Honest competitor comparison
Viva vs Athena
Athena is one-size-fits-all. Viva is laser focused on scaling tech companies. If you’re hiring your second, fifth, or tenth EA, this is the comparison you need.
| Athena | Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Talent | Philippines, Kenya | LatAm, South Africa |
| Timezone | 11–14 hr offset | Matches your US time |
| Start | 8–12 weeks | This week |
| Tenure | High turnover | 2+ yr average |
| Starting price | $3,000/mo | $3,999/mo |
The honest take
Athena is one-size-fits-all. Viva is laser focused on scaling tech companies.
Athena built a strong service for solopreneurs and small business owners hiring their first virtual assistant. Viva is built for scaling tech companies where executive support has outgrown a single assistant and needs to work across the leadership team. Here’s how to tell which side of that line you’re on.
Pick Athena if
You’re a solopreneur or small business owner
Athena is a strong choice when one founder needs administrative coverage and you’re optimizing for starting price over experience.
- You’re a solopreneur or sub-20-person business
- You’re cost-sensitive and price is the top decision factor
- You’re comfortable with green talent fresh out of school
- You can wait 8–12 weeks for your assistant to start
- The work is mostly admin: calendar, inbox, travel
Pick Viva if
EA support is becoming an operating system
Viva is built for scaling tech companies where executive support has outgrown a single assistant and needs to work across the leadership team.
- You’re a tech company with 100+ employees, scaling fast
- You’re supporting multiple executives, not just one
- You want strategic Chief of Staff-level work, not just admin
- You want to get an EA started this week
- You want EA tenure measured in years, not months
At a glance
Side by side, no spin
Both companies have public information about their model. Here’s how the basics line up.
| Athena | Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Solopreneurs and small business owners hiring their first virtual assistant | Scaling tech companies supporting a leadership team |
| Talent location | Philippines | ✓ Latin America, South Africa |
| Timezone overlap with US | Graveyard shifts in Manila (11–14 hr offset) | ✓ Matches the US timezone your exec works in |
| Service tier | Admin-focused: calendar, inbox, travel, research | ✓ Admin plus Chief of Staff-lite work, project ownership, workflow design |
| Talent profile | cut / soften | ✓ 2+ years of professional experience, most have lived, studied, worked, or traveled in the US |
| Time to start | 2–3 weeks (often waitlisted) | ✓ This week |
| EA retention | High turnover reported in public reviews | ✓ 2-year average tenure, 1 in 3 stays 4+ years |
| Commitment | 12-month commitment | Quarterly |
| Pricing (starting) | $3,000/mo | $3,999/mo quarterly |
Where it actually matters
Four differences that show up in the work
Pricing and commitment are easy to compare. These four are harder to see in a sales call but they shape every day of the engagement.
01 · Strategic vs admin
What your EA actually owns past month 3
In months 1 to 3, the work looks similar. The gap shows up after that, when the scope expands beyond calendar, inbox, and travel. Athena’s EAs hit a ceiling because that’s the service tier. Our EAs move into project ownership, vendor management, workflow design, and Chief of Staff-lite scope. We hire from a talent pool with 2+ years of professional experience, and most have lived, studied, worked, or traveled in the US so the communication and cultural context is already there.
“Marieandrée’s proactive approach surprised me. She’s taken on responsibilities I never expected from an EA. I feel very comfortable delegating to her.”
Marieandrée, Viva customer
02 · Retention
Your EA stays, and they’re online when you are
Athena’s EAs work graveyard hours to overlap with US business time. That’s hard to sustain. Public reviews show high turnover. Our EAs work from Latin America and South Africa, on local daytime that matches the US timezone your exec works in. They stay an average of two years. One in three stays four or more.
“Fabi’s support has freed up tens of hours for me every week to focus more on the product and technical side of my role. She’s been a pivotal partner.”
Fabi, Viva customer
03 · AI proficiency
EAs who use AI as a force multiplier
Our EAs are trained at Viva University on the AI tools that compound their output: prompt design, workflow automation, document drafting, research, meeting prep. They use AI to do more, not less. Athena’s tier doesn’t include this training.
“My EA Fabi uses Granola and Claude to structure all of our board meeting debriefs. The speed and quality is identical to a US hire.”
Tech Founder, Viva customer
04 · In-person and travel
An EA who can show up
Offsites, leadership summits, customer events. Many of our EAs hold US visas and travel in person to coordinate, plan, and execute on the ground. We have customers running monthly offsites across their organization with their Viva EA in the room. Athena cannot provide someone who can join you.
“We cannot believe how good our EA is for how much we pay. She is as good if not better than us hiring an American from a top university.”
VP Operations, Viva customer
What customers say
The proof is in the hours back
Based on customer survey data across 300+ Viva customers tracking time saved, time to value, and EA tenure.
9+
hours saved per week, per executive
Average across 300+ customers
91%
reach value within 2 weeks
Onboarding to first delegated workflow
2+
year average EA tenure
1 in 3 stays 4+ years
Answers, not pitches
Common questions in head-to-head deals
Aren’t Philippines-based EAs cheaper?
Yes, Athena’s headline is lower at ~$3,000/mo. It also requires a 12-month commitment and a $24K buyout. Our quarterly pricing buys a 2+ year experienced, timezone-matched EA with no lock-in.
What happens if my EA leaves or doesn’t work out?
We backfill. The managed service includes replacement, retraining, and continuity. Your Customer Success Manager handles the transition. You don’t restart from zero, and you don’t pay extra for it.
Why quarterly commitment instead of monthly?
Two reasons. First, an EA needs more than 30 days to learn your business, your style, and your team. Real value compounds after weeks 4 through 8. Second, quarterly pricing lets us invest in better talent, retention, and managed service infrastructure. Monthly providers can’t.
If you need a 30-day commitment, Athena is the cleaner fit.
Is the EA really strategic, or is that marketing language?
We hire from a talent pool where candidates have 2+ years of professional experience. Most hold university degrees. Many come from operations, customer success, or executive support roles, and most have lived, studied, worked, or traveled in the US. We train them at Viva University on workflow design, AI tools, vendor management, and Chief of Staff scope.
The customer survey number that matters: 47% of customers report saving 2+ hours per day by Quarter 1.
How do you compare to Athena on data security and compliance?
Both companies operate managed service models with security review processes. Viva runs an ISO 27001-aligned program, NDA-bound EAs, equipment management, and offboarding controls. If security is a primary decision factor, our security team will walk your team through the controls in detail.
See what scaled EA support looks like for your team
Tell us about your leadership team and the work you want to delegate. We’ll show you exactly what a Viva engagement would look like. The process end to end is on the how it works page, and the solutions pages break down EA support by role.