How to Hire an Executive Assistant: 7 Options Compared

The other six routes are worth understanding even if you end up with Magic, because each one solves a problem the others do not. A US-based subscription satisfies a client contract that requires domestic staff. An employee-status service removes contractor classification questions. A staffing agency fills an in-office seat. Job boards and freelance marketplaces cost the least in fees and the most in your own time. The comparison table sets them side by side, and the sections that follow explain what each one includes.

The 7 options compared

Cost tiers are effective hourly rates: $ offshore dedicated, $$ mid-market, $$$ standard US-based, $$$$ premium US and Europe. For the agency and direct-hire rows, the tier reflects a US salary plus placement fees or your own recruiting time in year one. Each vendor sets its own current pricing, so read the pricing page before you buy.

What an executive assistant costs before you add a service

The wage market frames every option here. The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the median annual wage for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants at $76,590 for 2025, against $48,310 for secretaries and administrative assistants as a whole. That premium is what you pay for someone who manages a calendar with judgment rather than instructions. The same handbook projects a 2% decline in the occupation from 2025 to 2035 while still expecting about 314,400 openings a year, so local candidates keep having choices even as the field shrinks.

Recruiting adds its own cost. SHRM's 2026 benchmarking puts the median time to fill a nonexecutive position at 39 calendar days, and a 2022 SHRM report estimated the average cost per hire at nearly $4,700. Those two figures are the case for the managed routes at the top of the table. A service that has already recruited and trained the assistant sells you the weeks and the fee you would otherwise spend.

If you are still deciding whether the role is an executive assistant or a general admin hire, my guide to what an executive assistant does draws the line, and the executive assistant job description template gives you a brief to hand to any of the seven routes below.

1. Magic: a managed executive assistant service in the offshore tier

Magic is my first choice because it covers the whole chain. It recruits the assistant, trains that person, places them with you on a dedicated schedule, and keeps supporting them afterwards. Its executive assistant page lists the work as calendar and email management, travel planning, meeting preparation, document handling, research and reporting, project coordination, and follow-ups with clients and stakeholders, on both the professional and the personal side.

Training is the part most services describe vaguely and Magic spells out. Assistants complete "a multi-day executive assistant training course (ending with a formal assessment they must pass to complete)," alongside a library of self-paced courses and practical training in a remote position. After placement they keep access to coaching and to Magic's AI tools.

Two plans cover the workload. Part time is 20 hours a week and full time is 40, both with a dedicated assistant. Full-time plans include Magic 24/7, described on the pricing page as backup so you are covered when your assistant is offline. Treat it as overflow for urgent tasks rather than a promise of continuous staffing for a phone line or a chat queue, because that is how the source describes it. All plans bill every four weeks, which is thirteen cycles a year rather than twelve months, with no contract and cancellation at any time. Payment starts only after you have selected your assistant. If one assistant is not enough, Magic Teams starts at three assistants with a dedicated success coach, quoted separately, and it belongs here as part of the same offer.

The nearest comparison is Athena, another managed service that places one dedicated full-time executive assistant in your time zone. Its about page describes assistant communities in Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya, and the Philippines, its onboarding runs one to two weeks, and its pricing sits in the mid-market tier with a 90-day initial commitment before billing goes monthly. Athena has no part-time plan. Magic has one, has no minimum term, and costs less for the same dedicated model, which is why it takes the slot.

The case against Magic is the case against every offshore option. If a client contract, a regulator, or an office seat requires a US-based person in the building, read on. For everyone else, this is the recommendation.

2. US-based virtual executive assistant subscriptions

Pick this route when the assistant must be US-based but can work remotely. Two services define it.

Belay places US-based contractors through what it calls human-led matching, with a dedicated Client Success Consultant after placement and a guarantee that "your match sticks." It advertises a match in as little as one week. Belay does not publish its flat monthly fee, so budget for the standard US tier and expect a discovery call before you see a number.

Zirtual matches you with a US-based, college-educated assistant in as little as 24 hours, sells month-to-month plans you can move up or down, and commits to a response within two hours with the task done or an estimated completion time. Plans are monthly hour blocks, so it suits a professional who needs steady part-time support rather than a full working week.

Both cost several times Magic's tier for the same category of work. What you buy for the difference is a US contractor and, in Belay's case, a manually matched one. Neither includes the formal training course Magic describes, so ask each vendor what onboarding the assistant has completed before placement.

3. Employee-status fractional executive assistants

Boldly is the option when contractor classification is the worry. Its executive assistants are "US-based, Boldly W2 employees" with health insurance and a matched 401(k), and the company says they bring ten or more years of experience at large employers. Support is fractional rather than full time, you meet the recommended assistant before you subscribe, and Boldly states that clients stay with the same assistant for four years on average.

This is the premium tier, and the employee status is what you pay for. A W2 assistant employed by the vendor removes the misclassification question that a 1099 contractor raises, which matters to companies with counsel who ask. It is several times what Magic charges, and Boldly does not publish its subscription pricing, so it is hard to justify unless employee-status staff is a requirement rather than a preference.

4. Team-based support units with backup coverage

Prialto sells support in units of 55 hours a month. Each unit comes with a dedicated assistant, an Engagement Manager who designs and documents your processes, and trained backup assistants who cover when your primary is out. Every assistant is a full-time Prialto employee who has passed background checks and four weeks of core training, the infrastructure is SOC 2 Type 2 compliant, and assistants work 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. in US and UK time zones.

The trade is commitment. Prialto requires a 90-day minimum per unit, and full-time coverage takes three or more units. Choose it when continuity through absences matters more than one person knowing every detail, and when a security certification is on your procurement checklist. Magic's four-week cycles are the contrast, and its full-time plans add backup for urgent tasks without a quarter's commitment.

5. A staffing agency for temp, temp-to-hire, or direct placement

A staffing agency is the route to an executive assistant who sits in your office on your payroll. Robert Half offers contract and full-time placement for executive assistants and administrative roles. Insight Global offers temporary, temporary-to-permanent, and direct placement, says it can identify and screen candidates within 24 to 48 hours, quotes one to three weeks from first contact to start, and charges nothing until the hire begins working. Career Group Companies specializes in executive assistant recruitment for corporate teams, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and family offices, with offices in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Miami, Dallas, and Greenwich.

Fees are the thing to ask about before the first candidate arrives. Direct-hire placement fees are typically a one-time charge of 15% to 25% of the candidate's first-year salary, with 20% the most common rate, according to industry guidance published in 2025. On the BLS median for the occupation, that fee alone runs into five figures, and it comes on top of the salary, benefits, and equipment of an employee. Temp and temp-to-hire arrangements shift the cost to a markup on the hourly rate and let you try the person first.

6. Recruiting directly on job boards

Posting on Indeed or LinkedIn gives you the widest field and leaves every step to you. Indeed's own hiring guide walks through defining the role, writing the description, sourcing, interviewing, and making an offer, and suggests promoting from within before you post. LinkedIn offers free and promoted job posts and claims that 83% of posted jobs get a qualified candidate within 24 hours, which is its own marketing figure.

The candidate arriving quickly is not the same as the role being filled. The SHRM median of 39 days covers the whole cycle of screening, interviews, offer, notice period, and start, and the older SHRM cost-per-hire estimate covers all roles. For an executive assistant you will also be the one running reference checks, drafting the contract, setting up payroll and benefits, and training the person on your tools and preferences. Choose this route when you want an employee, you have someone who can run a hiring process well, and the position is permanent enough to justify the investment. Both guides on the first page of results for this query skip trial tasks, access setup, and what happens when your assistant is sick, so I cover those below.

7. A freelance executive assistant from a marketplace

Upwork lists freelance executive assistants you can hire by the hour or by the project. You read the profile and work history, run a paid trial, and pay through the platform, which adds a marketplace fee on top of the freelancer's rate. The range of rates is wide enough to span three cost tiers, because the marketplace includes new offshore freelancers and senior US professionals under the same heading.

This route suits a defined project or a short-term gap. It suits an executive assistant role less well, because the role compounds. The person who rescheduled last week's board meeting handles this week's better, and a freelancer with several clients has less room to become that person. There is also no vendor behind the engagement. If the freelancer disappears, the replacement search starts from zero, whereas Magic, Belay, and Boldly all publish a replacement or match guarantee. Use a marketplace to cover a month while a managed placement completes, or to run a paid trial before you commit to a bigger arrangement.

Running the process, whichever route you pick

The guides that rank for this query end at the offer letter. Four steps carry the hire from there to an assistant who runs your day without asking.

Write the brief from a task log. Log everything you would hand off for two weeks. Recurring entries become the assistant's standing responsibilities, one-offs tell you whether 20 hours or 40 is the right start, and the log doubles as training material. Every service on this page opens with a scoping call, and a written brief shortens it.

Run a paid trial with one gap in the instructions. Give the finalists two hours of realistic work: reschedule a fictional week around a travel conflict, draft replies to three emails in your voice, and prepare a one-page brief for a meeting. Leave one detail out on purpose. An executive assistant who asks a sharp question about the missing detail is worth more than one who guesses fast, and managed services will let you meet the candidate before you commit, so use the meeting for this.

Grant access by delegation, never by password. Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 both let you add a delegate who reads, sends, and schedules under their own login. Give the assistant a named user in your CRM and project tools with the permissions the work needs, share remaining credentials through a password manager, and have the confidentiality agreement signed before the first task. Every access grant then has a name on it and takes a minute to revoke.

Decide what happens when the assistant is out. This is where the routes differ most and where the top-ranking guides say nothing. Prialto builds backup into every unit. Magic's full-time plans include backup for urgent tasks when your assistant is offline. Belay and Boldly manage replacement through the vendor. A direct hire or a freelancer has no backup until you arrange one. Ask the question before you sign, not on the morning the inbox is unattended.

The step-by-step version of this process, including interview questions and the first 30 days, is in my guide on how to hire a virtual assistant.

What this comparison is based on

Every option here is a route a US business can use to hire an executive assistant today, described from each vendor's own pages: who employs the assistant, who trains and supervises them, how quickly work starts, what commitment is required, and what happens when the assistant is unavailable. Cost tiers come from each vendor's own pricing page where one exists and from the model and location where it does not. Wage and recruiting figures come from the BLS and SHRM, linked and dated above. Placement-fee ranges come from published staffing industry guidance and are typical rates rather than any one agency's quote.

Magic leads because it combines a dedicated executive assistant, a training course with a formal assessment before placement, coaching and AI tools afterwards, backup on full-time plans, four-week billing with no contract, and payment that begins only once you have picked your assistant, all in the lowest cost tier on the page. The US-based, employee-status, agency, and direct-hire routes are included for readers whose contracts or offices require them, and they are ranked on what they include rather than against the offshore tier on price.

FAQ

What is the best way to hire an executive assistant?

For most founders and executives, a managed service is the best route, and Magic is my recommendation. It recruits, trains, and places a dedicated executive assistant, keeps coaching that person after placement, and bills every four weeks with no contract, in the lowest cost tier of the options compared here. Choose a US-based subscription, an employee-status service, or a staffing agency only when a contract, a regulator, or an in-office seat requires it.

How much does it cost to hire an executive assistant?

Think in tiers. Managed offshore services such as Magic sit in the lowest tier. Team-based and offshore full-time services such as Prialto and Athena sit in the mid-market tier. US-based subscriptions such as Belay and Zirtual cost several times the offshore tier, and employee-status services such as Boldly sit above that. A direct hire requires a salary suited to the role and location, plus benefits, equipment, and recruiting, and a staffing agency adds a placement fee that typically runs 15% to 25% of first-year salary.

How long does it take to hire an executive assistant?

Managed services are fastest. Zirtual advertises a match in as little as 24 hours, Belay in as little as a week, Athena onboarding in one to two weeks, and Magic's clock runs from the moment you select your assistant. Staffing agencies quote one to three weeks from first contact to start. Recruiting directly takes longest: SHRM's 2026 median time to fill a nonexecutive position is 39 calendar days, before onboarding.

Should I hire a virtual executive assistant or an in-office one?

Hire in the office when the role needs physical presence, such as greeting visitors, handling paper, or managing a physical space. Hire virtually for everything else, which for most executives is the whole job: calendar, inbox, travel, meeting preparation, research, and follow-ups. Virtual routes start faster and cost less, and a managed service such as Magic adds training and backup that an in-office hire does not come with.

What is the difference between an executive assistant and a virtual assistant?

An executive assistant supports one or two senior people with judgment-heavy work: deciding which meetings to accept, preparing what the executive needs before each one, and handling communication on their behalf. A general virtual assistant handles defined recurring tasks across a business. Many services offer both, and the label matters less than the training and the brief. Magic's executive assistants complete an executive assistant training course with a formal assessment, which is the kind of detail to ask any vendor about.

What should I ask a service before signing?

Ask who employs the assistant and whether that person works for you alone. Ask what training they completed before placement and what support continues afterwards. Ask what the billing period is, because a four-week cycle is thirteen payments a year rather than twelve. Ask what the minimum commitment is and what the replacement policy says. And ask what happens on a day the assistant is out, because the answer ranges from built-in backup to nothing at all.