Honest competitor comparison
Viva vs Magic
Magic is built for solopreneurs and small businesses buying pooled on-demand tasks or a junior dedicated assistant. Viva is built for dedicated senior executive support at scaling tech companies. If you’re past 100 employees and the work matters, this is the comparison you need.
| Magic | 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 | ~$13.50/hr | $3,999/mo |
The honest take
Magic fits part-time contractor needs. Viva fits scaling tech companies.
Magic 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 Magic if
You need a part-time contractor
Magic is a strong choice when you want pay-as-you-go support for ad-hoc tasks, you’re cost-sensitive, and a junior assistant is enough.
- You’re a solopreneur or small business under 20 FTEs
- You’re cost-sensitive and price is the top decision factor
- You’re comfortable with a pooled, rotating agent model
- The work is ad-hoc: travel booking, research, errands
- A junior dedicated assistant is enough for your needs
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.
| Magic | Viva | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Solopreneurs and small businesses under 20 FTEs | ✓ Scaling tech companies supporting a leadership team |
| Coverage model | Pooled pay-as-you-go OR junior dedicated assistant | ✓ Senior full-time dedicated EA |
| 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 | Task-based, on-demand, including personal concierge | ✓ Admin plus Chief of Staff-lite work, project ownership, workflow design |
| Talent profile | Rotating pool or junior dedicated, entry-level | ✓ 5+ years of professional experience, most have lived, studied, worked, or traveled in the US |
| Time to start | Instant (pool) or 2–4 weeks (dedicated) | ✓ This week |
| EA retention | Reviews report no-shows, billing issues, language barriers | ✓ 2-year average tenure, 1 in 3 stays 4+ years |
| Commitment | Hourly or monthly, no minimum disclosed | Quarterly |
| Pricing (starting) | ~$13.50/hr base, no public pricing transparency | ✓ $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 · Built for sub-20 teams
Magic is built for small businesses, with the talent to match
Magic’s customer base is solopreneurs and small businesses under 20 FTEs. Their talent pool is calibrated for that: entry-level agents handling discrete tasks at a low hourly rate. If your work is simple admin and you don’t need experience, Magic will cost less than us. Our EAs are senior, with 5+ years of professional experience, trained for executive workflows. The price reflects the caliber.
“She has taken on responsibilities I never expected from an EA. I feel very comfortable delegating to her. I honestly wasn’t aware of all the tasks a high-quality EA can help you with.”
VP Operations, Viva customer
02 · Dedicated EA vs rotating pool
One person who knows your business
Magic’s pooled model is a rotating group of agents picking up tasks. Whoever’s online handles the next request. That works for booking a flight or researching restaurants. It breaks down when the work needs context: your style, your team’s history, your priorities, your investor relationships. Our EAs are dedicated. One person, full-time, learning your business over years.
“Marieandrée’s proactive approach surprised me. She’s taken on responsibilities I never expected from an EA.”
Marieandrée, Viva customer
03 · Strategic vs transactional
Work that compounds vs work that closes
Magic’s model is transactional: discrete tasks completed and closed, with availability around the clock. Our EAs do that work in their first month, then move into project ownership, vendor management, workflow design, and Chief of Staff-lite scope. The relationship compounds because the EA is the same person every day, learning your business.
“Viva saves me two to four hours per day, easily. The EA they provided is highly capable, energetic, intelligent, and has a great attitude.”
Viva customer, Viva customer
04 · Timezone overlap
We match US hours, not work against them
Magic staffs from the Philippines. Tasks get picked up by whoever’s awake, often on graveyard shifts to overlap with US business hours. Working nights long-term is hard on people. Public reviews of Philippines BPOs document burnout, sleep disorders, and higher attrition tied to permanent night shifts. That hits retention, which hits your continuity. Our EAs work from Latin America and South Africa, on local daytime that matches the US timezone your exec works in.
“It’s difficult for me to realize sometimes that she’s not geographically proximate. Working with her has been a better experience than a number of in-person EAs.”
Viva customer, 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 Magic 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 Magic 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, Magic 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, Magic is the cleaner fit.
How do you compare to Magic 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.