Oceans Alternative for a Month-to-Month Executive Assistant
Oceans starts with a 3-month trial, then a rolling auto-renewal contract. HelpFlow's executive assistant plans run month-to-month from the first month.
What Oceans sells
Oceans places full-time executive assistants from Sri Lanka, which it calls EA+ Divers. Oceans runs payroll and benefits for its assistants and backs each one with full-time coaches and ongoing learning. Its homepage puts the split this way: “You manage the work, we manage the people.”
Oceans says it takes two weeks from discovery to deployment and rematches for free if the first fit is wrong. It then runs a 90-day integration runway. Its FAQ says you start with a 3-month trial and then move to “a flexible, rolling auto-renewal contract.”
Oceans also pitches its EA+ assistants for work beyond admin, such as strategy and KPIs or recruiting.
An executive assistant we recruit, train, and keep managing
Hired and managed by HelpFlow
We recruit, hire, and train your executive assistant. After onboarding, a dedicated success manager keeps managing them. The service grew out of the customer service operations we run for ecommerce brands.
Your work and your personal admin
Your assistant handles your email and calendar along with travel, expenses, and projects. Household admin like appointments and gifts is part of the service too.
A daily report and a weekly review
Your assistant sends an end-of-day summary of what was handled and what's waiting on you. Your success manager runs a weekly business review with you to adjust scope and priorities.
AI for drafts, people for judgment
We set up an AI brief of your inbox and calendar during onboarding. Your assistant uses AI for drafts and summaries and makes the judgment calls.
Why choose HelpFlow over Oceans
HelpFlow runs month-to-month from the first month. Oceans asks you to start with a 3-month trial before its rolling contract begins.
Oceans leaves managing the work to you. At HelpFlow, your success manager shares that job. Every week they review what was handled with you and adjust scope and priorities, and your assistant reports to you at the end of each day.
Your first month is built around how you work. We start with a five-minute interview and an AI brief of your inbox and calendar, and we QA every deliverable for the first four weeks. You can read how this has worked for a private lending company and for a merchandise company.
Oceans and HelpFlow side by side
| Feature | HelpFlow | Oceans |
|---|---|---|
| What you get | A dedicated executive assistant, recruited, trained, and managed by HelpFlow | A dedicated, full-time executive assistant from Sri Lanka, managed by Oceans |
| Commitment | Month-to-month, with no lock-in | A 3-month trial, then a flexible, rolling auto-renewal contract |
| Who manages the work | You and your success manager, in a weekly business review of scope and priorities | You do: "You manage the work, we manage the people." |
| After the match | A dedicated success manager and a daily report from your assistant | Full-time coaches, an Account Manager, and a Pod Leader |
| AI | An AI brief of your inbox, calendar, and open threads, set up during onboarding | Assistants trained in AI tools through the EA+ bootcamp |
Source: oceanstalent.com, read October 6, 2026.
When Oceans fits, and when HelpFlow does
Oceans fits when you want an assistant who can grow into operations work like strategy, KPIs, and recruiting, and you plan to stay well past a three-month trial.
HelpFlow fits when you want month-to-month terms from the first month. It also fits when you want help directing the work, through a daily report and a weekly review with your success manager.
Questions about switching
Is there a minimum term at HelpFlow?
No. HelpFlow runs month-to-month from the first month, with no lock-in.
What happens after onboarding at HelpFlow?
Your success manager keeps owning your assistant’s quality. You get an end-of-day summary of what was handled and what’s waiting on your decision. The weekly business review then sets scope and priorities.
What happens in my first month?
We start with a five-minute interview and an AI brief. Then we QA every deliverable for the first four weeks while your assistant learns how you work.
Other comparisons
Month-to-month terms, with no lock-in.
Talk to us about an executive assistant
Fifteen minutes on a call is enough for us to map the work you want to hand off and tell you straight whether a HelpFlow assistant fits.