FaxBolt vs eFax

The structural difference: allowance versus fair use

eFax sells page allowances. Its Personal plan lists 200 pages a month to the US and Canada, with $0.10 per page beyond that; the Business plan lists 500 pages a month to 51 countries, with $0.07 per page over. Go past the allowance and the bill grows with the pages.

FaxBolt sells one plan with unlimited sending and receiving under a fair-use policy written for ordinary personal and small-business faxing, at $4.99 for the first month and $14.99 a month after. There is no per-page charge to track, and no allowance to run out of mid-document.

Which is better depends on your volume being predictable. A steady 40 pages a month fits comfortably in either. A month where a 300-page case file goes out is where the models diverge.

Where eFax is the better choice

• You need a Business Associate Agreement. eFax lists HIPAA compliance on its plans and a BAA on the Business tier. FaxBolt does not offer a BAA, so regulated PHI should not go through us.
• You fax internationally. eFax's Business plan covers 51 countries; FaxBolt sends to the US and Canada only.
• You need multiple users or several numbers on one account — eFax prices extra user licences and extra fax lines; FaxBolt is one number, one account.
• You want a household name in front of a procurement department.

Where FaxBolt is the better choice

• You want to see the price before signing up. eFax's pricing page runs a calculator rather than showing a flat number; ours is two numbers, on the page: $4.99 then $14.99.
• Your volume is uneven. Unlimited under fair use means a heavy month is not a surprise bill.
• You want to prepare the fax before paying. FaxBolt lets you upload the document and check the details first; you pay when you send.
• You want the smallest possible surface: one plan, one number, one page of terms. Both services cancel online; ours is a button in the billing portal and there is nothing else attached to the account.

What is the same

Both send from a browser without a fax machine or a phone line, both give you a number that receives, both deliver a status for every fax, and both convert your PDF into the same fax call at the far end. The recipient needs no account either way — the pages simply arrive on their machine.

One difference worth knowing before you print your number on a letterhead: with FaxBolt your personal number is for incoming faxes, while outgoing ones are sent from our service number. Put the number you want replies on — yours — on the cover sheet, because that is what tells the recipient where to fax back.