Comparison
Online fax services compared
Almost every “best online fax service” list is published by one of the services on it, ranked first. This one is too — we make FaxBolt — so instead of a ranking it is a set of use cases, with the numbers taken from each provider's own pages and a plain statement of where we are the wrong answer.
Written by the FaxBolt team · last checked
If you need a BAA for protected health information: eFax
eFax lists HIPAA compliance across its plans and a Business Associate Agreement on the Business tier. Its Personal plan publishes 200 pages a month to the US and Canada with $0.10 per page beyond; Business publishes 500 pages a month to 51 countries with $0.07 per page over, plus per-user and per-number add-ons.
FaxBolt does not sign BAAs. If you are a clinic, a billing office or anyone else handling PHI as a covered entity, this is not a close call — use a provider that offers the agreement.
If you fax internationally: eFax or Fax.Plus
Fax.Plus publishes paid tiers at $6.99, $13.99 and $27.99 a month when billed annually — $83.99, $167.99 and $335.99 up front — and covers a long list of countries; eFax's business plan lists 51. FaxBolt sends to the US and Canada only, toll-free included. One international destination is enough to rule us out.
If you fax two pages a year: FaxZero or GotFreeFax
- FaxZero: five faxes a day, three pages plus a cover, US and Canada, no account, FaxZero branding on the cover page. A paid single fax at $3.29 removes the branding and raises the limit to 25 pages.
- GotFreeFax: two faxes a day of three pages each, and it states it adds no ads, watermarks or branding at all.
- Neither gives you a number that receives. GotFreeFax publishes a shared inbound number and warns against using it for anything sensitive.
- For genuinely occasional faxing, paying a subscription — ours or anyone's — is worse value than either of these.
If your volume is predictable and large: a page-allowance plan
Allowance plans — eFax, MyFax, Fax.Plus — make sense when you know roughly how many pages go out each month and the number is high enough to negotiate. MyFax advertises a $5 first month on its home page and tiers above that. Check whether a headline price is month-to-month or an annual commitment shown per month: Fax.Plus quotes the annual figure.
The trade-off is the overage line: a heavy month costs more than the plan says. That is the whole reason unlimited-under-fair-use plans exist.
Where FaxBolt fits
- One plan, $4.99 for the first month then $14.99, unlimited sending and receiving under fair use — built for uneven volume rather than a page budget.
- US and Canada only, one number per account, no BAA, no porting an existing number in. Those are real limits, not omissions.
- You can prepare the whole fax and check the details before paying, and cancel online in the billing portal.
- A free cover sheet generator that needs no account, because the tool costs us nothing to run and it is how most people find us.
How to choose in one minute
- PHI and a BAA required → eFax.
- Any destination outside the US and Canada → eFax or Fax.Plus.
- A couple of short faxes, ever → FaxZero or GotFreeFax, free.
- Steady high volume you can forecast → an allowance plan, priced against your page count.
- Uneven volume, US and Canada, want replies to come back to you → FaxBolt.
Frequently asked questions
Is this an independent review?
No, and it says so at the top. FaxBolt publishes it, FaxBolt is on the list, and the honest part is that the page names the cases where competitors win rather than burying them.
Which online fax service is cheapest?
For a handful of pages a year, the free tiers — FaxZero or GotFreeFax. For regular faxing, compare a flat monthly plan against an allowance plus overage using your real page count; below roughly six to ten pages a month, paying per fax at a shop or per fax online is cheaper than any subscription.
Which services are HIPAA compliant?
eFax lists HIPAA compliance and offers a BAA on its business plan; Fax.Plus markets HIPAA-compliant tiers. FaxBolt does not sign BAAs. Compliance also depends on your own safeguards, not only the provider's badge.
Do any free services let you receive faxes?
Not on the usual terms. GotFreeFax publishes a shared public number and says not to use it for sensitive documents; FaxBurner hands out a temporary personal number; FaxBetter advertises a free dedicated number that you keep only while faxes keep arriving on it. A number that is simply yours, with no activity condition, is a paid feature.
How current are these numbers?
Checked in August 2026 against each provider's own pricing or FAQ page. Providers change limits without notice, so treat this as a starting point and verify before you pay.