, and hire as few or as many assistants as you need.

BELAY

Founded in 2010, BELAY Solutions is an Atlanta, GA-based virtual assistant company providing general virtual assistants, remote accounting professionals, and social media managers. BELAY claims to have served more than 10,000 clients, with 1,800 contractors at the ready and a 93% “first match success rate.” The company is big on culture; fittingly, they’ve gained recognition in the past for their growth and company culture.

Services Offered

BELAY focuses on providing general VAs, accounting support, and social media support. On their page, they go into detail about the types of tasks their general VAs can take on. BELAY virtual assistants typically have more than 5 years of experience. They handle tasks like bookkeeping, social media management, calendar & schedule management, email management, travel coordination, and more.

BELAY’s Pricing

In 2020, BELAY reportedly had a $30-$40/hour rate for assistants, putting their services at $4,800/month, including an initial startup fee. However, the total monthly cost could vary depending on the client’s individual needs. To get the most accurate quote, it is best to speak with their team.

When to Hire BELAY

If you’re a small business owner looking for a US-based bookkeeper, or social media manager, or if you have basic tasks to outsource to a general virtual assistant, you could benefit from hiring BELAY. However, if you have other needs (e.g. e-commerce, website design, or customer service support), you might want to check out other service providers.

Wishup

Headquartered in Miami, FL, Wishup is an outsourcing service with more than 200 employees. They claim to connect clients with pre-vetted talent in the top 1% of their industry. Founded with a vision to provide efficient and reliable virtual assistance, Wishup’s leadership caters to the diverse needs of clients worldwide.

Services Offered

Wishup advertises several types of virtual talent ready to take on clients. They have executive assistants, Amazon VAs, virtual research assistants, hiring assistants, and more. They also offer US-based assistants as a separate category of talent, which implies that they hire around the world for other types of services.

Wishup’s Pricing

Wishup doesn’t display their pricing structure on their website. However, according to Outsource Accelerator, Wishup charges as follows:

• $8-$12/hour for manual work like data entry and other administrative tasks
• $12-$15/hour for accounting or bookkeeping-related support tasks
• $30-$40/hour for specialized skills like project management
• $20/hour for technical skills like translation

When to Hire Wishup

Wishup is a fair option if you’re looking to outsource backend support like research, translation, content writing, and general administrative tasks. There is little to suggest that they have assistants who will take on client-facing tasks, however.

Fancy Hands

Founded in 2010 and headquartered in New York City, Fancy Hands has emerged as a leading provider of virtual assistant services tailored for busy professionals. The company maintains a vast workforce comprising thousands of assistants across the United States, each possessing diverse backgrounds and experience.

Services Offered

For the longest time, Fancy Hands differentiated itself by offering a pool of generalist assistants to work on client tasks, instead of assigning a dedicated assistant to each client. Their assistants take on basic administrative tasks like buying items for clients, finding packages at post offices, looking up services, etc. Recently, they have started offering dedicated assistants.

Fancy Hands’ Pricing

Instead of doing a per-hour rate for each assistant, Fancy Hands has a request-based system. A ‘Small’ pack of 3 requests per month costs $17.99. Here’s the rest of their pricing table:

• Medium – $29.99 for 5 requests per month
• Large – $74.99 for 15 requests per month
• Extra Large – $149.99 for 30 requests per month

When to Hire Fancy Hands

Based on what their business model has been for a long time, it’s best to hire Fancy Hands for one-off requests. People who suddenly have a lot of errands to do can offload some of their tasks to Fancy Hands. However, for recurring work, it may be best to look elsewhere.

Magic

Established in 2015, Magic offers on-demand remote staffing assistance without contractual obligations. Utilizing a proprietary selection process, the company meticulously selects candidates possessing optimal skill sets while maintaining competitive rates. Magic's assistants boast full proficiency in English and are from top universities in the Philippines.

Services Offered

Magic assists clients in providing virtual assistant services vital for business support roles. The company focuses on sourcing bookkeeping assistants, for tasks like data entry, invoicing, and account management; executive assistants, for handling email correspondence and appointment scheduling; sales assistants for lead generation and qualification; and Marketing Assistants for social media management.

Magic’s Pricing

The company does not disclose its hourly or monthly rates, but it says that hiring a Magic virtual assistant costs $31,200 per year. That puts Magic’s monthly rate at $2,600 per month, per assistant. To get a more accurate estimate, though, you’d have to speak with their team.

When to Hire Magic

Hire Magic if you’re after an assistant who can do bookkeeping or handle customer service. If you want specialized VAs like sales assistants, web developers, e-commerce or real estate VAs, however, this service provider might not be for you.

Ossisto

Established in late 2017, Ossisto caters to businesses of all sizes and industries, boasting a team of over 150 professionals who have aided more than 650 clients across five countries. With headquarters situated in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, USA, Ossisto operates four offshore offices, including three in India and one in the UK. While physically based in the US, Ossisto's virtual assistants work remotely from various global locations.

Services Offered

Ossisto’s focus seems to be on virtual assistants who will handle all things digital about a business. They have talent specializing in web development, customer service, digital marketing, content creation, UX/UI design, etc. They also have general virtual assistants and executive assistants in their roster of professionals.

Ossisto’s Pricing

According to Ossisto, their services start at $7.99/hour, meaning it’ll cost at least $1,278.40 to hire a full-time Ossisto VA working 160 hours a month. However, this rate may vary depending on the assistant’s specialization, their number of years of experience, and many other factors.

When to Hire Ossisto

You might want to consider this company if you’re offloading backend tasks for maintaining your web presence. They might not be the best option if you’re looking for VAs with more technical skills, though, like medical transcription or software development.

Athena

A virtual assistant service founded by the minds behind Thumbtack and TaskUs, Athena offers a comprehensive approach to delegation. They recruit assistants with raw potential, providing rigorous training, and sharing delegation playbooks honed over a decade. Their service is tailored for executives seeking to build a long-term relationship with an assistant focused on their success.

Services Offered

The company offers executive partners, or XPs, who provide “360° Life Support” to their clients, who are mostly CEOs and other C-suite managers. That means the Athena client can request everything from administrative support to running personal errands. Athena does not advertise having specialized VAs in their roster.

Athena’s Pricing

Hiring one full-time Athena XP costs $3,000/month. Based on their messaging, they doesn’t offer part-time assistants or have other pricing tiers.

When to Hire Athena

Athena is a good option for business leaders who have a ton of tasks to delegate, both personal and professional. This service provider aims for high-powered individuals who need streamlining in their tasks and require a constant right-hand man or woman.

MyOutDesk

Established in 2008, MyOutDesk is a premier virtual assistant staffing company within the real estate sector, boasting over 15 years of expertise. MyOutDesk assistants have worked for industry leaders such as Keller Williams, RE/MAX, and Coldwell Banker. They also provide virtual assistant solutions to independent agents and global franchises.

Services Offered

MyOutDesk offers receptionists, administrative virtual assistants, customer service VAs, and marketing VAs. They also have talent specializing in sales development, loan processing, transaction coordination, real estate inside sales, and recruiting.

MyOutDesk’s Pricing

Hiring one full-time MyOutDesk assistant costs $ 1,988/month. However, this figure comes with fine print. This monthly rate is for their annual subscription, and subject to all the terms and conditions in the company’s Master Services Agreement (MSA).

When to Hire MyOutDesk

If you are a real estate company confident in the amount of help you’ll need year after year, MyOutDesk is a good deal. However, if you would like more flexibility and scalability built into your pricing, or if you are looking for other types of services, you might want to look elsewhere.

Boldly

Established in 2012 in New York City, Boldly has a workforce of over 200 US-based virtual assistants. The company was founded by Sandra Lewis, who was a virtual assistant herself. Boldly has earned a reputation for being inclusive and a great place to work, which they highlight as a reason why their assistants are motivated to work hard for their clients.

Services Offered

Boldly focuses on executive assistants and things that they are likely to take on, like personal assistance, project management, bookkeeping, social media management, and the like. The company also offers bilingual support.

Boldly’s Pricing

It costs $2,360 to hire a Boldly virtual assistant for 40 work hours per month. Other pricing tiers are also available, at 50 hours ($2,950/mo), 60 hours ($3,540/mo), and 80 hours ($4,720/mo). They also offer custom packages for clients who require more hours of coverage.

When to Hire Boldly

If you’re looking for US-based executive assistants and don’t mind paying premium prices, Boldly is for you. However, if you need more specialized support, or if you’re looking to outsource to more affordable assistants, it may not be the top option.

Persona

Persona advertises reliable and affordable full-time virtual assistants. Their current CEO is Jason Hreha, who was the Global Head of Behavioral Science for Walmart. According to Persona, they only hire 1 person for every 1,000 applications they receive. They have a very selective hiring process which involves writing and behavioral tests, an interview, and a personality evaluation.

Services Offered

Persona has generalist assistants who handle administrative and personal tasks, but they also have specialists in marketing, accounting, and what they call “operations talent.” The company doesn’t provide many details on this type of assistant, but they claim that their operations assistants can help with everything from streamlining processes and managing projects to vendor and supplier management and customer service.

Persona’s Pricing

The company isn’t transparent about the cost of their services, but they provide plenty of estimates for the cost of hiring virtual assistants. According to them, it costs $30 to $70 per hour to hire virtual executive assistants based in the US. Meanwhile, they say it’ll cost $6 to $60 an hour for international executive assistants.

When to Hire Persona

Persona is a good choice if you want to hire someone who has undergone a thorough vetting process. It has to be noted, though, that other companies are just as thorough in their hiring, and are able to provide pricing tiers for their offerings.

Zirtual

Established in 2011, Zirtual provides assistant services through dedicated, college-educated assistants based in the United States. Zirtual's assistants undergo training tailored to their areas of expertise, ensuring they possess the necessary skills to excel in remote customer support. Rather than advocating for a one-size-fits-all approach, Zirtual values individual strengths and experiences, selecting the most qualified assistants for each client's unique needs.

Services Offered

Zirtual focuses on hiring executive assistants with specializations. They pair clients with an EA who has the particular expertise needed. For example, one business might require an assistant with experience in event planning, while another might need an EA who is also a bookkeeper.

Zirtual’s Pricing

The company advertises four pricing tiers—Entrepreneur, Startup, Small Business, and Team. On the Entrepreneur tier, clients get 12 hours of support at $549 per month, and at Startup, it goes up to 24 hours of support for $849 monthly. Meanwhile, it’ll cost $,1249 per month to hire an assistant for 36 hours of support on the Small Business Plan, and it’ll be $1,699 per month for 50 hours on the Team plan.

When to Hire Zirtual

If you’re a busy executive or team manager looking for some generalized backup, but don’t need a lot of support, you might want to opt for Zirtual. Meanwhile, if you need specialist support for more than 50 hours per month, it could be better to explore your options and hire an assistant from another company.

MyVA360

Based in Miami, Florida, MyVA360 is a fully remote company with a global presence. The company advertises that they have no sign-up fees, hidden costs, long-term commitments, or cumbersome hiring processes. Since MyVA360 is fully remote, they offer diversity, multilingual support, and round-the-clock availability to accommodate clients' schedules.

Services Offered

MyVA360 staffs companies with generalist and specialist VAs alike. Their specialists are mostly assistants with experience in graphic design, social media management, and sales. They also advertise having executive virtual assistants and administrative virtual assistants.

MyVA360’s Pricing

The company has four service tiers—Starter, Pro, Master, and Elite. It costs $419 to hire a MyVA360 assistant for 15 hours per month. This goes up to $780 for 30 hours (Pro), $1,080 for 45 hours (Master), and $1,360 for 60 hours (Elite). All plans offer unlimited tasks.

When to Hire MyVA360

This virtual assistant company is good if you’re looking for an executive assistant with experience in digital marketing. It’s also for business leaders who do not need too many hours of support in a month. If you need more specialized VAs in other roles, or if you need upwards of 60 hours of coverage, you might want to explore other options.

Time etc

Time etc offers virtual assistance for global enterprises. Headquartered in Birmingham, in the United Kingdom, the company provides access to local assistants or those based in the United States. The company was founded in 2007, by Barnaby Lashbrooke. Lashbrooke’s inspiration for Time etc was his own assistant, Penni Pike, who previously worked for Sir Richard Branson.

Services Offered

Time Etc focuses on hiring assistants with experience in social media, content marketing, sales administration, marketing administration, and research. Besides these, they can cover general support tasks like inbox management, data entry, scheduling, document formatting, and the like.

Time etc’s Pricing

The company’s pricing starts at $380 for 10 hours of support per month. Their coverage goes up to 20 hours ($740), 40 hours ($1,440), and 60 hours ($2,100) of support per month. Time etc also offers plans with more hours of support; you have to contact their team to learn more.

When to Hire Time etc

If you’re looking for a US-based VA with digital marketing experience, you might benefit from hiring an assistant from Time etc. Otherwise, you might want to explore your options.

MyTasker

MyTasker is based in Kolkata, India, and it was founded in 2012. Their India-based assistants predominantly collaborate with international clients and provide an extensive range of services. The differentiating factor for MyTasker is the affordability of their services.

Services Offered

MyTasker assistants provide support in accounting, writing and editing, web design and development, digital marketing, IT, and video editing. They also handle general administrative tasks like planning itineraries, managing data, call screening, and the like.

MyTasker’s Pricing

You can hire a MyTasker assistant starting at $140 for 10 hours of support per month. Longer coverage hours are available at 20 hours ($250), 40 hours ($450), 60 hours ($600) and 100 hours ($900). They also offer full-time coverage at $1,200 per month. A full-time MyTasker VA works for five days a week during the client’s business hours.

When to Hire MyTasker

MyTasker is one of the most affordable choices in the industry today. If you’re looking to outsource basic tasks and are on a budget, this is a good option for you. However, if you need more specialized assistance, or if you want a US-based or bilingual assistant, you might want to look at other virtual assistant service providers.

VaVa Virtual Assistants

VaVa Virtual Assistants is a woman-owned virtual assistant services company. Founded in 2011, the company has what they call a “future-focused VA hiring model.” VaVa prioritizes sustainability in connecting business owners with proven remote talent. They advertise that they hire the top 3% of candidates and source US-based virtual assistants.

Services Offered

The company staffs clients with executive assistants and VAs with experience in social media and graphic design. Their executive assistants handle tasks like calendar management, email inbox cleanup, travel booking, research, etc. Meanwhile, their social media assistants handle everything from content creation to strategy. Their graphic designers do everything from branded marketing images to logos, flyers, postcards, and more.

VaVa Virtual Assistants’ Pricing

VaVa does not have set pricing tiers. Instead, they offer hourly options, monthly retainer options, and block of time options. Typically, their clients spend $1,000 to $1,500 per month. But they can provide coverage for more hours or specialized skills.

When to Hire VaVa Virtual Assistants

If hiring from a woman-owned business matters to you, and you’re looking for general administrative support or marketing-focused support, VaVa is a good option. However, if you want more clear-cut pricing plans, or want a different type of specialized VA, you could benefit from exploring your other options.

Shepherd

Formerly known as Support Shepherd, this company is headquartered in Dallas, TX, and started outsourcing international talent in 2009. Shepherd positions itself as a headhunter agency for top overseas talent, mostly from the Philippines and Latin America. Shepherd clients are mostly in e-commerce, tech, media, and real estate.

Services Offered

Shepherd sources for a wide range of services, from project management and procurement to video editing and graphic design.

Shepherd’s Pricing

The company does not advertise its pricing tiers, but it does talk about how much a business can save on costs when they hire through Shepherd. For example, an inventory planner costs $5,741/month if you hire a US-based talent. You can get an inventory planner for much less in the Philippines ($1,200/month) or Latin America ($1,350/month).

When to Hire Shepherd

If you’re working within a tight budget and are comfortable with handing off all the recruitment processes to a third party, Shepherd is a good place to start. However, if you want more say in the hiring process, or if you want to get US-based talent, you might want to try hiring elsewhere.

Looking for The Best Virtual Assistant Services? Try Wing

Over the past few years, the VA industry has undergone significant evolution. What was once a niche service has now become a cornerstone of modern business operations. From basic administrative tasks to specialized expertise in areas like marketing, customer service, and project management, virtual assistants have expanded their repertoire to meet the diverse needs of businesses across industries.

If you’re looking for a virtual assistant for your business, you can’t go wrong with Wing. Whether you require assistance with simple tasks or entire business processes, you have the flexibility to hire as few or as many assistants as necessary. We also offer both international and US-based talent, and general or specialized assistants.

Protect your personal time, make space for strategy and business growth, and delegate to experienced VAs now. Get in touch with us today to learn more!