An executive assistant (EA) works for one leader and manages that person's time, inbox and priorities, often deciding things on their behalf. A virtual assistant (VA) is a remote worker who takes defined, recurring tasks off a person or a team, such as data entry, scheduling, customer support or social media. The difference is not location, since many executive assistants now work remotely too. It is scope: an executive assistant owns a person's week, while a virtual assistant owns a list of tasks.
If you mainly need tasks done, hire a virtual assistant. If you need someone to protect your calendar, triage your email, prepare you for meetings and act as your gatekeeper, hire an executive assistant, in person or remote. Below is the side-by-side comparison, what each role costs, what 27,964 candidate profiles on DonutJobs show about supply (counted on 19 October 2026), and a short test to decide which one you need.
Executive assistant vs virtual assistant at a glance
| Executive assistant | Virtual assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| Works for | One executive, sometimes a small leadership team | An owner, a team or several clients |
| Main job | Manage the leader's time, communication and follow-ups | Complete defined tasks to a written process |
| Decides alone | Which meetings to accept, which emails need the leader, what to prepare | Little beyond the task itself |
| Typical tasks | Calendar, inbox triage, travel, meeting prep, agendas, research briefs | Data entry, scheduling, customer support, social media, list cleaning |
| Where they work | Office, hybrid or remote | Remote, usually from home |
| How they are hired | Employee, contractor or a managed service | Usually an independent contractor or a managed service |
| Experience | Several years of administrative work is typical | Ranges from entry level to specialist |
| US median pay (employees) | $76,590 a year (May 2025) | Administrative assistants: $47,540 a year (May 2025) |
The pay figures are from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and cover people employed in the US, not remote contractors. The virtual assistant column uses administrative assistants (except legal, medical and executive) as the nearest employed group, because the BLS has no separate category for virtual assistants.
What an executive assistant does
The occupation profile for executive secretaries and executive administrative assistants (O*NET 43-6011.00) lists the core tasks: manage and maintain executives' schedules, make travel arrangements, prepare reports, memos and letters, answer and route calls, prepare responses to routine correspondence, and greet visitors to decide whether they get access to a specific person. The BLS adds that people in this role give "high-level support for an office and for top executives", often review incoming documents, research and prepare reports, and sometimes supervise other clerical staff. They typically need several years of related work experience.
In practice, the work splits into three parts:
- Time. The executive assistant owns the calendar. They accept, decline and move meetings without asking every time, keep focus blocks free and plan travel around them.
- Communication. They read the inbox first, answer what they can, draft replies for the rest and put the few messages that need the leader at the top.
- Follow-through. They prepare agendas and briefs before meetings, take notes, and chase the actions afterwards.
The common thread is judgment. A good executive assistant knows what their leader would say before they ask, which is why the role pays more and takes longer to hire.
What a virtual assistant does
A virtual assistant handles work that happens on a computer and can be written down as a process. Common tasks are inbox sorting, scheduling, data entry, web research, customer support, social media posting and simple bookkeeping. Many virtual assistants are generalists who mix admin work across these areas; others specialise in one function. Our guide on what a virtual assistant does breaks the tasks down by type of work.
The difference in practice is how much you have to explain. You give a virtual assistant a task and the steps; you give an executive assistant an outcome ("keep Thursdays free for sales calls") and they work out the steps. A virtual assistant can grow into executive support, but you should not expect it on day one.
Where the two meet: the virtual executive assistant
A virtual executive assistant does the executive assistant job remotely: calendar, inbox, travel and meeting prep for one leader, from another city or country. The title is used loosely, so read the job, not the label. Some services call any remote admin worker an "executive assistant"; some candidates call themselves virtual assistants while doing real executive support.
Three things separate a true remote executive assistant from a general virtual assistant:
- They work for one person. A dedicated virtual assistant who serves only you is the starting point. An assistant split across five clients cannot own your week.
- They have access and permission. Delegated inbox and calendar access, a password manager, and a written list of what they may decide alone.
- Their hours overlap with yours. Executive support needs live hours during your working day for scheduling changes and last-minute requests.
What the DonutJobs candidate pool shows
DonutJobs is a hiring platform where employers post jobs and search candidate profiles. On 19 October 2026 the pool held 27,964 candidate profiles. The counts below come from the skill tags, headlines and past job titles candidates entered themselves, so they show what people say they do, not verified skills.
| Profiles that name | Profiles | Share of the pool | Of those, with internet, English and typing checks done |
|---|---|---|---|
| Generic "virtual assistant" work (skill tag) | 15,134 | 54% | 5,229 |
| Executive, personal, administrative or office assistant work, calendar, email or inbox management, or secretary | 1,966 | 7% | 757 |
Two things stand out. First, general virtual assistant work is everywhere: more than half of all profiles carry the tag. Second, candidates who describe executive or administrative support in their own words are a much smaller group, about one profile in 15. If you need executive support, you will review fewer candidates, so filter for it from the start rather than hoping a general virtual assistant turns into one.
The checks are optional. Across the whole pool, the median English test score is 80 out of 100 (11,271 test takers) and the median typing speed is 31 words per minute (13,380 test takers). For executive support, where most of the work is written, look at both numbers and read their writing before the interview.
What each one costs
Employed executive assistants in the US earned a median of $76,590 a year in May 2025, which O*NET lists as $36.82 an hour. Administrative assistants earned $47,540. Those are wages only; employer payroll taxes, benefits and equipment come on top.
Remote assistants are usually paid as independent contractors by the hour or month, and rates depend far more on country and experience than on title. Candidates on DonutJobs ask a median of $5 an hour, with half asking $3 to $5 (2,559 profiles created since 25 August 2026, self-stated). That rate is for the whole pool, not for executive support specifically. Expect to pay above the median for someone with years of executive support and strong written English, and see our virtual assistant rates report for the rates by country. For a full breakdown of the other costs, read how much a virtual assistant costs.
A note on contractors: under the IRS general rule, someone is an independent contractor if the payer can control or direct "only the result of the work and not what will be done and how it will be done". An executive assistant who works set hours under close direction can look more like an employee, so check how you classify the role with an accountant before you sign.
Which one should you hire? Five questions
- Do you need tasks done or time managed? Tasks, such as updating a CRM or answering support tickets, point to a virtual assistant. Managing your calendar and inbox points to an executive assistant.
- Will they decide things without asking you? If yes, you need executive-level judgment and should hire for it.
- How much of the work is written down? A virtual assistant needs a process. If most of the work lives in your head, an executive assistant is the better fit, or you write the processes first.
- Do they need live hours with you? Executive support usually needs several hours of overlap a day. Task work often does not.
- Is the workload one person's or a team's? Executive assistants serve a person. Shared admin across a team is usually virtual assistant work.
Many founders start with a virtual assistant for the task load and hire executive support once their calendar becomes the bottleneck. Our older post on when a founder should hire a first executive assistant covers that timing in more detail.
How to hire either one through DonutJobs
There are three routes, depending on how much of the hiring you want to do yourself:
- Hire directly. Post a job on DonutJobs and review applicants and candidate profiles yourself, filtered by English, typing, internet and voice results. The free plan covers one active job post and up to 10 applications; paid plans start at $99 a month, or $55 a month on a six-month term (see pricing). Browse roles in the hiring hub, and start from a virtual assistant job description template.
- Managed virtual assistant. If you would rather not run the hire, a managed virtual assistant is a dedicated assistant, tested and run by DonutJobs, who works in your team.
- Managed executive assistant. For executive support specifically, DonutJobs runs a done-for-you service: a dedicated assistant for your inbox, calendar and travel, on one monthly invoice. See hire a virtual executive assistant for what is included and the guarantees.
Whichever route you take, plan the first month on purpose. The guide to onboarding a new virtual assistant in the first 30 days works for executive support too: start with read-only access, add permissions as trust builds, and write down every decision they may make alone.
Frequently asked questions
Is an executive assistant better than a virtual assistant?
Neither is better in general. An executive assistant is the better choice when one leader needs their time, inbox and priorities managed with judgment. A virtual assistant is the better choice for defined, recurring tasks that can be written as a process, and costs less.
Can a virtual assistant do executive assistant work?
Yes, if they have the experience and you give them the access. Look for past roles that name executive, personal or administrative assistant work, calendar or inbox management, and strong written English. On DonutJobs, 1,966 of 27,964 profiles name that kind of work (19 October 2026).
What is a virtual executive assistant?
A virtual executive assistant does the executive assistant job remotely. They manage one leader's calendar, email, travel and meeting preparation from another location, usually with several hours a day that overlap with the leader's working day.
How much does an executive assistant cost compared with a virtual assistant?
In the US, employed executive assistants earned a median of $76,590 a year in May 2025 and administrative assistants $47,540, before taxes and benefits. Remote contractors cost far less: candidates on DonutJobs ask a median of $5 an hour across the whole pool, and experienced executive support costs more than that.
Do executive assistants work remotely?
Many do. The role started in offices, and in-person support is still common for executives who need someone on site, but calendar, email and travel work can all be done remotely with delegated access.
Should my first hire be a virtual assistant or an executive assistant?
Start with a virtual assistant if your problem is volume: too many small tasks. Start with an executive assistant if your problem is your own time: missed follow-ups, a calendar nobody controls and an inbox you cannot keep up with. If both are true, hire for the time problem first.