Athena Bills You $3,000.
Your Talent Sees $800.

Every month, Athena keeps $2,200 of the $3,000 you pay. Your assistant only gets $800. Here's what they don't want you to know.

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The Math They Don't Want You to Do

Your assistant gets $800.
Athena keeps $2,200. Every month.

With Athena
$800
$2,200 to Athena
With Sagan
100% goes to YOUR team member
The person you hire gets $800/mo no matter what. With Athena, you pay $3,000 and they pocket $2,200 — every month, forever. With Sagan, you pay a small one-time finder's fee and a $499/mo membership. And your hire works for you — not them.
$3,000
Athena Monthly Bill
$800
What Talent Actually Gets
Direct
Sagan = You Hire Them Directly
Included
Post-Hire Support (Only Sagan)
The Receipts

Don't Take Our Word For It. Google Theirs.

We didn't have to dig hard. Their own employees are posting about it on Reddit.

Indeed Philippines — Job Posting
“Executive Partner — PHP 40,000 - PHP 46,000 a month”
Active Athena job listing on Indeed Philippines (~$694–$799/mo USD). You pay $3,000/mo.
See Job Posting on Indeed →
Reddit r/buhaydigital
“Clients pay them $3,000 a month (this is public on their website). Fixed 45,000php per month yung salary.”
Posted by verified Athena employees (Philippines operations)
See on Reddit →
Reddit r/buhaydigital
“Imagine the client paid 3000 USD a month but only 750 goes to the [assistant]”
Athena applicant doing the math for the first time
See on Reddit →
Athena.com
“$3,000 per month, annual commitment ($36,000/yr)”
Listed publicly on their own pricing page
See on Athena.com →
Athena's own job postings list pay at ₱40,000–46,000/mo (~$694–$799). You pay $3,000/mo. That means Athena keeps $2,200+/mo — roughly 73% of what you pay. Every single month. And they call this a “premium service.”
Talent Quality

Direct Hire = Better Talent

Would you take a job knowing you get $800 while your boss charges the client $3,000? Neither would anyone good.

Working for a Staffing Agency

✗
Knows you pay $3,000 but they only see $800
✗
No path to promotion — they work for Athena, not you
✗
Can't ask you for a raise — they work for Athena, not you
✗
The best people leave for real jobs as soon as they can
✗
Feels like a commodity, not a team member

Working as a Direct Hire

✓
Gets paid fairly — the salary you set goes directly to them
✓
Real career path with promotions and growth
✓
Direct relationship with the team they serve
✓
Great people want real jobs — not staffing agency gigs
✓
Feels valued, invested, and loyal to your company
Great people don't stay at staffing agencies. They leave the moment they find a real job. With Athena, you're not getting the best — you're getting whoever hasn't found a way out yet.
Business Model

Outsourcing vs. Direct Hire

Athena charges $3,000/mo and keeps most of it. Sagan helps you hire someone directly — they work for you, not a middleman.

Athena

Outsourcing / Staffing
$3,000/mo
Only $800 reaches your assistant. Athena takes $2,200 every month. It never stops.
✗
Athena employs your assistant — they work for Athena, not you
✗
Your assistant gets $800. Athena pockets $2,200. Every single month.
✗
Can't promote, give raises, or build loyalty directly
✗
Cancel Athena, lose your assistant — or pay a $24,000 buyout fee to keep them
✗
Annual commitment required ($36K locked in)
✗
73 cents of every dollar you pay goes to Athena — not your assistant

Sagan

Hiring Membership
$499/mo + finder's fee
$499/mo membership + a one-time finder's fee per hire. Your hire gets the same $800/mo — you just stop paying $2,200/mo to a middleman.
✓
Direct hire — the person is YOUR team member from day one
✓
Your hire gets the same $800/mo — with no $2,200 skimmed off the top
✓
Promote, give raises, and build real loyalty
✓
Leave Sagan? Your team member stays. They work for you, not us. Cancel anytime — your team is your team.
✓
Training support, playbooks, and a community of business owners
✓
Every dollar of salary goes to your hire — zero middleman cut
Side-by-Side

How They Actually Compare

One charges you $3,000/mo to rent a person. The other helps you hire one. Guess which one wants you to never read this page.

Athena Sagan Better Value
What Is It? Staffing agency. You rent a person for $3,000/mo. They work for Athena. ✓ Hiring service. They find you someone great, you pay once, and that person is yours.
What Talent Gets Paid ~$800/moIdentical either way ✓ ~$800/moIdentical either way — same caliber person
Membership N/A — you're locked in at $3K/mo per person12-month commitment required ✓ $499/mo — same price whether you hire 1 or 10Hiring help, training support, community, 90-day guarantee. Cancel anytime — keep your team.
Finder's Fee $0Because you're renting, not hiring $1,728 per personOne-time. That's the cost of Sagan finding you someone great.
Monthly Fee Per Person $2,200/mo — foreverThat's $26,400/yr that doesn't go to your hire ✓ $0Once they're hired, you pay them directly. No middleman.
Cancel? Lose your assistant — or pay $24,000 buyout ✓ Keep every hire. Membership is separate from your team.
Year 1: What the Company GetsNot counting your hire's salary $26,400 to Athena $7,716 to SaganFinder's fee + membership. And the person is yours.
Year 2 $26,400 to Athena — again $5,988 to SaganJust the membership. No new fees.
Over 3 Years $79,200 to Athena $19,692 to SaganYou save over $59,000.
Who Employs the Talent? Athena employs them ✓ YOU employ them directly
If You Cancel You lose your assistant (or pay $24,000 buyout) ✓ Your team member stays. They're yours. Forever.
Post-Hire Support Performance management only ✓ Training, playbooks, community (with membership)
Talent Regions Philippines and Kenya Latin America, Africa, Asia — global
Cost Calculator

See How Much You Actually Save

Athena is counting on you not running these numbers. Go ahead — they can't stop you.

Money Going to Athena
$52,800
$2,200/mo middleman fee × 1 hire × 24 months
Money Going to Sagan
$13,704
$1,728 placement (18%) + $11,976 membership ($499/mo)
Membership is flat — not per-hire. Scales beautifully.
You Save
$39,096
Your hire gets paid the same ~$800/mo either way. The only question is how much goes to the middleman.
Sagan finds you great people. Athena rents them to you. With Sagan, you pay $499/mo membership + a one-time finder's fee per person. They work for you. Cancel anytime — keep your whole team.
Follow the Money

Where Does Your Money Go?

Your hire costs $800/mo either way. The only difference? Athena charges you $2,200 on top — every month, forever. Sagan charges $499/mo plus a one-time finder's fee. That's it.

Athena$3,000/mo billed to you
$800
$2,200 to Athena
Your assistant: 27% Athena's cut: 73%
SaganYou set the salary directly
100% goes to YOUR team member
Your hire: 100% Middleman cut: $0
After the Hire

What Happens After They've Got You?

With Athena, you're locked in. Cancel and you lose the person. It's a beautifully designed trap — unless you just... don't walk into it.

Athena

✗
Your assistant works for Athena — not for you
✗
Cancel = lose your assistant immediately
✗
Can't give direct raises or promotions
✗
$3,000/mo never goes down — not after year 1, 2, or 5
✗
No peer community or executive network

Sagan

✓
Your hire is YOUR team member — direct, loyal, and permanent
✓
Cancel Sagan anytime — your team member stays. They work for you, not us. You never lose your team.
✓
Give raises, promotions, and equity — build real loyalty
✓
The finder's fee is one-time. Year 2? Just the membership. With Athena, it's $36K/yr forever.
✓
Community of business owners who hire globally — you're not doing this alone
What Members Say

Trusted by Executives Scaling
With Global Talent

Verified reviews on Clutch — 4.8★ from 45 reviews

★★★★★
“Very differentiated by including training and assessing as part of their offering. Many firms just source candidates and that is it.”
Mike Smith
Managing Partner, Scrappy Capital
★★★★★
“The business model makes it extremely affordable to enter the global talent pool without significant one-time fees. Great ongoing resources, and they continue to develop tools as part of the membership.”
Ryan Shackelford
Owner & CPA, Shack Accounting
★★★★★
“They challenge you to think differently about global talent. They educate you on a complicated market. And they deliver the goods.”
Greg Van Horn
Owner, Bumble Roofing
Wall of Love

Don't Take Our Word For It

Real posts. Real reviews. From real business owners who chose Sagan.

★ Verified on Clutch
“The peace of mind that we're able to deliver to our clients starts with the partnership with your company.”
Vish Mazumder
Franchisee, Mighty Dog Roofing
★ Verified on Clutch
“I had VERY high expectations when choosing a global talent provider and Sagan Passport has surpassed even those. I have recommended Sagan to 10+ friends and will continue to do so.”
DeAnn Gruber
Franchisee, Massage Envy
★ Verified on Clutch
“I have hired well over 100 people in my career. Sagan led the way for us the entire time. The team is collaborative and communicative at each step.”
Warren Lzo
Franchisee, PropertyCraft Management
★ Verified on Clutch
“The time to hire was faster than we have ever been able to accomplish internally. The quality of hire appears to be as good or better than we have had the ability to hire locally.”
Mark Miller
Franchisee, Soccer Shots Buffalo
★ Verified on Clutch
“As a new business owner, it has been worth every penny. Sagan Passport strives to just blow us away with valuable work that seems to improve every month.”
John Kelly
Franchisee, Rolling Suds
Read all 45 verified reviews on Clutch →
Who Wins?

Everyone Wins. Except the Middleman.

You save money. Your hire gets paid fairly. The only loser? The middleman.

01
Winner

You Save Money

Same person, same pay. You just stop giving Athena $2,200 every month. The finder's fee? You pay it once.

02
Winner

Your Hire Earns More

All of their pay goes to them — not 27%. They're happier and more loyal.

03
Winner

You Get Better People

Great people want real jobs, not agency gigs. They'll build a career with you.

×
Loser

The Middleman

They lose their $2,200/mo cut. We're sure they'll be fine.

You save money. Your hire earns more. You get better people. The only ones upset? The middleman. Thoughts and prayers.

Stop Paying a 73% Markup.

Same talent, same salary. $499/mo membership + a one-time finder's fee — instead of $2,200 to a middleman every month. And if you cancel? Your team member stays. There's no catch.

Book a Free Consultation
No commitment • No pressure • Just a conversation Athena would rather you didn't have