Virtual assistant service reviews
Find the VA service that actually fits your work.
We tested Belay, Time Etc, Fancy Hands, Zirtual, and Boldly with real money and real tasks. Answer 5 questions — get a fit-driven recommendation, not a payout-driven one.
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All VA services reviewed
Last updated: Feb 2026Belay
8.2/10Best for:
US founders with 10+ hours/week of calendar and inbox work
From ~$2,000/mo
Time Etc
7.8/10Best for:
Entrepreneurs needing 10–30 hours/week of async dedicated support
From $390/mo (10 hrs)
Fancy Hands
7.1/10Best for:
Individuals with 0–5 hours/week of one-off tasks
From $29.99/mo (5 tasks)
Zirtual
7.4/10Best for:
US founders seeking dedicated EA at mid-tier price
From $549/mo (12 hrs)
Boldly
8/10Best for:
Established businesses needing a senior multi-domain EA
From $1,470/mo (40 hrs)
The thing nobody talks about
The hourly rate is not the variable that determines ROI.
Every comparison site treats VA services as a flat menu sorted by hourly price. They miss the variable that actually determines whether a VA pays back: task repeatability and weekly hours of work.
A $12/hr Wishup VA doing the same five tasks every week will outperform a $45/hr Belay EA doing a different bag of tasks each week — because the $45/hr EA spends 30% of every hour rebuilding context. The crossover point is around 8–12 hours/week of repeatable work.
Below that → pool or task-based model. Above that → dedicated. The two ranges almost never overlap.
Head-to-head comparisons
Learn the landscape
Stage 1 — Getting started
What is a virtual assistant service?
The honest 101 explainer. How VA services differ from freelancers, AI tools, and W-2 hires.
Stage 3 — Decision framework
Pool vs dedicated VA: which model fits?
The cost-of-context cliff and the 8–12 hour crossover point. The most important read before spending a dollar.