Let's Talk About Prialto
As a business or individual looking for VA support, you’ve likely heard about Prialto, a managed virtual assistant service that focuses on administrative tasks for executives. Combining managers, trainers, and backup into its service, Prialto offers both fractional (part-time) and full-time assistance, using a unit-based pricing approach. Each unit, starting at $1,500, includes 55+ hours and enables measurable scaling.
Being a managed VA provider means VAs can integrate into your operations without you having to worry about oversight. Also, having backups helps prevent downtime when a VA becomes unavailable or quits, keeping your operations running.
However, Prialto’s advantages don’t make it perfect for every business. A startup may find its prices too expensive, while scaling businesses with unpredictable needs may find the unit-based strategy inefficient. Or maybe a potential client needs a different kind of assistance that it simply doesn’t offer.
Thankfully, when Prialto doesn’t fit your needs, there are several options to turn to, and that’s what we’ll cover here. This is a list of four Prialto alternatives you should consider, each with pros and cons (because no service is perfect), so you can understand how each operates and choose the one that best fits your business’s needs.
Klarecon
What Is Klarecon?
Klarecon is a managed virtual assistant service like Prialto, but its offerings differ in many ways. While Prialto handles admin tasks, Klarecon offers end-to-end workflows to make scaling up or down easier for clients. It hires VAs across different countries, trains them, and manages them daily using SOPs, meetings, and constant communication during working hours.
Klarecon not only provides VAs to handle your tasks but also has quality assessment managers who ensure every task is completed to the clients’ specifications. Project managers further help streamline task flow so that they are completed on time, and account managers coordinate with clients to keep them satisfied and provide VAs with updates. Also, backup VAs keep operations running when primary VAs are unexpectedly absent.
Unlike Prialto, Klarecon doesn’t set fixed prices for VA’s services. Prices are determined based on the nature and scale of the project. However, they typically start from $1,000 per VA per month.
Since it manages workflows from start to finish, businesses can outsource entire operations without needing to closely supervise every task. Rather than building an in-house team for a niche that Klarecon already covers, you can rely on the service and connect it seamlessly with the rest of your business.
Key Features
- Managed VA model
- End-to-end workflows
- Backup VAs for continuity
- Rapid scaling
- Built-in accountability structure
When It's A Good Fit
Klarecon’s fully managed, end-to-end model works best for companies that want to outsource not just a few tasks but the entire operation. Content publishing businesses are a good example. Klarecon can handle the ideation, creation, and publishing of content, while the business owner focuses on partnerships, monetization strategies, and brand direction.
Where It Falls Short
When a business needs help with a large number of VAs or a specialized skill not found in Klarecon’s pool, Klarecon may need a few weeks to recruit the required number of VAs or a VA with the specialized skill set.
To learn more about how Klarecon compares to Prialto, here’s a detailed comparison for you.
Upwork
What Is Upwork?
Upwork’s power lies in numbers. With millions of freelancers registered on Upwork, it is easily one of the largest, if not the largest, freelance markets on Earth. Freelancers independently sign up and, since the entry barrier is low, the platform attracts a wide range of skill levels, price points, and professional backgrounds. This creates a platform where clients can find any talent they need, even though it may mean sifting through portfolios and proposals to find the right fit.
Unlike Prialto, Upwork is not a managed VA service, so you will be fully involved in recruiting, training, and managing your VAs. Here, you interact directly with VAs who often compete against each other intensely, which may be favorable to you in terms of pricing, and you don’t have to make any month-long commitments to any VA.
Most VA services are built around a narrow set of tasks and work best for certain businesses. Upwork, on the other hand, doesn’t come with those boundaries. As an open marketplace, all skills are welcome, even niche ones you may not readily find with the best VA services out there. Also, every VA sets their own price, so businesses are likely to find a VA for their budget as long as it’s reasonable.
Key Features
- Large and diverse talent pool
- Flexible hiring models
- Global reach
- Cost efficiency
- No middleman for hiring
- Access to niche skills.
When It's A Good Fit
Upwork serves all kinds of businesses and individuals, and is handy when one wants to vet their VAs by themselves to be sure they can trust them, or interact directly with them instead of going through an account manager. It’s also great for one-off hires or when you already have SOPs, tools, and workflows to hand over to your VA.
Where It Falls Short
Sometimes, VAs fall sick or become unavoidably absent. With Upwork, such scenarios may set you back, as you either halt operations or try to find their replacement. Also, when you need instant assistance, going through a full recruitment process to find the best fit on Upwork may take longer than you think.
We shed more light on Upwork in our Upwork vs Klarecon article. Read it here.
Boldly
What Is Boldly?
Boldly matches clients with VAs in North America and Europe, depending on your preferred region. Providing VAs with 10-15 years of experience, they offer executive assistant services too, making them similar to Prialto, and their virtual assistants can work in multiple languages—including English, Spanish, and French.
However, they are pricier than Prialto, charging $2520 a month for only 40 hours and double that for 80 hours. While they offer some training to their VAs, you may need to train them in your own systems further after you’ve been matched with them. But since you get to talk with your chosen VA before you’re matched, you can dig into their experience and current skills to reduce training needs.
While Boldly is not a fully managed VA service like Prialto, it offers backup support for downtime beyond your control.
Key Features
- Multi-lingual support
- Backup support
- High-touch matching process
- VAs with 10-15 years of experience
- First-world-based VAs
When It's A Good Fit
Businesses needing multi-lingual support will find Boldly to be a great option. Also, firms in the US or Europe looking for VAs who are familiar with their culture and can easily communicate in a similar style will enjoy such a service. Boldly is also a good fit for businesses outside these regions, but with many clients there.
Where It Falls Short
When you compare VAs’ costs in Europe and the US with those in other places, you’ll see a wide gap. Small businesses and startups may find these prices too heavy, and those who can afford the basic plans may find it hard to scale if needs suddenly shift.
HireTalent
What Is HireTalent?
At HireTalent, it’s all about Filipino VAs. The Philippines has become a top outsourcing location, with many VAs having a strong command of English and a willingness to work even odd hours to match clients’ regular working hours. The icing on the cake when it comes to Filipino VAs is that they are far more affordable than their American counterparts.
HireTalent offers these benefits to businesses and entrepreneurs worldwide, and prices can range from $500 to around $1,500 per VA per month, depending on the skill. Using the platform comes with subscriptions ranging from $88 to $169 per month, as well as a pay-as-you-go option. These payments allow you to do things like bookmark talents, create trial tasks, and contact unique profiles.
With HireTalent, clients work directly with VAs—no middlemen. You can post a job and set a limit on how many people can apply, or contact a talent directly. To make finding VAs easier, the platform allows you to search by industry, skill, and tool. And finally, they offer many skills beyond executive assistance—the hundreds of listed skills include simulation, wireframing, operations management, etc.
Key Features
- Filipino-based VAs
- Cost-friendly options
- Direct-to-VA communication
- Job posting and talent outreach
- Wide skill range
When It's A Good Fit
When savings matter most to a business, HireTalent becomes a ready alternative to Prialto. Stripping away the managed model Prialto offers, it’s also suitable for clients who would rather vet and manage their VAs directly. Also, businesses that want to hire for many skills from a single platform may find HireTalent suitable.
Where It Falls Short
Since each talent is hired separately, working with a team means building one from the ground up, which can take time. Also, training VAs by yourself may slow down your operations when they are newly hired, and managing VAs directly may distract entrepreneurs from high-level tasks.
So, Which One Should You Choose?
Every Prialto alternative service on this page was selected to reflect a unique model, so you can find options that are genuinely distinct from one another. We have Klarecon, the managed model that covers end-to-end operations, and Upwork, the gigantic freelance marketplace for literally everything. We also have HireTalent, flaunting VAs from the Philippines at cheap rates, and Boldly, the expensive option, bringing first-world, multilingual VAs to the table.
Having seen the pros and cons of each of them, you can now easily choose which of them works best for your business based on your current resources and what your goals and budget are.
If hands-off management with a managed VA service that handles the entire operation sounds excellent, you should go with Klarecon. Our experienced VAs and reliable managers ensure your work is done on time and meets your desired standards, and our client testimonials reassure you that you’re in safe hands with us. Schedule a consultation with us today, and let’s begin.
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