Disclosure: we're Ryz Labs, and we also place executive assistants, which makes us a competitor of both companies on this page. The facts about Athena and Boldly come from their own websites, listed under Sources, and the math is ours and labelled as such.
Boldly and Athena are close to opposites. Athena gives you one assistant for a 40-hour week at a flat monthly fee, with a commitment of 90 days or a year, and its assistants are overseas. Boldly bills blocks of hours starting at 40 a month, its assistants are US-based people on Boldly's own staff, and you can cancel any time. If you need a few hours of senior help a week, Boldly fits. If you need someone working your inbox every weekday, Athena's model fits, and so does ours.
All figures come from each company's pages as we found them in November 2026.
Boldly calls its people "ridiculously talented executive assistants" and positions them for senior leaders. You buy a monthly plan of hours. The published table runs from 40 hours for $2,600 to 100 hours for $6,500, and larger plans up to 160 hours are quoted on request. Divide any of those and you land on $65 an hour. Specialist tasks such as project management, design or writing are billed at $79 an hour.
Boldly's pricing page says its staff are US-based and on Boldly's own books, and you can choose North America or Europe-based support. It includes a one-hour launch meeting, a trained backup when your assistant is out, and no charge for extra users on the account. You can change plans or cancel at any time, and its satisfaction guarantee refunds the month's fees if you're not happy. Boldly bills by ACH; paying by card adds 2.9%. The homepage says clients stay an average of four years.
Athena's offer is a single dedicated person. Its FAQ puts every EA on five business days and 40 hours. Two rates appear there: $3,000 monthly for a year-long commitment, or $3,600 monthly once you've committed to the first 90 days. Athena's /pricing page shows the $3,000 figure with a footnote about a 90-day commitment, so ask which term applies to your quote. Our Athena pricing guide works through the totals.
Athena wraps the assistant in coaching it calls the "Art of delegation," and matches you through a survey and an introduction. On geography, the FAQ says the EAs sit overseas and follow whatever schedule you set; it puts onboarding at two to three weeks in the typical case.
Boldly's smallest plan is 40 hours a month, roughly two hours a weekday. Athena's only plan is 40 hours a week, about four times as much time. Comparing $2,600 with $3,000 is comparing a part-time service with a dedicated one.
At 40 hours a month, Boldly is $2,600 and Athena is still $3,000, because Athena doesn't sell less. At 100 hours a month, Boldly is $6,500 and Athena is the same $3,000. The crossover sits a little above 46 hours a month on Boldly's rate. Past that, a dedicated assistant costs less per hour.
Boldly lets you leave any month. Athena asks for at least 90 days at $3,600, or twelve months at $3,000.
Boldly's people are in the US (or Europe if you choose), so your overlap depends on which zone they sit in. Athena's are overseas and work to the schedule you set; its FAQ says most members choose their own time zone. Our guide to where Athena assistants are located covers what that means in practice.
Our model sits between the two. Like Athena, we give you a dedicated person rather than an hour bucket. Like Boldly, there's no long lock-in: a dedicated executive assistant is $3,000 a month, month to month, and a dedicated virtual assistant is $2,000 a month, month to month.
Ryz assistants work on your team, keep US business hours (New York hours too) and work in fluent English. Before you meet anyone, a recruiter has screened them. A single call is enough for us to send back a plan, a monthly price and the actual candidates we'd put forward. When you give the go-ahead, most people can typically start in under two weeks, and some roles take three to six weeks.
The other difference is range. Ryz also places developers and product and project managers, so an owner who starts with an EA can later add the engineer who fixes the website or builds the internal tool, with one partner for both. Ryz dates to 2021, runs from Calabasas, California, counts 200+ people, and Fortune 500 engineering teams rely on it. Our client workspace, Ryz Portal, is rolling out to clients now.
What we don't do: sell 40-hour monthly blocks like Boldly, or run a delegation-coaching program like Athena.
Only at low hours. Boldly's 40-hour monthly plan is $2,600, below Athena's $3,000. Once you need more than about 46 hours a month, Athena's flat fee for a 40-hour week works out cheaper per hour.
Yes. Boldly's pricing page says its people are US-based and part of Boldly's own staff, not freelancers, and it also offers Europe-based support if you ask for it.
Boldly says you can cancel at any time. Athena's FAQ doesn't describe cancellation, and its plans carry a 90-day or 12-month commitment.
Boldly refunds that month's fees under its satisfaction guarantee and lets you meet an assistant before paying. Athena's answer is a rematch with another of its assistants.
Athena, at 40 hours a week. Boldly's $3,000 buys a little over 46 hours a month at its $65 rate. For comparison, the Ryz Labs EA price is $3,000 monthly with no term beyond the month.
Checked on November 14, 2026 against both companies' own pages. Confirm current terms before you sign.
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