Honest competitor comparison
Viva vs Belay
Belay sells US-based fractional VAs at 10 to 20 hours a week. Viva gives you a full-time dedicated EA who owns the work, not the hours. If you’re past 100 employees and need real strategic EA coverage, this is the comparison you need.
| Belay | Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage | Fractional | Full-time dedicated |
| Hours / week | 10–20 hours | 40 hours |
| Scope | Admin only | Strategic + admin |
| Replacement | 1 week | 24 hours |
| Starting price | ~$1,200/mo | $3,999/mo |
The honest take
Belay fits part-time contractor needs. Viva fits scaling tech companies.
Belay runs a broad bench of virtual support that fits churches, law firms, and consultants buying fractional admin hours. Viva does one thing: full-time dedicated EAs for scaling tech companies. Here’s how to tell which side of that line you’re on.
Pick Belay if
You need a part-time contractor
Belay is a strong choice when you want US-based fractional support, your work is mostly admin, and a few hours a week is enough.
- You’re a church, law firm, consultancy, or solo practice
- You’re hiring fractional support, 10–20 hours a week
- You require US-based talent for compliance or comfort
- The work is mostly admin: scheduling, email, light bookkeeping
- You’re comfortable with a 1099 contractor model
Pick Viva if
EA support is becoming an operating system
Viva gives every executive a full-time dedicated EA who owns strategic work across calendar, projects, vendor management, and Chief of Staff scope.
- 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.
| Belay | Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Churches, law firms, consultants needing US-based part-time VAs | ✓ Scaling tech companies supporting a leadership team |
| Coverage model | Fractional, 10–20 hrs/week | ✓ Full-time dedicated, 40 hrs/week |
| Talent location | United States | ✓ Latin America, South Africa |
| Timezone overlap with US | Aligned with US business hours | ✓ Matches the US timezone your exec works in |
| Service tier | Admin-focused: calendar, inbox, light bookkeeping | ✓ Admin plus Chief of Staff-lite work, project ownership, workflow design |
| Talent profile | 1099 contractors, college-educated US workers | ✓ 5+ years of professional experience, most have lived, studied, worked, or traveled in the US |
| Time to start | 3–4 weeks | ✓ This week |
| EA retention | Public reviews report mixed satisfaction tied to the 1099 pay model | ✓ 2-year average tenure, 1 in 3 stays 4+ years |
| Commitment | Monthly | Quarterly |
| Pricing (starting) | ~$42/hr; ~$1,380 for 30 hrs/mo; no public pricing | ✓ $3,999/mo for 40 hrs/week dedicated |
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 · Fractional has a ceiling
A divided assistant can’t go strategic
Belay’s VAs work 10 to 20 hours a week, split across multiple clients. That’s context switching all day. You get scheduling, email, and light bookkeeping done. You don’t get someone who can own a project, run a vendor relationship, or take on the work that actually moves the business forward. Our EAs work full-time on your business, own eight workstreams end-to-end, and move into Chief of Staff-lite scope by Quarter 1.
“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 · The pay gap is the quality gap
You get what the EA gets paid for
Belay charges around $42 per hour while paying its VAs $19 to $25 per hour. That’s a 50%+ margin and it shows up in motivation, quality, and retention. We invest in our EAs through pay, training, and career path, which is why our retention is measured in years, not months.
“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.”
Tech Founder, Viva customer
03 · Retention
Your EA stays
Our EAs stay an average of two years. One in three stays four years or more. We treat retention as a service-level commitment because every replacement is friction for you. Belay’s public reviews report hit-or-miss quality and low motivation tied to the 1099 contractor pay model.
“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
04 · Specialization vs spread
EA-only, not a generalist bench
Belay offers VAs, bookkeepers, marketing assistants, and social media support across churches, law firms, and consultancies. We only do EA support for executives at scaling tech companies. That focus shows up in how we hire, how we train, and how we match. You’re not getting a generalist who also does bookkeeping for someone else on Tuesdays.
“I’ve gained so much time, so much composure in my day-to-day. I’ve been able to focus on my work, get a lot more done, and be more productive.”
Executive, 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
Why pay more for offshore when Belay is US-based?
For the same spend, you’re choosing between a high-caliber, full-time dedicated EA at Viva, or an average part-time US-based VA at Belay working 10 to 20 hours a week. Our EAs come from a 5+ year experience talent pool, most have lived, studied, worked, or traveled in the US, and they’re full-time on your business. The dollars buy very different things.
If US-based talent is a hard requirement for compliance reasons, Belay is the cleaner fit. For everything else, the value gap is real.
What about timezone, isn’t US-based the same as LatAm overlap?
For practical purposes, yes. Our EAs match the US timezone your exec works in. You get live Slack responses, same-day collaboration, and meetings during their daytime. The difference is everything else: full-time vs fractional, professional EA vs generalist VA, 2+ year retention vs documented turnover.
How does the 1099 vs W2 model affect the work?
When your EA isn’t sure they’ll be there in six months, the relationship doesn’t compound. We invest in our EAs through pay, training, and career path, which is why our retention is measured in years, not months.
What if my EA leaves or doesn’t work out?
This is incredibly rare. Our EAs stay an average of two years and 1 in 3 stays four years or more. In the rare case that something does happen, we backfill. The managed service includes replacement, retraining, and continuity. Your Customer Success Manager handles the transition, your context carries forward, you don’t restart from zero.
Why quarterly commitment instead of monthly?
An EA needs more than 30 days to learn your business, your style, and your team. Real value compounds after weeks 4 through 8. Quarterly pricing lets us invest in better talent, retention, and managed service infrastructure. If you only need fractional monthly coverage for one executive, Belay is the cleaner fit.
How do you compare to Belay on security?
Both companies operate managed service models. 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 yours 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.