Alternatives
Boldly alternatives
Boldly alternatives range from other premium onshore agencies (Belay, Time etc, Zirtual, Nacho) to full-time dedicated models such as Athena and Prialto, and to AssistBPO, which employs its assistants, includes live phone answering and covers the US, UK, Canada and Australia. Each option below is described with its published price and the month it was checked.
· Reviewed by Nimra Khalid
- Checked on their own site
- Dated and sourced
- No ratings or rankings
Overview
Boldly sits at the top of the market: employed executive assistants with 10 to 15 years of experience, a North American or European base, a trained backup and published plans from $2,600 for 40 hours a month. People searching for an alternative are usually solving for one of three things. Some want more hours for the same budget and are open to a managed remote assistant. Some need a function staffed, such as reception, support or sales follow-up, that goes beyond an executive assistant's remit. Some simply want a full-time person rather than a fractional block. The providers below cover all three cases. Nothing here is ranked and no provider is called the best; every entry quotes the model and price from the provider's own site or the 2026 roundups in the sources, with the month we checked. AssistBPO appears first because this is our site and it is held to the same rules as everyone else.
How does Boldly compare with AssistBPO?
The same ten rows on every comparison page, so two providers can be read against each other without re-learning the layout.
| AssistBPO | Boldly | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Assistant employment | Employees of SS Support Network LLC; clients never co-employ | Employees, not contractors | boldly.com/pricing, Sep 2026 |
| Base and hours | Second office in Pakistan; half or full shifts in US, UK, Canadian and Australian hours | North America or Europe; fractional blocks of 40 to 100 hours a month | boldly.com/pricing, Sep 2026 |
| Pricing as published | Published rate card, plus a costed staffing plan within 1 business day | $2,600 for 40 hours to $6,500 for 100 hours a month; $79 an hour specialists | boldly.com/pricing, Sep 2026 |
| Phones | Live answering, transfers and consented outbound calls included on front-desk and support desks | Not stated | boldly.com/pricing, Sep 2026 |
| Backup and terms | Backup plus team lead on every engagement; terms in the staffing plan | Trained backup for vacations and sickness; cancel any time; monthly satisfaction refund | boldly.com/pricing, Sep 2026 |
| Seniority | Role-matched staff with a team lead; senior EA profiles proposed for executive desks | 10 to 15 years of experience stated for every staff member | boldly.com/pricing, Sep 2026 |
Boldly facts as published on the dates shown. The AssistBPO rate card is published too, from $400 a month, and the staffing plan is what sets where on it you land. Spotted a change? Tell us and we update the row with a new date.
Who should choose AssistBPO, and who should choose Boldly?
Choose AssistBPO if
- You want a full shift, not a fractional block, and the phones handled in the same desk
- You need coverage in UK, Canadian or Australian hours
- You want continuity delivered as a named person, a backup and a team lead
Choose Boldly if
- You want the most experienced EA profile on the market from North America or Europe
- You prefer a published monthly plan you can change or cancel any month
- You need multilingual European support
Which companies are the main Boldly alternatives?
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AssistBPO
Managed virtual assistants, receptionists and support agents employed by the group and scheduled to your time zone. Every engagement comes with a named assistant, a trained backup and a team lead who runs a weekly review, and phone answering is part of the job.
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Belay
US-based contractor assistants matched by a human team, with a published 3% acceptance rate and a 93% first-match success rate, plus bookkeeping, payroll and fractional finance services under the same roof.
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Time etc
US-based freelance assistants sold in monthly hour bundles from 10 to 60 hours, tracked to the second, with rollover on unused hours and no setup fee. A UK arm serves British clients in pounds.
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Athena
One dedicated full-time executive assistant employed by Athena, with a partnership manager, a delegation training library and a 1 to 2 week onboarding, aimed at founders and executives who delegate heavily.
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Prialto
Units of 55 hours a month delivered by a primary assistant with an engagement manager and trained teammates as backup, with no overage fees and support hours of 9am to 6pm in US and UK time zones.
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Zirtual
Dedicated, college-educated US-based assistants on monthly hour plans shared across up to four users, with no setup fee; unused hours do not roll over and plan changes take effect the following month.
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Nacho
A US-based fractional talent agency, formerly Trusty Oak, that lets you spend one monthly budget across executive assistants, specialists and fractional executives, with an initial 3-month commitment and up to $200 of rollover.
How does AssistBPO work?
A discovery call, then a named assistant proposed within 72 hours. That person works your hours inside your tools through your own user accounts, sends an end-of-day report, and is covered by a trained backup when they are off. A team lead runs a 20-minute weekly review with you and scores calls and tickets monthly. Assistants are employees of the group, never freelancers, and you never co-employ them. Plans start at $400 a month for 40 hours, at $10 an hour, and rates improve as you add assistants. Get a staffing plan within 1 business day.
Keep comparing
- Boldly vs AssistBPOThe head-to-head table for Boldly
- Athena alternativesPremium onshore agency
- Time etc alternativesPremium onshore agency
- Zirtual alternativesPremium onshore agency
- Virtalent alternativesPremium onshore agency
- All comparisons, by familyIncluding the rest of the premium onshore agencies
What this desk actually does
- A named executive assistant in your hoursService
- Dedicated virtual assistant services for the work that eats your dayService
- Executive & admin deskThe desk this sits on
- What moves a staffing planThe rate card, and the six things that move a plan off it
Frequently asked questions
Is AssistBPO cheaper than Boldly?
Plans depend on hours, desks and coverage. Get a staffing plan within 1 business day. Boldly's published entry plan is $2,600 a month for 40 hours, with 60 hours at $3,900 and specialist work at $79 an hour as of September 2026. Because AssistBPO staffs half and full shifts rather than fractional blocks, the fair comparison is monthly cost for the hours you actually need, with phones and backup counted in. Ask for the plan, then set it beside Boldly's page.
Which Boldly alternative is better for phones?
Boldly, Belay, Time etc, Zirtual and Nacho all publish executive and administrative support and do not list live phone answering on their sites as of September 2026. Athena and Prialto describe calendar, inbox and CRM work. AssistBPO is the option on this page that staffs receptionists and support agents who answer, transfer and return calls in your name, with an after-hours desk on request. If the phone is part of the job, that narrows the list quickly.
Which alternatives also employ their assistants rather than using contractors?
Boldly, Athena, Prialto and AssistBPO all describe their assistants as employees or managed staff of the provider. Belay and Time etc describe contractor or freelance networks, and Zirtual and Nacho do not state the arrangement on the pages we checked. Employment matters for continuity, because an employee has a scheduled shift and a backup, and for compliance, because some client contracts restrict subcontracting. Confirm the current position with each provider before you sign.
What is the cheapest way to replace a Boldly plan?
It depends on what you are replacing. If you need 40 hours a month of senior EA time from North America, Time etc and Zirtual publish lower monthly figures for US-based assistants but with a freelance or hour-plan model. If you need more hours, a managed remote model such as Prialto, Athena or AssistBPO gives you a full shift for a monthly plan. Compare what one month buys in hours, backup and phone coverage rather than the headline price.
Why is Boldly itself not on the list?
This page is written for people who have already looked at Boldly and want to see the other options side by side, so Boldly appears only in the comparison table at the top. Its full comparison with AssistBPO, including who should choose which, is on the AssistBPO vs Boldly page. We do not rank providers or publish ratings, and every price above is quoted from the provider's own site or a named 2026 roundup with the month it was checked.
Sources
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