The Best Virtual Assistant Companies for Founders and COOs in 2026

Intro

A few quarters back, a founder running a seven-figure e-commerce brand reached out after her internal team started slipping on service levels. Customer tickets were aging out, supplier updates were buried across email chains, and her calendar had become a daily scramble.

We moved her to a managed VA company that specializes in trained, supervised assistants for operational roles. Their onboarding team documented her workflows, assigned a dedicated VA with backup coverage, and set weekly performance metrics. Within two weeks, response times returned to target, vendor communication was tracked in one system, and her schedule was finally under control.

By contrast, another team I knew signed up with a marketplace that offered little screening or management. Tasks were completed inconsistently, handoffs were unclear, and managers were pulled back into rework.

The difference came down to the provider. The right VA company brings structure, oversight, and reliability.

This guide breaks down how to evaluate virtual assistant providers and who’s actually worth hiring in 2026.

Top 3: Best VA Providers at a Glance

If you’re short on time, these three virtual assistant companies stand out in 2026 for speed, quality, and operational reliability:

1. Somewhere: Best for Remote-First Executive and Ops Support

   • Elite async-trained global talent
   • No upfront fees, pay on hire
   • 6-month Perfect Hire Guarantee

2. Belay: Best for U.S.-Based, Faith-Aligned Teams

   • All VAs based in the U.S.
   • Strong emphasis on values and trust
   • Focus on exec support, bookkeeping, and admin

3. Boldly: Best for Premium, Long-Term VA Engagements

   • Subscription model with tenured assistants
   • Strong retention and client satisfaction
   • U.S. and Europe coverage, high-touch onboarding

Need help deciding based on timezone, scope, or industry? Keep reading for full reviews and hiring strategy insight.

Picking the Right VA Company for Real Operational Support

1. Get Clear on What You Actually Need

The term “virtual assistant” covers a wide range of functions, from executive admin and customer support to vendor coordination and internal ops. Some founders need someone to clean up their inbox and calendar. Others want help running playbooks, prepping decks, or managing contractors. If you don’t define the scope clearly, even the best assistant won’t be able to deliver.

Strong VA companies will walk you through this upfront. They’ll ask how decisions are made, who the VA will report to, and what “success” looks like at the 30-day mark. If they skip this step, expect mismatches later.

2. Prioritize Communication Over Everything

You can train for tools. You can’t train for how someone communicates under ambiguity. The most common reason VA relationships fall apart is poor communication, late updates, unclear task tracking, or the need to over-explain basic instructions. Look for firms that evaluate candidates for clarity, async discipline, and ability to manage up.

Great VAs confirm assumptions, ask smart questions, and make delegation feel lighter, not heavier. Agencies that understand this screen for it upfront. The rest just send resumes and hope it works out.

3. Look for Operational Fit, Not Just Price

It’s easy to optimize for hourly cost. But what actually matters is how many hours you don’t have to spend fixing errors, rewriting messages, or chasing follow-ups. The right VA absorbs context, anticipates next steps, and slots into your business rhythm. That only happens when agencies recruit people who’ve supported operators, not just remote freelancers with basic admin skills.

Ask how many of their candidates have supported founders, COOs, or department leads before. If they can’t answer, you’re not getting leverage. You’re getting labor.

4. Don’t Ignore Onboarding and Support

A placement is the starting point, not the finish line. Some VA firms match you with a candidate and disappear. Better ones stay involved through onboarding, early deliverables, and check-ins during the first 30-60 days. This matters because delegation is a skill on both sides, and the first few weeks are where habits form.

Ask the agency how they handle onboarding and what happens if things go sideways. If they treat this as a one-and-done transaction, they’re not prepared to help when it counts.

5. Ask About Redundancy and Coverage

Even the best VA might take time off or leave unexpectedly. What happens to your workflow then? Strong agencies build in continuity. That could mean a secondary point of contact, internal documentation support, or access to a bench of similar talent. You’re not just hiring a person. You’re buying into a system.

If that system doesn’t include any kind of backup or risk mitigation, then you’re one sick day away from being back at square one. Always ask about contingency planning. If the answer is vague, move on.

The 8 Best Virtual Assistant Companies for 2026

1. Somewhere: Best for Remote-First Executive and Ops Support

• Founded: 2009
• Headquarters: Dallas, TX

Why Somewhere is the best virtual assistant company:
Somewhere focuses on async-fluent executive and operations assistants across the Philippines, Latin America, South Africa, and Eastern Europe. The model is pay on hire with a six-month replacement guarantee, and screening emphasizes written clarity, ownership, and process discipline. That combination shortens ramp time and keeps delegation light from week one. Typical scopes include inbox and calendar ownership, vendor coordination, light finance ops, and documentation.

Expect an intake that clarifies decision rights, communication cadence, and toolstack before matching. Shortlists tend to be tight rather than high-volume. Companies scaling a remote leadership layer use Somewhere to stabilize calendars, tighten follow-through, and create slack for strategy work. If you want reliable leverage without retainers or long lead times, this is an efficient starting point for global VA talent.

2. Belay: Best for U.S.-Based, Faith-Aligned Teams

• Founded: 2010
• Headquarters: Atlanta, GA

Belay provides U.S.-based assistants with strong coverage in executive support, bookkeeping, and marketing coordination. The service leans into values, trust, and polish, with structured onboarding and clear expectations on deliverables and communication. Clients that want domestic time zones, background checks, and culturally aligned support find the fit straightforward.

Engagements typically begin with a discovery call that maps outcomes and preferred workflows, followed by a steady rhythm of weekly check-ins. Belay’s strength shows up in consistency: calendar precision, vendor follow-ups, and board-ready correspondence. Choose Belay when executives want dependable support that mirrors corporate standards and U.S. business hours.

3. Boldly: Best for Premium, Long-Term VA Engagements

• Founded: 2012
• Headquarters: New York, NY

Boldly hires assistants as W-2 employees and assigns them on a subscription basis, which prioritizes continuity and tenure. The bench skews experienced, often with enterprise exposure, and matching favors fit and longevity over speed. You get the same person each week, which compounds context and reduces management overhead.

Clients use Boldly when they need a polished partner for exec communications, travel, vendor management, and light project coordination. Expect careful ramp planning, clear SLAs on availability, and a responsive client success layer if scope evolves. If senior composure and low churn matter more than lowest cost, Boldly is calibrated for that outcome.

4. Athena: Best for Founders and Investor-Backed Operators

• Founded: 2018
• Headquarters: San Juan, Puerto Rico

Athena trains Executive Partners to run proactive calendars, manage inboxes, and move work forward with initiative. Assistants receive playbooks, coaching, and community support to handle pace, context switching, and founder-level visibility. Clients see gains in time protection, meeting prep, and structured follow-through.

The engagement often includes delegation coaching for leaders who need to offload quickly without losing quality. Expect strong habits around recap notes, pre-reads, and stakeholder reminders. If you are scaling a venture-backed team and want a VA who anticipates needs and protects focus, Athena fits that pressure profile.

5. Wing: Best for Flexible, Task-Based Outsourcing

• Founded: 2018
• Headquarters: Berkeley, CA

Wing’s subscription model favors repeatable workflows and volume execution across admin, e-commerce, real estate coordination, research, and outreach. It is tuned for fast turnaround with straightforward pricing and the ability to scale hours up or down as volume changes.

Use Wing when you have defined processes and want throughput without building managerial overhead. The platform is effective for queue-driven tasks, catalog updates, prospect list building, order checks, and standard inbox responses. For teams standardizing tasks and chasing output, Wing delivers dependable capacity with minimal friction.

6. Prialto: Best for Managed, Team-Backed Admin Support

• Founded: 2008
• Headquarters: Portland, OR

Prialto runs a managed model: a primary assistant plus internal team leads and trained backups. They document workflows, audit quality, and maintain coverage, which reduces single-point-of-failure risk. Common scopes include scheduling, travel, CRM hygiene, expense handling, pipeline support, and meeting documentation.

Expect structured onboarding, shared playbooks, and periodic reviews that tighten process quality over time. This suits midmarket and sales-driven orgs that want reliable execution without supervising an individual contractor. If you value continuity, oversight, and predictable delivery, Prialto offers durable admin support at scale.

7. Magic: Best for On-Demand, Always-On Help

• Founded: 2015
• Headquarters: San Francisco, CA

Magicblends human assistants with lightweight automation to provide 24/7 availability for scheduling, research, booking, and quick admin tasks. Setup is fast and optimized for responsiveness rather than deep embedded EA work. Coverage is useful for night-and-weekend requests, travel changes, and short research bursts.

Leaders often pair Magic with a dedicated EA, using it as a surge layer for overflow or after-hours needs. If you want immediate capacity with near-zero ramp, Magic delivers functional support on demand without long commitments.

8. Time etc: Best for U.K.-Based Executive Support

• Founded: 2007
• Headquarters: Birmingham, United Kingdom

Time etc pairs experienced U.K. assistants with executives who want GMT coverage and polished client-facing communication. Matching emphasizes writing quality, reliability, and steady availability, which works well for leaders coordinating across Europe or serving EMEA clients.

Expect flexible monthly plans, consistent partner continuity, and a focus on executive-grade admin: calendar control, travel, documentation, and stakeholder follow-ups. If your day runs on London time or you need British business norms, Time Etc is a low-friction way to add seasoned help in the right time zone.

Final Thoughts on Choosing a Virtual Assistant Company

Virtual assistant hiring works when you define outcomes, not tasks. Start by writing the first 30 days in plain language. What should be off your plate, what changes in your week, and how will you measure it? The provider you choose should mirror that clarity in their intake, screening, and onboarding.

Pick a model that fits your operating reality. If you want leverage for a founder or COO, prioritize communication quality, ownership, and continuity. If you need throughput on repeatable workflows, choose a platform that handles volume and documentation cleanly. Ask about coverage plans, backup, and how quality is audited. Good answers here protect you from churn and missed handoffs.

Then move quickly but with structure. Align on decision rights, establish a communication cadence, and run one or two anchor workflows before expanding scope. The right company will surface a steady rhythm of progress updates and small process wins. When that happens, your calendar gets quieter, your pipeline moves faster, and your team spends more time on the work that compounds.