Zirtual Alternatives in 2026: 8 Options Compared by Model and Price
October 28, 2026
The main Zirtual alternatives are US hour packages (e.g., Time etc, from $390 a month for 10 hours, or Boldly, from $2,600 a month for 40 hours), US matched assistants on a quoted fee (e.g., BELAY, typically from 45 hours a month), managed dedicated assistants (e.g., Prialto, $1,600 a month per 55-hour unit, or Wing Assistant, $699 a month for 80 hours), US task services (e.g., Fancy Hands, from $35 a month for 3 requests), marketplaces (e.g., Upwork, the freelancer's rate plus a fee of up to 7.99%) and remote staffing agencies that place Latin American assistants on US hours (e.g., Virtustant, starting at $7/hr all-in with $0 placement fees). Prices are as published on each provider's own pages on October 28, 2026.
Zirtual sells monthly blocks of task hours from US-based, college-educated assistants: $599 for 12 hours, $899 for 20, $1,199 for 30 and $1,699 for 45, with no setup fee and no long-term contract. Two terms send most buyers looking: unused hours do not roll over, and its largest assistant plan stops at 45 hours a month. This guide sorts eight alternatives by model, lists what each publishes, and gives you a three-step test to price the hours you actually use. Virtustant is one of the options, so we use published facts only; sources are at the end. To compare 22 providers on one page, see compare agencies.
| Alternative | Model | Published price (checked Oct 28, 2026) | Minimum / commitment | Where assistants are based | Best fit when… |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zirtual (baseline) | US hour package | $599/mo for 12 hours ($49.92/hr) to $1,699/mo for 45 hours ($37.76/hr) | 12-hour plan; cancel for the following month; unused hours do not roll over | United States | You need a US-based assistant for 12 to 45 hours a month and use every hour |
| Time etc | US hour package | $390/mo for 10 hours ($39/hr) to $2,160/mo for 60 hours ($36/hr) | 10-hour plan; unused hours roll over | United States | You want a US-based assistant and hours that carry over |
| BELAY | US matched assistant, flat monthly fee | Not published; quoted after a consultation | Typically 45 hours a month; month to month | United States | You need a US-based assistant for 45+ hours a month and want to be matched |
| Boldly | US hour package | $2,600/mo for 40 hours ($65/hr) to $6,500/mo for 100 hours | 40 hours a month per assistant | North America or Europe | You want a senior assistant and to meet them before signing up |
| Prialto | Managed dedicated assistant | $1,600 per 55-hour unit a month; full time from $3,600/mo | 90-day minimum per unit; $250 setup fee | Philippines, Kenya and Guatemala | You want a team-backed assistant at about 55 hours a month |
| Wing Assistant | Managed dedicated assistant | $699/mo for 80 hours; $999/mo for 160 hours ($6.24/hr) | No long-term contract | Not named on general plans; US-based plans from $2,499/mo | You want more hours for a fixed monthly price |
| Fancy Hands | US task service | $35/mo for 3 requests to $125/mo for 15; each request up to 20 minutes | Monthly; unused requests roll over | United States | You have occasional one-off tasks, not a standing workload |
| Upwork | Marketplace | Freelancer's rate plus a fee of up to 7.99% (3% for eligible US bank accounts) | None; per contract | Wherever your freelancer is | You will find, vet and manage the person yourself |
| Virtustant | Remote staffing agency | Virtustant: from $7/hr all-in (virtual assistants), $8.50/hr (executive assistants), $0 placement fees | Month to month; minimum 10 hours a week | Latin America, on US business hours | You want to choose your hire from a shortlist at one hourly rate |
Time etc sells monthly blocks of hours from a dedicated US-based assistant: $390 for 10 hours, $760 for 20, $1,480 for 40 and $2,160 for 60. It is the closest model to Zirtual, with one difference that matters to light users: unused hours roll over to the next month (see Time etc pricing in 2026).
Choose it if you want a Zirtual-style hour plan but your workload moves from month to month.
BELAY places US-based assistants on a flat monthly fee quoted after a consultation. Its FAQ says support runs month to month and typically begins at 45 hours a month, which is where Zirtual's largest assistant plan ends (see BELAY pricing explained).
Choose it if you have outgrown 45 hours a month and the assistant must live in the US.
Boldly sells 40 to 100-hour plans at $65 an hour, with specialist tasks such as writing and design at $79 an hour. You meet your assistant before subscribing, choose North America or Europe-based staff, and a trained backup covers vacations.
Choose it if you want a senior assistant with 10 to 15 years of experience and can use at least 40 hours a month.
Prialto bills 55-hour units at $1,600 a month on its plan card (its FAQ says pricing starts at $1,500), each with an engagement manager, trained backup assistants and free episodic overflow time. There is a 90-day minimum per unit and a $250 setup fee, waived on a one-year agreement; assistants work 9am to 6pm in US and UK time zones from Prialto's offices in the Philippines, Kenya and Guatemala.
Choose it if you want a structured, team-backed assistant and do not want to track hours closely.
Wing publishes $699 a month for 80 hours and $999 a month for 160 hours, worked in your time zone. Its general plans do not name a country; US-based assistants cost $2,499 or $4,999 a month (see Wing Assistant pricing in 2026).
Choose it if monthly price decides it and you are comfortable with an assistant Wing assigns.
Fancy Hands sells requests instead of hours: $35 a month for 3, $55 for 5 and $125 for 15, each up to 20 minutes of work by a team of US-based assistants. Unused requests roll over while you are a member; a dedicated assistant is a separate offering without a published price.
Choose it if you need calls, bookings and research a few times a month, not a standing assistant.
Freelancers set their own rates and, on the Basic plan, you pay up to 7.99% on top (3% for eligible US clients paying by bank account). There is no minimum, but finding, vetting, managing and replacing the person is your job.
Choose it if you have time to screen candidates and want full control over rate and scope.
Virtustant places vetted, bilingual professionals from Latin America who work US business hours and are directed by you. Virtustant prices start at $7/hr all-in for virtual assistants, $8/hr for SDRs and appointment setters and $8.50/hr for executive assistants and bookkeepers, with $0 placement fees, month-to-month terms, a minimum of 10 hours a week and a lifetime replacement guarantee.
Choose it if you want to pick the person from a shortlist and pay a published hourly rate.
Yes, if the assistant does not have to live in the US. We priced one workload on what each provider publishes: 45 hours a month, the size of Zirtual's largest assistant plan and about 10.4 hours a week, which also clears Virtustant's 10-hour weekly minimum.
| Provider | About 45 hours a month |
|---|---|
| Zirtual | $1,699 (45-hour plan) |
| Time etc | No 45-hour plan: $1,480 for 40 hours or $2,160 for 60 |
| BELAY | Not published; its US market range of $30 to $75 an hour gives $1,350 to $3,375 (illustration, not a quote) |
| Boldly | No 45-hour plan: $2,600 for 40 hours or $3,900 for 60 |
| Prialto | $1,600 for one 55-hour unit, plus a $250 setup fee |
| Wing Assistant | $699 (smallest plan, 80 hours) |
| Fancy Hands | Not built for it: the largest plan is 15 requests of up to 20 minutes, about 5 hours, for $125 |
| Upwork | Freelancer's rate × 45, plus up to 7.99% |
| Virtustant | Virtustant: $315 at the $7/hr starting rate; $454.50 at the $10.10/hr median |
The $10.10/hr figure is the median client-side rate for a virtual assistant (n=24) in Virtustant's 2026 Nearshore Rate Report (441 placement starts, January to June 2026). A lower price does not buy the same thing: Zirtual, Time etc, BELAY and Fancy Hands put a US resident in the seat, Wing assigns the person, Upwork leaves vetting to you, and Virtustant places a professional in Latin America whom you pick. If you use every hour, Zirtual's 45-hour plan ($37.76 an hour) is close to Time etc's 40-hour plan ($37 an hour).
Virtustant is built around Latin America: it places bilingual professionals from the region who work your US business hours. Prialto has an office in Guatemala, but none of the other alternatives here is organized around Latin American talent; Wing schedules its general assistants in your time zone without naming a country.
With Virtustant you get a shortlist of 3 to 5 vetted candidates after a discovery call. Shortlist in 48 hours. Start in 72 hours. Candidates are the top 1%: of everyone who applies, 22% clear the recruiter screen, 9% pass cognitive (IQ), skills and English testing, 3% reach a live interview and 1% are hired. Virtustant handles contracts, payroll and the paperwork; you direct the work. It has made 2,000+ placements for 1,000+ US companies since 2021 under co-CEOs Erik Reid and Kevin Wright, and is rated 4.9/5 on G2 (83 reviews), 4.5/5 on Trustpilot (163 reviews) and 5.0/5 on Clutch (6 reviews). Starting rates by role are on Virtustant pricing.
The Used-Hour Test prices the hours you actually use, because Zirtual does not carry unused hours forward. Work it in order:
The rule. Under-using hours is a plan problem; running out of hours is a model problem. Only the second one is a reason to change how you buy help.
Ready to price a seat? Book a discovery call with Virtustant: bring your task list and weekly hours, and leave with a quoted all-in rate and a shortlist within 48 hours. For the head-to-head with the closest hour-package model, see Virtustant vs Time etc.
All pages read October 28, 2026, except the BELAY cost guide and Wing's US-based page, read October 27, 2026. Zirtual's plans page lists task-work hours for its assistant plans; it also sells outbound calling and legal support plans, priced separately and not compared here. Hourly figures are the monthly price divided by plan hours. The BELAY 45-hour range is $30 to $75 × 45, not a BELAY quote. Virtustant figures come from its pricing page and Virtustant's 2026 Nearshore Rate Report (441 placement starts, January to June 2026). Confirm any figure on a written quote.
The main Zirtual alternatives are US hour packages such as Time etc (from $390 a month for 10 hours) and Boldly (from $2,600 for 40 hours), BELAY for US assistants from about 45 hours a month, managed assistants such as Prialto and Wing Assistant, Fancy Hands for one-off tasks, and Upwork. For Latin American assistants on US hours, the remote staffing agency Virtustant starts at $7/hr all-in with $0 placement fees.
Zirtual publishes four assistant plans: $599 a month for 12 hours, $899 for 20, $1,199 for 30 and $1,699 for 45, or $37.76 to $49.92 an hour, as of October 28, 2026. There is no setup fee and no long-term contract, but unused hours do not roll over.
If the assistant does not need to live in the US, yes. Wing Assistant lists $699 a month for 80 hours, and Virtustant starts at $7/hr all-in, or $315 for 45 hours against $1,699 on Zirtual's 45-hour plan. Among US-based options, Time etc's 40-hour plan costs $1,480, about $37 an hour.
Time etc rolls unused hours over to the next month, and Fancy Hands rolls over unused requests while you are a member. Zirtual does not roll hours over or credit them back when you cancel.
Time etc, BELAY and Fancy Hands use US-based assistants, and Boldly offers North America or Europe-based staff. Wing Assistant sells a separate US-based tier from $2,499 a month, as of October 28, 2026.
Virtustant places bilingual professionals from Latin America who work US business hours, starting at $7/hr all-in for virtual assistants and $8.50/hr for executive assistants at Virtustant. You get a shortlist of 3 to 5 vetted candidates within 48 hours of your first call, and your hire can start in 72 hours.
Use the Used-Hour Test: divide your plan price by the hours you actually use, fix any gap with a smaller plan or a provider that rolls hours over, and price a dedicated seat only if you need more than 45 hours a month. Under-using hours is a plan problem; running out of hours is a model problem.
