21 Best Tools & Apps for Executive Assistants in 2026

Most roundups of virtual assistant software are written by vendors selling an AI product, and they rank their own app first. This list is organized around delegation instead. For every tool, the deciding question is how an assistant gets access without borrowing the executive's password.

Quick comparison

Cost tiers compare the entry paid seat within this list of software: $ is a low monthly seat, $$ mid, $$$ the priciest single seat here. Free means the vendor offers a usable free plan. Enterprise plans are quoted separately, and every vendor sets its own current pricing.

Email and calendar suites

Start with the suite the executive already uses. Delegation features in Google and Microsoft are free with the account, and they solve the most common problem: an assistant who needs to read mail and send invites without logging in as their boss.

1. Google Workspace (best for Gmail teams)

Gmail lets an account owner add a delegate who can read, send, and delete email on their behalf. The delegate can't chat as the owner or change the password. Personal Gmail accounts allow up to 10 delegates and work accounts allow far more, so an executive with a chief of staff and an assistant can grant both.

The Workspace Standard plan adds appointment booking pages and Gemini note-taking in Meet. Booking pages cover light scheduling-link needs before you buy a separate booking tool.

2. Microsoft 365 (best for Outlook shops)

Outlook offers three delegate permission levels. Reviewer can read, Author can create items and send meeting requests on the owner's behalf, and Editor can also change items the owner created. Delegates can respond to meeting requests for the executive. Send-as rights are a separate setting that an organization's admin controls.

Microsoft's plan comparison lists Bookings in the versions that include Teams, along with Copilot Chat. Microsoft 365 Copilot inside Outlook and Word is included on the Standard and Premium "with Copilot" plans and sold as an add-on to Basic.

3. Superhuman (best for fast inbox processing)

Superhuman Mail is built for teams on Gmail or Outlook. Split Inbox separates mail from chosen senders, such as the executive's VIPs, while follow-up reminders bring a thread back if nobody replies. Shared snippets keep standard answers consistent across a team, and colleagues can comment on a shared email even if they don't use Superhuman.

It sits in the top cost tier here, so it makes sense for an assistant who spends most of the day in the inbox. For a wider set of options, my roundup of the best email management tools compares filtering, shared inbox, and AI drafting apps.

Scheduling tools

Booking links remove the back-and-forth from external meetings. For an EA, the feature to check is whether the assistant can manage the link with their own login. My guide to the best calendar scheduling tools goes deeper on this category.

4. Calendly (best for booking meetings for others)

Calendly's free plan covers one event type and one calendar connection. Booking meetings on behalf of others starts on the Standard plan, which also adds unlimited event types and automated reminders. Teams adds round robin and admin-managed event types, which helps when an assistant supports several executives.

5. SavvyCal (best assistant access to booking links)

SavvyCal's Premium plan includes delegated access, where the assistant uses their own login so the executive never shares a password. Invitees can overlay their own calendar on the link for free, which makes picking a time easier for busy outside contacts. There is no free plan for accepting bookings, but the company offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

6. Reclaim.ai (best for protecting focus time)

Reclaim places focus blocks and recurring habits in the gaps between meetings, then moves them when a new meeting lands. The free Lite plan supports one user with a one-week scheduling range. Its Business plan adds delegated access for EAs and admins.

7. Doodle (best for group polls)

Doodle is still the simplest way to find one time for a board or a committee spread across several companies. The free plan includes one group poll and one booking page. Its Team plan adds booking on behalf of others, and participants never need a Doodle account to vote.

Meetings and communication

8. Zoom (best for scheduling calls for another host)

Zoom's scheduling privilege setting lets an executive authorize an assistant to schedule meetings for them, with the assistant choosing the executive as host from a "Schedule for" option. Ask the account admin to confirm the setting is available on your plan before the handover. The Basic plan is free but caps meetings at 40 minutes, and the paid plans include unlimited AI meeting summaries and note-taking.

9. Slack (best for quick questions to the executive)

A short message in Slack beats a fifth email in the executive's inbox. The free plan keeps 90 days of searchable history and allows one-to-one huddles. Pro keeps every message searchable and adds group huddles plus channels with outside partners, which matters when an EA coordinates with a board member's assistant at another company.

10. Otter.ai (best for meeting transcripts)

Otter joins Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet to write and share notes. The free plan includes 300 transcription minutes a month with a 30-minute limit per conversation, so it suits short check-ins. Paid plans raise the minutes and the conversation length, and they add exports to PDF and Word for the meeting file.

Tasks, projects, and notes

The task tool is where an EA's follow-up work lives. Pick based on how many people touch the work.

11. Asana (best for projects with several owners)

Asana's free Personal plan covers one or two people with list, board, and calendar views. Starter removes the seat limit and adds timelines, forms, and unlimited automations. Advanced adds approvals and time tracking, which suits an EA running an offsite or a board meeting with a dozen contributors.

12. Trello (best for visual boards)

Trello is free for up to 10 collaborators per workspace, with built-in automation on every board. Its Inbox gathers messages and to-dos before they're sorted onto a board. Calendar and timeline views sit on the Premium plan. A board with columns for "Waiting on exec," "Waiting on others," and "Done" is often all a recurring admin workflow needs.

13. Notion (best home for preferences and procedures)

Every executive has rules: preferred airlines, people who always get a call back, how they like a board deck formatted. Notion is a good place to write those down so a new or backup assistant can follow them. The free plan includes Notion Calendar. Full Notion AI and AI meeting notes start on the Business plan, while Free and Plus get only a trial.

14. Todoist (best personal to-do list)

Todoist suits an assistant who wants one fast list for their own commitments. The free plan allows five personal projects. Pro adds a calendar layout, custom reminders, and deadlines, while Business gives a team a shared workspace with roles and permissions.

When nobody has time to run the tools

Every tool above assumes somebody is there to run it. Someone has to decide which meeting requests deserve a slot on the booking link, and the owners on a shared task list rarely chase themselves. If the executive is doing that work personally, adding a twenty-second app won't help.

Magic is my first choice for filling that gap. It matches the executive with a dedicated remote assistant who works in the Gmail, Outlook, Slack, and project tools already in place. The assistant's work can include calendar and inbox management, travel planning, meeting preparation, and follow-ups with clients and colleagues. Magic handles sourcing, hiring, and training the assistant. Its platform includes hours tracking and virtual credit cards, so the assistant can pay for a booking without seeing the executive's personal card.

Magic sits in the lowest managed-service cost tier, below US-based assistant services. Part-time and full-time plans are available, billing runs every four weeks rather than by calendar month, and there's no long-term contract. Payment starts once you've selected the assistant you want to work with. The Executive Assistant plan includes Magic 24/7 concierge backup, which supports the dedicated assistant and doesn't add continuous staffing. For a fuller picture of the role, my guide to what an executive assistant does lists the ten core responsibilities.

Access, documents, and writing

15. 1Password (best for sharing logins safely)

An assistant needs into airline accounts, vendor portals, and the expense system. Texting those passwords is how they leak. 1Password's team plans share passwords through vaults with role-based permissions, and the Business plan adds finer-grained vault sharing and identity-provider integrations. The Teams Starter Pack covers small teams of 10 to 20 people.

16. Docusign (best for routing signatures)

Docusign eSignature lets an EA prepare a contract, send it out, and track who has signed. The Personal plan allows five envelopes a month with reusable templates. Standard adds templates shared across the team, and Business Pro adds bulk sending for documents like annual NDAs that go to many people at once.

17. TextExpander (best for reusable replies)

TextExpander turns a short abbreviation into a full paragraph, such as a meeting confirmation or a polite decline. Snippets sync across Mac, Windows, Chrome, iPhone, and iPad. The free plan allows five active snippets. Paid plans remove that limit and let a team share snippet groups, which keeps the executive's tone consistent when more than one person writes for them.

18. ChatGPT (best general AI assistant)

ChatGPT handles first drafts, summaries of long documents, and research for a briefing note. The free plan covers text chats with limits on tools like deep research. Paid individual plans add projects, memory, and scheduled tasks, while Business plans start at two users. Treat its output as a draft and check names, dates, and commitments before anything goes out under the executive's name. For assistants that act on email and calendars directly, see my comparison of the best AI personal assistants.

Travel and expenses

19. Navan (best for booking travel for executives)

Navan's delegate features are built for people who book trips for someone else. The traveler's preferred airlines and hotels appear first, and stored passport and Known Traveler Numbers don't have to be re-entered each time. Itinerary updates go to the traveler automatically, and you can invite guests from outside your company to book within a budget. On the Navan Business plan, travel booking is free and expense management is free for the first five expensing users.

20. Expensify (best for receipts and reports)

The free Expensify plan includes receipt scanning, mileage tracking, and expense reports. The Collect plan adds reimbursements, approvals, corporate card management, and travel booking. Expensify also lists delegated access, so an assistant can file the executive's receipts without borrowing their login.

21. TripIt (best single itinerary)

TripIt builds a master itinerary when you forward confirmation emails to plans@tripit.com. It adds the trip to the traveler's calendar and shares plans with colleagues or family. TripIt Pro adds real-time flight alerts and a seat tracker that flags when a better seat opens up.

How to build an executive assistant tool stack

Begin with access. Turn on Gmail or Outlook delegation and set up a shared vault in a password manager, then add the assistant to the expense system with their own login. Those steps let an assistant start work on day one without anyone sharing a password.

After that, add a tool only when a specific problem appears. Email threads about meeting times call for a booking link, while slipping follow-ups usually mean the work needs a task board. Write the executive's preferences into Notion before the regular assistant takes their first vacation. Buying all 21 at once produces a stack nobody maintains.

Keep the list of what each person can access in one place. When an assistant leaves, revoke delegate access, remove them from the vault, and transfer ownership of their booking links and boards. A tool that can't hand ownership to another user is a risk the day someone moves on.

How I chose

Every tool here is either built for delegated work or is the dominant option in its category for administrative assistants. The comparison is based on four criteria: whether an assistant can act from their own login, what the free plan genuinely covers, how much setup the tool needs, and whether it connects to Google Workspace or Microsoft 365. Features and plan details come from each vendor's own pricing and help pages, linked in each entry. Cost tiers stand in for prices because plans change often.

The role these tools support is large. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 489,300 executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants in 2025, within 3,515,600 secretaries and administrative assistants overall (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, updated August 27, 2026).

FAQ

What software do executive assistants use most?

Most EAs live in Google Workspace or Microsoft 365, because that's where the executive's email and calendar sit. Around that core, the common additions are a booking link like Calendly, a task tool like Asana or Trello, a password manager, and an expense app. Pick additions based on the problems the executive actually has.

What is virtual assistant software?

The term covers two kinds of product. Some are AI assistants such as ChatGPT that draft text or answer questions. Others are the tools a human assistant uses to work remotely, including delegated email, shared password vaults, and project boards. Most of this list is the second kind, because those tools decide whether a remote assistant can work securely.

How can an assistant manage an executive's email without their password?

Use the built-in delegation features. Gmail lets an owner add delegates who can read, send, and delete mail, and Outlook offers Reviewer, Author, and Editor permission levels. The assistant signs in with their own account, and the executive can remove access at any time.

Are there free tools for administrative assistants?

Yes. Calendly, Reclaim, Doodle, Slack, Otter, Asana, Trello, Notion, Todoist, TextExpander, Expensify, and TripIt all have usable free plans. Free tiers usually limit history, seats, or volume, so expect to upgrade the one or two tools the assistant uses all day.

Can AI tools replace an executive assistant?

They can take over parts of the job, such as drafting replies, summarizing meetings, and finding open times. The judgment calls stay with a person, such as which meeting wins a conflict or how to tell a client their call moved. Magic pairs a dedicated assistant with these tools so the executive gets both.

What's the most important tool for a new executive assistant?

A password manager with shared vaults. It lets the executive grant access to dozens of accounts without sending passwords by text or email, and it lets them revoke that access in one step if the assistant changes roles.