Async vs Time etc vs Wing Assistant: 2026 Comparison

Comparing Async, Time etc, and Wing Assistant at a glance

If compliance paperwork matters more to you than staffing model, it's worth comparing dedicated platforms too, such as our TrustAI vs Vanta vs Drata vs Secureframe: 2026 guide, since none of these three virtual assistant providers has a full SOC 2 or SSO/SAML trail yet.

What is Async

Async is a Y Combinator-backed company, founded in 2025 and based in New York, that builds AI agents for small businesses rather than staffing human virtual assistants. According to its Y Combinator profile, the team runs with two employees and scopes deployments around specific client workflows, citing examples like law firms, healthcare clinics, real estate offices, and childcare businesses. There is no published pricing tier; every call-to-action on the site routes to a sales conversation. Async fits businesses that want a repeatable task (intake forms, appointment scheduling, follow-up messages) automated by an agent rather than assigned to a person, and that are comfortable with a custom, sales-led quote instead of a published rate card.

What is Time etc

Time etc provides dedicated, US-based virtual assistants for ongoing task delegation, billed monthly by the hour. Assistants handle email and calendar management and social media management, and the service runs month-to-month with no long-term contract or setup fee. Plans scale from 10 to 60 hours, with unused hours rolling over on every tier except the entry plan. Time etc holds a 4.8-star rating across 278 Trustpilot reviews as of September 1, 2026, which is the strongest independently verified review signal among the three tools in this comparison. It fits buyers who want a generalist human assistant handling recurring administrative work without managing a full hiring process themselves.

What is Wing Assistant

Wing Assistant is a fully managed virtual assistant service offering both general Business VA plans and a separate Personal Assistant product, plus specialist roles like bookkeeping, SDR, and executive assistant on custom pricing. It backs placements with a stated backup/replacement policy and assigns a dedicated customer success manager, and it publishes a dedicated GDPR privacy policy page. Business VA plans run part-time (80 hours) or full-time (160 hours), and Personal Assistant plans add unlimited file storage and sharing at the full-time tier. Wing Assistant fits businesses that need a specific specialist function filled with contractual backup coverage, rather than a single generalist hire.

Async: pros and cons

Pros

SOC 2 Type I certified with zero-data-retention claims. Async's site states SOC 2 Type I certification alongside general encryption and zero-data-retention language, which matters if you're deploying agents on sensitive workflows like healthcare intake or legal document handling.

AI agents integrate with legacy systems. The feature set confirms legacy system integration, meaning agents can plug into existing software (scheduling tools, record systems) rather than requiring you to migrate to a new platform first.

Y Combinator backing signals early-stage scrutiny. Async went through Y Combinator's vetting process as a 2025 batch company, which is a credibility signal for a two-person team without a public track record yet.

Cons

No public pricing exists. Every page on the site routes to a "Contact" call-to-action, with no plan names, per-workflow rates, or per-agent costs published anywhere. Budgeting requires a sales conversation before you know the order of magnitude.

There is no human assistant in this model. Async replaces a person with an agent, so if you need judgment calls, tone-matching on client-facing messages, or ad hoc requests handled the way a human would, this is structurally not the same product as Time etc or Wing Assistant.

No independent reviews were found. As of September 1, 2026, there are no Async reviews on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, or ProductHunt. That's consistent with an early-stage, two-person company, but it means you can't benchmark real-world satisfaction against peers yet.

Time etc: pros and cons

Pros

Assistants are US-based and handle email, calendar, and social media. For buyers who need a native English speaker aligned to US business hours, this is a confirmed differentiator over Wing Assistant, whose talent pool is not confirmed as US-based.

Hours roll over on every plan except the entry tier. The 20-, 40-, and 60-hour plans carry unused hours into the next month, which reduces the "use it or lose it" pressure that drives dissatisfaction with hourly staffing.

Trustpilot rating sits at 4.8 out of 5 across 278 reviews. That's the highest verified review volume and score of the three tools compared here, and reviewers specifically cite month-to-month flexibility and long-term support.

Cons

The entry 10-hour plan has no rollover. At $390/month, it's the highest per-hour rate ($39/hr) and the least forgiving if your workload is inconsistent month to month.

No SOC 2, GDPR, or SSO/SAML documentation is published. Time etc's site references signed NDAs and "bank-grade encryption," but that language stops short of a formal compliance certification you can point to in a vendor security review.

Not every assistant is proactive. One 1-star Trustpilot reviewer, Cristina Harrell, noted her assistant "was not necessarily pro-active," making it hard to use the full hourly subscription each month, a real risk if you need someone who flags tasks rather than only executing assigned ones.

Wing Assistant: pros and cons

Pros

Specialist roles come with dedicated pricing. Bookkeeping, SDR, and executive assistant roles are staffed and priced separately from generalist VA plans, which fits businesses that need a specific skill set rather than a jack-of-all-trades hire.

A backup/replacement policy and a customer success manager are included. If your assigned assistant is unavailable or not a fit, Wing Assistant's model includes structured backup coverage and an account-level point of contact, which Time etc and Async do not list.

Capterra and G2 ratings are strong. Wing Assistant holds 4.8 out of 5 across 73 Capterra reviews and 4.6 out of 5 across 26 G2 reviews as of September 1, 2026, with reviewers like Maria N. calling their assistant "a game-changer."

Cons

Trustpilot rating trails Time etc by a wide margin. At 3.9 out of 5 across 55 reviews, Wing Assistant's Trustpilot score is noticeably lower than Time etc's 4.8 across 278 reviews, a gap worth weighing against the higher-volume Capterra and G2 scores.

Some reviewers describe it as a sourcing platform, not a managed agency. Samar Elatta's 1-star Trustpilot review states the assistants placed are "new to Wing, untrained, and unmanaged," which contradicts the "fully managed" positioning on Wing's own site.

Talent is not confirmed as US-based, and vetting access is limited. The feature matrix shows no US-based talent guarantee, and Michael H.'s Capterra review adds that Wing is "not transparent about the background of the EAs" and won't allow interviews or skills assessments before placement.

Use-case comparison

Solo founders who need a repetitive workflow automated, not a person managed. If your bottleneck is a specific process, such as intake forms, appointment reminders, or follow-up sequences, and you'd rather not train and manage a human for it, Async's agent-based model is worth a sales call. Just budget time for that conversation since there's no self-serve pricing to compare against.

Busy professionals who want a dependable, US-based generalist assistant. If you need someone handling your inbox, calendar, and social accounts on a recurring basis, with hour rollover so unused time isn't wasted, Time etc's plan structure and 4.8-star Trustpilot record make it the safer default among the three.

Growing teams that need a specialist role filled with backup coverage. If you specifically need bookkeeping, SDR outreach, or an executive assistant, and want contractual backup if the placement doesn't work out, Wing Assistant's specialist pricing and replacement policy fit that need better than a generalist hourly plan, provided you accept the mixed vetting feedback in its reviews.

Pricing

Async pricing

Async does not publish plan names, price points, or per-task rates. Every page routes to a "Contact" call-to-action, and pricing appears to be scoped per client workflow (for example, per law firm, clinic, or real estate office) during a sales conversation rather than sold off a rate card. If a published price point is a requirement for your procurement process, factor in the extra step of requesting a quote before you can compare total cost against Time etc or Wing Assistant.

Pricing verified on September 1, 2026.

Time etc pricing

All plans bill monthly, can be canceled anytime, and carry no setup fee.

Pricing verified on September 1, 2026.

Wing Assistant pricing

The Personal Assistant tiers are confirmed directly on wingassistant.com. The Business VA figures are corroborated by an independent aggregator rather than a fully retrieved primary pricing page, so confirm current rates directly with Wing Assistant before budgeting against them.

Pricing verified on September 1, 2026.

What users say

Async

No verified customer quotes were found for Async on G2, Capterra, Trustpilot, or ProductHunt as of September 1, 2026. That's consistent with a two-person company founded in 2025, but it means you're evaluating this vendor on its own claims rather than third-party feedback, at least for now.

Time etc

"Very high quality VA's that charge by minute as opposed to by hour and are quite efficient with their time."

• Stephen Kelly, Trustpilot reviewer, 5 stars via Trustpilot

"If you're looking to hire a virtual assistant, Time Etc is who you should contact. They have quality US based talent, a month to month arrangement, and support you long past signing up."

• Jeffrey, Trustpilot reviewer, 5 stars via Trustpilot

"The virtual assistant that I have used was fine overall although she was not necessarily pro-active and hence I consistently found it difficult to use the full hourly subscription each month."

• Cristina Harrell, Trustpilot reviewer, 1 star via Trustpilot

Wing Assistant

"Wing Assistant has been an absolute lifesaver. They matched me with a virtual assistant who is professional, reliable, incredibly dedicated, and genuinely competent."

• Kevin Gallemore, Trustpilot reviewer, 5 stars via Trustpilot

"Love it! Our WING assistant has been a game-changer for our business over the past few months."

• Maria N., Owner, Education Management, Capterra reviewer via Capterra

"Wing is not an agency. They are a sourcing platform. The people they place are new to Wing, untrained, and unmanaged."

• Samar Elatta, Trustpilot reviewer, 1 star via Trustpilot

"Not transparent about the background of the EAs, won't let you interview or assess skills and culture fit."

• Michael H., CEO, Computer Software, Capterra reviewer via Capterra

Verdict per use case

Choose Async if your priority is automating a specific, repeatable workflow, such as client intake, scheduling, or follow-up messaging, and you're comfortable with a sales-led quote instead of published pricing. It's a fit for early adopters willing to work without independent review data, and a poor fit if you need a person exercising judgment on ad hoc requests.

Choose Time etc if you want a dedicated, US-based human assistant for recurring administrative work, billed hourly with rollover protection on 20-hour-plus plans. Its 4.8-star Trustpilot record across 278 reviews is the strongest verified satisfaction signal in this comparison, though budget for the entry plan's higher per-hour rate and lack of rollover.

Choose Wing Assistant if you need a specialist role, bookkeeping, SDR, or executive assistant, filled with a backup/replacement policy and a dedicated customer success manager. Weigh that against its lower Trustpilot score and critical reviews about vetting transparency before you commit to a specialist placement.

For a broader set of options beyond these three, browse our Virtual Assistant Services comparisons hub.

Recap table

FAQ

What is the difference between Async and Time etc?

Async deploys AI agents to automate specific workflows for businesses like law firms and healthcare clinics, with no human assistant involved. Time etc pairs you with a dedicated, US-based human virtual assistant for ongoing tasks like email, calendar, and social media management, billed by the hour.

Is Wing Assistant cheaper than Time etc?

It depends on the plan. Time etc's entry tier is $390/month for 10 hours ($39/hr). Wing Assistant's Business VA Part-Time plan is $699/month for 80 hours ($8.74/hr), which is cheaper per hour but requires a larger monthly commitment.

Does Async have published pricing?

No. Async uses a sales-led model with "Contact" calls-to-action across its site. No plan names, price points, or per-task rates are published, so you need to talk to sales to get a quote scoped to your workflow.

Is Time etc GDPR compliant?

Time etc has not published SOC 2, GDPR-specific, or SSO/SAML documentation. Its site references signed NDAs and encryption, but that falls short of a formal GDPR compliance claim. Confirm directly with Time etc if this is a hard requirement.

What is the best virtual assistant service for bookkeeping?

Among these three, only Wing Assistant lists bookkeeping as a specialist role with dedicated pricing. Time etc and Async do not offer bookkeeping support based on their published feature sets.

How much does Wing Assistant cost per month?

Wing Assistant's Business VA plans start at $699/month part-time (80 hours) and $999/month full-time (160 hours). Personal Assistant plans run $799/month part-time and $1,299/month full-time. Specialist roles are quoted on consultation.

Are Time etc virtual assistants based in the US?

Yes. Time etc's feature set confirms US-based talent, which is a key differentiator versus Wing Assistant, whose assistants are not confirmed as US-based in its published materials.

What do Wing Assistant reviews say about vetting?

Reviews are mixed. Positive Trustpilot and Capterra reviews praise dedicated, competent assistants, but critical reviews describe Wing as more of a sourcing platform, with one reviewer noting placed staff can be untrained and unmanaged, and another citing limited ability to interview candidates.

This comparison follows our editorial policy. Async, Time etc, and Wing Assistant were evaluated on the same criteria.

Frequently asked questions