DonnaPro provides full-time virtual executive assistants to CEOs and founders across Europe. Your EA works exclusively for you - five days a week, in your timezone, across the full scope of what your business demands. No recruitment. No employer overhead. Just the support your business has grown into.
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A full-time virtual executive assistant works exclusively for you - managing your inbox, calendar, travel, stakeholder communications, and strategic admin - at full capacity, five days a week. Unlike a part-time arrangement, a full-time EA is available throughout your working day and can take on the broader scope of work that comes with a growing business. With DonnaPro, full-time means your EA is dedicated to you and only you, backed by a Quality Manager and support team.
Most CEOs and founders who reach this page are already working with an EA - or evaluating the decision. The question isn't whether EA support creates value. It's whether the volume and complexity of what you need to delegate has outgrown a part-time arrangement.
This page answers that question with specific numbers: when full-time makes sense, what it costs across European markets, and how DonnaPro's full-time retainer compares to a direct in-house hire.
Part-time EA support - typically covering 20 hours a week - works well for most founders at the growth stage. It covers the core recurring overhead: inbox management, calendar, travel, research, project coordination. For many CEOs in the 5–20 person range, that's enough.
But the work grows. Eurostat's employment research confirms that managers and senior executives are consistently among the occupations spending the highest share of working time on internal coordination and communication - and that share increases with organisational complexity.
According to DonnaPro's experience across client engagements, the shift from part-time to full-time typically happens when one or more of the following occurs:
At this point, moving to full-time isn't a luxury decision. It's an operational one - and as the cost data below shows, it's often cheaper than the alternative.
DonnaPro's full-time virtual executive assistants are pre-trained, EU-based professionals - not generalists picking up tasks as they come. They arrive ready to own a broad scope of work from day one, with a track record across 70+ task categories and 110+ industries. What follows is what full-time clients typically delegate first - and it rarely stops there.
Your assistant handles your inbox – sorting, replying, and flagging priority emails – so you only focus on what actually matters.
Your assistant organizes your schedule – booking, rescheduling, and optimizing meetings – so your calendar aligns with your priorities, not the other way around.
Your EA books flights, hotels, and more – turning complex trips into simple, stress-free travel experiences from start to finish.
Need data fast? Your EA digs deep into markets, competitors, and more – delivering research that drives smarter decisions.
Need data fast? Your EA prepares clear, actionable meeting briefs so you walk in prepared, confident, and fully in control of the agenda. Your EA digs deep into markets, competitors, and more – delivering research that drives smarter decisions.
From venue sourcing to guest list management, your EA handles event planning while you focus on showing up and shining.
Get proposals that win. Your EA drafts and formats offers that look sharp, sound clear, and align with your brand.
Your EA breaks down complex data into clean, usable reports – giving you insights without the spreadsheet overload.
Your EA supports your marketing by scheduling content, updating pages, and handling routine promo tasks behind the scenes.
From timelines to task follow-ups, your EA keeps projects on track and makes sure nothing slips through the cracks.
Your EA posts jobs, screens candidates, and supports onboarding – freeing you from routine HR admin and follow-ups.
Your EA keeps investor comms smooth – booking meetings, sending updates, and making sure key stakeholders feel valued.
Your EA builds clear SOPs that streamline work and make your operations more consistent, scalable, and error-free.
Messy files? Not anymore. Your EA organizes notes and folders into a clean, searchable system you’ll actually enjoy using.
Follow-ups, reminders, and client touchpoints – your EA makes sure relationships are well-managed and never go cold.
From birthday gifts to weekend getaways, your EA handles the personal tasks that steal your time and energy.
My mindset before was that I need to do it all… it was slowing me down and costing my business money. Working with my EA allowed me to focus on new business opportunities that I didn’t have time for earlier, and it directly impacted my business growth.
DonnaPro doesn’t just connect you with an assistant and walk away. They constantly recruit, train, and equip their personnel. When our assistant showed up, she was ready not to learn, but to lead. We didn’t have to recruit, train, or worry about compliance – we just had to plug her into our work.
I’ve been working with virtual assistants for the past decade, and I think that right now I’m at a point where I feel that my search for the perfect virtual assistants is over.
After a long time managing everything on my own in the startup world, I realized I needed help. My EA has been amazing in managing my calendar, travel plans, T&E, and other small yet time-consuming tasks. We had morning check-ins at the beginning that paid off well. Now, I can much better focus on growing the business. Working with a Donna through a trusted virtual assistant agency makes delegation friction-free.
My EA, Petra, has been very helpful during a particularly chaotic time in one of my businesses. With minimal guidance, she quickly adapted, proactively started searching for solutions, and delivered results. I love how I can just ping her on WhatsApp, and things get done seamlessly.
I used to manage my own travel, emails, and calendar-even while running multiple businesses. Then my EA (Romina) stepped in. She’s proactive, reliable, and keeps everything running smoothly without me having to ask. Our daily check-ins keep me on top of things, and her inbox summaries are a lifesaver when I’m traveling. I finally have the headspace to focus on what matters.
I had high expectations, but the reality has been above a 10. Because my EA has a background in my industry, she understands exactly what I need immediately – it feels like she is a core part of the team, not an external hire. I’m no longer losing time managing tasks; instead, I’m using that freedom to focus on the sales team and close deals daily. Donna Pro’s recruitment is on another level; she isn’t just delivering, she is over-delivering.
I’m super happy with DonnaPro and with Angels. Even though we’ve only been working together for a few weeks, she already feels fully integrated into my business. I really appreciate how proactive she is and how she always brings practical suggestions. It’s such a relief to finally have four eyes instead of just two. We’re definitely on track to becoming a seamless team.
Three months in, and it’s a relief to have someone who fully gets my tone of voice. Saga handles my inbox with confidence, answers questions independently, and keeps things moving without me needing to chase anyone – even while I was on my first real holiday in years.
The instinct for most executives is to assume that full-time agency support costs more than hiring in-house. In the majority of European markets, the data says otherwise.
A full-time in-house EA costs significantly more than the gross salary figure suggests. Once employer contributions - covering social security, pension and health insurance - are added, the fully-loaded monthly cost ranges from €6,134 in Finland to €13,490 in Switzerland.
Add recruitment (typically 15–25% of first-year salary), equipment, and HR overhead, and year-one costs in markets like Germany and France regularly exceed €100,000.
The table below compares the fully-loaded monthly cost of a in-house EA - salary plus mandatory employer contributions - against DonnaPro's full-time retainer of €6,500/month.
In-House EA (Fully Loaded) |
DonnaPro Full-Time | |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | €7,920 | €6,500 |
| Belgium | €8,720 | €6,500 |
| Denmark | 82,500 DKK (€11,055) | €6,500 |
| France | €7,273 | €6,500 |
| Germany | €8,460 | €6,500 |
| Iceland | 1,002,965 ISK (€6,917) | €6,500 |
| Italy | €7,124 | €6,500 |
| Luxembourg | €8,175 | €6,500 |
| Netherlands | €7,510 | €6,500 |
| Norway | 93,960 NOK (€8,560) | €6,500 |
| Sweden | 82,137 SEK (€7,630) | €6,500 |
| Switzerland | CHF 11,389 (€12,400) | €6,500 |
| UK | £7,266 (€8,350) | €6,500 |
| USA | $13,875 (€11,800) | €6,500 |
In-house figures reflect salary plus mandatory employer contributions only - recruitment fees, equipment, and HR overhead are not included. Once those are factored in, the gap widens further.
For executives based in countries such as Finland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain - where the fully-loaded in-house cost sits at or below €6,500/month - the part-time model is typically the stronger fit, delivering senior EA support at a fraction of the full-time commitment.
For the full breakdown of what in-house hiring really costs across European markets, see the Executive Assistant Cost Guide.
The full-time DonnaPro model is structurally identical to the part-time model - same quality standards, same support structure, same vetting process. The difference is capacity.
Your EA, full-time:
One monthly retainer. Nothing else to manage.
Part-Time EA |
Full-Time EA | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly retainer | €2,700 | €6,500 |
| Annual cost | €32,400 | €78,000 |
| Availability | Flexible hours within your working day | Full working day, 5 days/week |
| Typical delegation volume | Partial day coverage | Full day coverage |
| Best for | Growth-stage founders, 5–20 person companies | Scaling CEOs, multiple ventures, high complexity |
| Quality standard | C-suite vetted, <1% acceptance rate | C-suite vetted, <1% acceptance rate |
| Quality Manager | Included | Included |
| Upgrade path | Move to full-time anytime | - |
The simplest test: if your current part-time EA is consistently at capacity, if you find yourself waiting for availability, or if the scope of what you need to delegate has grown beyond what 20 hours a week can absorb - full-time is the right next step.
If you're not yet at that point, DonnaPro's part-time option at €2,700/month is the right starting point.
Many clients begin part-time and upgrade as the relationship matures and the business grows.
Not sure which fits your situation? That's exactly what the free strategy call is for.
We'll look at your workload, your delegation volume, and your goals - and recommend the model that actually makes sense for where you are right now.
DonnaPro has placed executive assistants with CEOs and founders across 110+ industries - from SaaS and fintech to construction, healthcare, and e-commerce. Whatever your business, your EA arrives with relevant context already built in.
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The model is identical - same quality standards, same EA, same support structure. Part-time (€2,700/month) provides focused support for core recurring work across a defined hours block. Full-time (€6,500/month) provides full daily availability for executives whose delegation volume and operational complexity have outgrown a part-time arrangement.
DonnaPro's full-time virtual EA service costs €6,500/month (€78,000/year) - a flat retainer with no additional overhead. This compares to a fully-loaded in-house cost of €7,047–€12,490+/month across European markets once employer contributions are included. In most European markets, the full-time agency model is cheaper than a direct hire. See the outsourced executive assistant vs hiring in-house comparison for the full breakdown.
In most European markets, yes. According to DonnaPro's salary research, the fully-loaded monthly cost of a top-tier in-house EA ranges from €6,134 (Finland) to €13,490 (Switzerland). DonnaPro's full-time retainer is €6,500/month - cheaper than the in-house fully-loaded cost in Germany, France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Norway, Denmark, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, and the UK. The exceptions are Finland, Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
With DonnaPro, the time from signing the contract to the first working day is 9 days - regardless of whether the arrangement is part-time or full-time.
Yes. Many DonnaPro clients start part-time and upgrade as their business grows and the EA becomes more embedded. The transition is handled by DonnaPro - no new recruitment process, no onboarding from scratch.
Yes. Your EA works only for you - not shared across multiple clients. DonnaPro caps the ratio at 2–3 executives per EA for part-time arrangements. Full-time means your EA's entire working capacity is dedicated to your business.
DonnaPro works with CEOs and founders across Europe and beyond. Wherever you're based, your EA operates in your timezone - fully embedded in your working day without the overhead that comes with local hiring.
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Employer Contribution Rate Sources
