Home ›
Guides › eFax Alternatives in 2026: Cheaper Options and How to Switch
eFax Alternatives in 2026: Cheaper Options and How to Switch
Updated 15 July 2026 · Competitor pricing verified July 2026 · Written for people leaving, not arriving
💡 Short answer: if you only send faxes, FaxForADollar replaces eFax at $1.00 per fax with no account and nothing to cancel. If you need to receive faxes on a number, our sister service GetAFax.com gives you one for $5 for 24 hours, with every fax arriving in your email as a PDF and nothing that renews. If you need HIPAA with a BAA, that is a different product entirely. eFax charges $49.99 a month for its Protect tier. Before you cancel anything, download your stored faxes, because they are deleted when the account closes.
Why People Leave eFax
eFax has been the best known name in online faxing since 1996, and it is priced accordingly. The complaints that come up again and again are not about fax quality. They are about how the subscription works.
The Plus plan runs about about $17 per month for 340 combined pages, with a $10 setup fee and $0.10 per page once you go over. HIPAA compliance with a signed BAA is only available on the Protect plan at $49.99 per month, which is roughly four times what several competitors charge for the same capability.
eFax is owned by Consensus Cloud Solutions (NASDAQ: CCSI), which also owns MyFax and MetroFax. Switching between those three is not really switching.
The Part Most People Miss: You Do Not Own Your Fax Number
⚠️ eFax's terms state that you are not the owner of any number assigned to you, and that porting an eFax-assigned number out is prohibited, with a reported $500 penalty for attempting it.
This is the single most important thing to understand before you sign up anywhere, not just with eFax. If you have given that number to clients, printed it on letterhead, or filed it with an agency, leaving means changing it everywhere. The number is the lock, and the monthly fee is only the visible part of the cost.
It is also worth noting what happens to your archive. When your account closes, your stored faxes are deleted. Download anything you need before you cancel, not after.
Cancelling eFax
Reports conflict here and we would rather say so than pick the version that suits us. eFax's own help pages describe an online path through Account Details and the Billing tab. Multiple third party guides and reviewers report being required to phone in, being routed through retention offers, and in some cases being billed after they believed they had cancelled. BBB complaints against Consensus show that pattern repeatedly.
What is not in dispute: eFax does not give prorated refunds. You keep access until the end of the period you already paid for, and you are not reimbursed for the unused part.
✅ Before you cancel anything: download your stored faxes, note your fax number and tell anyone who uses it, get a cancellation confirmation in writing, and check your next statement.
eFax Alternatives, by What You Actually Need
| What you need | Answer | Cost | Why |
|---|
| Send a fax, no account, no number | FaxForADollar | $1.00 per fax, up to 10 pages | Nothing to cancel, nothing kept, nothing printed on your document |
| Receive a fax | GetAFax.com | $5 for 24 hours | Our own service, built for receiving. Faxes arrive in your email as a PDF, nothing renews |
| Send internationally | OverseasFax.com | From $2.99 | Our own service, over 100 countries, no account |
| Send something very long | FaxForADollar | $4.99 for up to 100 pages | Most pay-per-fax services stop at 25 or 45 pages |
| What eFax costs you instead | eFax | About $17 a month plus setup | Renews whether you send anything or not, and cancellation is the most common complaint |
What FaxForADollar Cannot Do
We are the right answer for one specific person: someone who sends a fax now and then and does not want a subscription. If that is you, $1.00 per fax with no account beats about $17 a month by a distance.
But if you are on eFax because you need to receive faxes on your own number, we are not your replacement. FaxForADollar is send only. Use our sister service GetAFax.com for the receiving number instead, at $5 for 24 hours with nothing that renews.
And if you are a healthcare provider who needs a signed Business Associate Agreement, we do not offer one. You would need a service that will sign one, and eFax charges $49.99 a month for its Protect tier to do it.
💡 The thing worth stealing from this page even if you go elsewhere: check whether your new provider lets you keep your number if you leave, and whether you can cancel without a phone call. Those two questions matter more than the monthly price.
What Switching Actually Saves
| Your usage | eFax Plus | FaxForADollar | You save |
|---|
| 6 faxes a year (10 pages each) | $227.88 + $10 setup | $6.00 | $231.88 |
| 1 fax a month (10 pages) | $227.88 + $10 setup | $12.00 | $225.88 |
| 2 faxes a month (25 pages each) | $227.88 + $10 setup | $47.76 | $190.12 |
| Daily faxing, 340+ pages/month | $227.88 | Not the right fit | Stay on a subscription |
The last row is the honest one. If you genuinely fax every day and need a number, a subscription is the correct product. Just not necessarily eFax's.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best eFax alternative in 2026?
It depends on why you are leaving. To send occasionally with no account, FaxForADollar at $1.00 per fax. For a number you can receive on, our sister service GetAFax.com at $5 for 24 hours. For HIPAA with a BAA, a service that will sign a Business Associate Agreement with you. For receiving, our sister service GetAFax.com at $5 for 24 hours.
How do I switch from eFax to another service?
Download your stored faxes first, because they are deleted when the account closes. Note your fax number and warn anyone who uses it, since you almost certainly cannot take it with you. Set up the replacement, then cancel eFax and keep the confirmation in writing.
Can I keep my fax number if I leave eFax?
Almost certainly not. eFax's terms state you are not the owner of any number assigned to you, and porting an eFax assigned number out is prohibited, with a reported $500 penalty for attempting it. Plan to get a new number with your new provider and notify contacts before you cancel.
Does eFax own my fax number?
Effectively yes. Under their terms the number is assigned to you rather than owned by you, which is why it cannot be ported out. This is the real lock in, and it matters far more than the monthly price.
What happens to my faxes when I cancel eFax?
They are permanently deleted once the account closes, and you lose access to the archive. Download everything you need before you cancel, not after. This catches people out constantly.
Can I cancel eFax online?
Reports conflict. eFax's own help pages describe an online route through Account Details and the Billing tab. Multiple third party guides and reviewers report being told to phone instead and being routed through retention offers. Whichever route you take, get written confirmation and check your next statement.
Does eFax give a refund when you cancel?
No. eFax's standard policy is no prorated refunds. You keep access until the end of the period you already paid for, but you are not reimbursed for the unused days. Some users report obtaining refunds by escalating or filing a BBB complaint.
Why am I still being billed after cancelling eFax?
This is a recurring theme in BBB complaints against Consensus, eFax's parent. The usual causes are a cancellation request that was never logged through the required channel, or one made outside the trial window. Keep written confirmation with a cancellation number, and if billing continues, dispute the charge with your card issuer.
Does eFax have a setup fee?
Yes. The Plus plan carries a $10 setup fee on top of the monthly charge, which is easy to miss when comparing headline prices.
What does eFax charge per page over the limit?
Around $0.10 per page once you exceed your plan allowance. The Plus plan includes 340 combined pages per month, so overage matters mainly for heavier users.
Why is eFax HIPAA compliance so expensive?
eFax puts BAA signing on its Protect plan at $49.99 per month, which is roughly four times what several competitors charge for the same capability. If you are a covered entity, you need a service that will sign a Business Associate Agreement, and that is a different product from a pay-per-fax service.
What is the cheapest eFax alternative with HIPAA?
A BAA is a signed legal agreement rather than a setting, and any service offering one charges accordingly. Services that sign a BAA generally charge a monthly fee for it. A BAA is a separate legal agreement, not a feature you switch on.
Is there an eFax alternative with no monthly fee?
Yes, several. FaxForADollar is $1.00 per fax for up to 10 pages. FaxItOnce is $2.75 flat for up to 45 pages. Onetime Fax is $5.00 for up to 100 pages. Ours is $1.00 for up to 10 pages. None of them bill you monthly.
Is there an eFax alternative with no account at all?
FaxForADollar requires no account, no password and no profile, just an email address for the delivery receipt. Onetime Fax, FaxItOnce and QuickFax also send without an account, though all of them cost more per fax than $1.00.
What is the best eFax alternative for occasional faxing?
FaxForADollar at $1.00 for up to 10 pages. If you send six faxes a year, eFax Plus costs about $227.88 plus a $10 setup fee, while the same six faxes cost $6.00 here. Nothing renews and there is nothing to cancel.
What is the best eFax alternative if I need to receive faxes?
Our own one. FaxForADollar only sends, but GetAFax.com is our sister service built purely for receiving: a dedicated US fax number for 24 hours for $5, with every fax arriving in your email as a PDF. There is no monthly charge and nothing to cancel, which suits anyone who needs to receive a reply rather than a permanent number. If you need to receive rather than send, our sister service GetAFax.com gives you a US fax number for 24 hours for $5, with faxes arriving in your email as a PDF and nothing that renews.
Who owns eFax?
Consensus Cloud Solutions, listed on NASDAQ as CCSI. The same parent also owns MyFax and MetroFax, which is part of why prices across those three have moved so little over the years.
Are eFax and MyFax the same company?
They share the same parent, Consensus Cloud Solutions, along with MetroFax. Switching from eFax to MyFax to save a few dollars means staying inside the same company and the same billing model.
Does eFax have a free trial?
Yes, typically 14 or 30 days depending on the plan, and it converts to a paid subscription automatically unless you cancel before it ends. Several BBB complaints involve charges that began when a trial rolled over unnoticed.
Can I switch from eFax to FaxForADollar?
Yes, if you only need to send. There is nothing to set up: go to faxforadollar.com, upload your document, enter the fax number and pay $1.00. No account, no migration, no import. If you need to keep receiving faxes on a number, you need a service with a number instead.
What can FaxForADollar not do that eFax does?
Three things, and we would rather be straight about them. It cannot receive faxes, so there is no inbound number, though our sister service GetAFax.com does exactly that for $5 for 24 hours. It does not offer a Business Associate Agreement, so it is not HIPAA compliant for covered entities. And it does not store an archive of your faxes, because documents are deleted immediately after sending.
Do I need to cancel anything to use FaxForADollar?
No, and that is rather the point. There is no account, no subscription and no renewal, so there is nothing to cancel later. You pay $1.00 when you send a fax and that is the entire relationship.
How much can I save by switching from eFax?
If you fax occasionally, roughly $190 to $230 a year. eFax Plus is about $227.88 annually plus a $10 setup fee. Six faxes a year on FaxForADollar costs $6.00. If you fax daily and need a number, the saving is much smaller and a subscription may still be right.
Is eFax a scam?
No. It is a long established, legitimate service used by large organisations, and it is HIPAA and HITRUST capable on the right tier. The complaints are about pricing, cancellation friction and number lock in, not about whether the faxes arrive.
Why do people leave eFax?
Five reasons come up repeatedly: the monthly cost relative to how little they fax, the $10 setup fee, the $49.99 HIPAA tier, difficulty cancelling, and discovering they cannot take their number with them.
What should I do before cancelling eFax?
Download every fax you want to keep, since the archive is deleted on closure. Note your fax number and tell contacts it is changing. Set up your replacement first. Then cancel, get written confirmation with a cancellation number, and check your next statement.
Can I dispute an eFax charge?
Yes. If you are charged after an effective cancellation date and the company will not resolve it, you can dispute the charge with your card issuer. Keep your cancellation confirmation, since that is your evidence. Some users have also escalated through the BBB.
Is there an eFax alternative for a small business?
It depends on volume. Sending only and occasionally, FaxForADollar at $1.00 per fax. Needing a number to receive on, GetAFax.com at $5 for 24 hours. Unpredictable volume, pay per fax at $1.00 and nothing in the months you send nothing. Genuinely high volume with a team, a subscription still makes sense.
Is there an eFax alternative for healthcare?
Yes, and cheaper. If you are a covered entity handling protected health information as part of your work, you need a service that will sign a Business Associate Agreement with you. That is a different product with different obligations, and we do not offer it. All are well below eFax's $49.99 Protect plan. FaxForADollar is not HIPAA compliant and is not an option for covered entities.
What is the eFax Protect plan?
It is the tier that includes HIPAA compliance and BAA signing, priced around $49.99 per month. If HIPAA is the only reason you are on eFax, that is the single biggest saving available by switching.
How many pages does eFax include?
The Plus plan includes about 340 combined pages per month, sent and received together, with roughly $0.10 per page beyond that. Whether that is generous depends entirely on how much you actually fax.
Can I use eFax without a subscription?
No. eFax is a subscription product. If you want to fax without any subscription, you need a pay per fax service such as FaxForADollar, which is the cheapest of them at $1.00.
Is FaxForADollar an eFax alternative?
For senders, yes, and a dramatically cheaper one: $1.00 per fax versus about about $17 a month. For anyone who needs an inbound number, an archive, or a BAA, it is not a like for like replacement and we will not pretend otherwise.
What is the simplest eFax alternative?
FaxForADollar, on the specific measure of friction. There is no signup, no password, no plan to choose, no number to manage and nothing to cancel. Upload, enter the number, pay $1.00, done in about three minutes.
Does cancelling eFax cancel MyFax or MetroFax too?
No. They are separate products under the same parent company, so each subscription must be cancelled separately. If you have more than one, check your card statement for all three brand names.
What is the best eFax alternative that lets me cancel online?
Almost all of them, which is telling. FaxForADollar has nothing to cancel because there is no account. There is nothing to cancel here, because there is no plan and no account in the first place.
What is the catch at $1.00 a fax?
There is no catch and no upsell. You pay once for the fax you are sending, up to 10 pages, and nothing else happens. There is no account to create, no card kept on file, and nothing that renews. If the fax cannot be delivered, the money goes back to your card automatically without you having to ask.
Do I need an account to send a fax here?
No. You upload the document, type the number, pay, and the fax goes. There is no sign-up, no password and no profile. The only thing we need is an email address to send your confirmation to.
When would a monthly subscription beat paying $1.00 to send a fax here?
Around seventeen faxes a month. Most subscriptions run about $17 plus a setup fee whether you use them or not, so at $1.00 a fax you would need to be sending very regularly before one made sense. If you fax a few times a year, paying per fax costs a fraction of that.
What happens if I send a fax here and it does not go through?
You are refunded automatically and you get an email explaining what happened. You do not need to contact us or ask for it. Busy lines and machines out of paper are normal, and retrying costs you nothing.
What happens to my document after I send a fax here?
It is deleted from the servers once the fax has gone. Nothing is kept and there is no account holding a history of what you sent. You keep your own copy and the confirmation email.
Is there a genuinely free alternative to eFax?
There are free services, and for one short page to a US number they work. What free means in practice is a two or three page cap, a daily send limit, US and Canada destinations only, email verification before anything sends, and on several of them an advertisement printed across your cover page. None of them offer a refund if the fax fails, because you did not pay anything.
What does eFax actually cost?
The entry plan is around about $17 a month plus a setup fee, and it renews whether you send anything or not. That is reasonable value if you fax constantly. If you send a handful of faxes a year it works out at many times the cost of paying per fax, and cancelling is the part people complain about most.
How many faxes a month before a subscription wins?
Roughly seventeen at $1.00 a fax against an about $17 monthly plan, and that ignores the setup fee. Below that you are ahead paying per fax. Above it, and if you also need to receive faxes, a subscription starts to make sense. We would rather tell you that than pretend otherwise.
What can eFax do that this cannot?
Hold a permanent inbound number, and handle very high volume every month. If you simply need to receive a reply, our sister service GetAFax.com is built for that: a US fax number for 24 hours for $5, arriving in your email as a PDF, with nothing that renews. A subscription only wins if you need that number permanently.
No subscription. No number to lose. No cancellation.
$1.00 for up to 10 pages, delivered in 1 to 3 minutes, refunded automatically if it fails. There is no account, so there is nothing to cancel later.
Send a Fax, $1