You needed to fax a medical records release, or a signed lease, or a government form. So you signed up for eFax, sent the document, and moved on. Then a month later: a $18.95 charge. And the month after. If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. It is one of the most common frustrations people bring to any search for an eFax alternative.
This article compares eFax and PayPerFax honestly. eFax is a solid service for the right use case. PayPerFax charges $2 for the first three pages and $0.75 for each additional page, with nothing billed if the fax fails, no monthly fee, and no sign-up required. Whether one of them is the better fit depends entirely on how often you actually fax.
When eFax is the right choice
eFax has been around since 1996. It is one of the longest-running online fax services and has a large, established user base. For many people, it is exactly the right tool.
eFax makes sense if you:
- Send faxes regularly, multiple times a week or more
- Need a dedicated incoming fax number (a real phone number that receives faxes sent to you)
- Work in healthcare, legal, or another field where your fax service needs to meet HIPAA requirements
- Want a full desktop and mobile app rather than a browser-based tool
- Need to manage fax sending for a team or small office
In these situations, a flat monthly fee buys predictability. You know what you are paying, you have a permanent number to hand out, and the system stays ready.
We have reviewed eFax separately on security and reputation. Short answer: eFax is a safe service. That is not the question most people asking about eFax alternatives are trying to answer. The question is almost always about cost.
Where eFax stops making sense
eFax’s pricing is built around regular use. As of the time of writing, the entry-level eFax Plus plan runs around $18.95 per month (billed annually, or more if billed monthly). That covers up to 150 pages per month of combined sending and receiving; extra pages are billed as add-ons.
Do the math for occasional use:
- At $18.95/month, you pay that rate whether you send 1 page or 150.
- At PayPerFax, a single fax of up to three pages costs $2 (cover plus two attachments). Longer faxes add $0.75 per additional page.
- Pay-as-you-go wins comfortably until you are sending faxes weekly. Above that, eFax’s flat monthly rate starts to look reasonable.
The pricing math is straightforward. The friction comes from everything around it. eFax requires an account, a billing relationship, and an active cancellation to stop charges. If you signed up for one fax and forgot about it, the service keeps charging until you go through the cancellation process. That is not a hidden trap; it is how every subscription works. But it catches a lot of people who signed up expecting a one-time tool.
PayPerFax: the no-subscription alternative
PayPerFax is a pay-as-you-go online fax service. You upload a document, enter a fax number, pay $2 for the first three pages plus $0.75 for each additional page, and send. No account, no subscription, no cancellation.
A few things that matter for occasional fax senders:
You only pay when the fax is delivered. If the line is busy, the receiving machine is off, or the number turns out to be wrong, you pay nothing. The charge only happens on a successful delivery. For one-off fax needs where you are not sure the number is right, that removes a real risk.
No account required. You can send a one-time fax online without creating a profile or handing over a credit card on file. This is different from most fax services, which require registration before you can do anything.
Mobile-friendly. The sending flow works from a phone browser. No app to install.
International faxing. PayPerFax supports international destinations at pay-as-you-go rates. You pay per page sent, with no monthly minimum.
What PayPerFax does not do: there is no incoming fax number. If someone needs to fax you, PayPerFax is not the right tool. That requires a subscription with a dedicated number. PayPerFax is for sending only. It is designed for senders who fax occasionally, not for high-volume workflows. If you send dozens of faxes a week, a subscription service’s flat monthly rate will be cheaper per page.
That said, PayPerFax is the highest-rated pay-as-you-go fax service by user reviews, with a 4.7/5 rating on Trustpilot.
eFax vs PayPerFax at a glance
| Comparison point | eFax | PayPerFax |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Monthly subscription (~$18.95/mo+) | $2 for first 3 pages, $0.75 each additional, delivered only |
| Best for | Regular faxers, dedicated number needed | Occasional and one-off senders |
| Account required | Yes | No |
| Dedicated incoming fax number | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | Browser-based, no app |
| Charges for failed faxes | Per plan limits | Free, nothing billed if delivery fails |
| Cancellation | Multi-step, contact required | Nothing to cancel |
eFax competitors: how the rest of the market compares
If you are shopping the broader market, here is where the major eFax alternatives sit.
MyFax is a subscription fax service with similar positioning to eFax: monthly plans, dedicated number, full account management. Plans start around $10/month. It is not a pay-as-you-go service.
RingCentral Fax (now part of RingCentral’s broader communications platform) is primarily for businesses that want phone, video, and fax under one roof. It is a subscription service aimed at teams rather than individual occasional users.
MetroFax offers subscription plans with dedicated numbers and a US-focused sending network. Monthly subscription, account required.
HelloFax is a subscription service that integrates with Google Drive, Dropbox, and similar cloud storage tools. It targets users who fax documents stored in the cloud. Plans start with a free tier (limited pages) and scale up.
SRFax is a subscription fax service oriented toward healthcare and legal users who need HIPAA-compliant handling. Monthly pricing, no pay-as-you-go option.
HumbleFax is another subscription option, with inbound and outbound pages pooled into a single allowance and a long-fax surcharge above 60 seconds. See our HumbleFax alternative comparison for the side-by-side.
FaxZero offers a limited number of free fax pages per day, with a paid upgrade for more pages and a cleaner sending experience. It is closer to freemium than subscription, useful for very low volume but with daily limits.
The pattern across all of these is consistent: the established eFax alternatives are subscription services, most in the $10 to $25/month range. PayPerFax is the outlier in this group, the only pay-as-you-go option for senders who do not want a monthly commitment.
None of these services is universally "the best." The right one depends on how often you fax, whether you need to receive faxes, and whether you want an app or a browser-based tool.
Which one should you choose?
Here is the simplest version of the decision:
PayPerFax is likely the better fit if:
- You fax once or twice a year, or less
- Your monthly fax volume is light enough that the per-fax charges total well under any subscription
- You needed to send one fax and want to move on without a subscription
- You do not need an incoming fax number
eFax (or another subscription service) is likely the better fit if:
- You send faxes on a regular schedule, weekly or more
- You need a dedicated fax number that others can send to
- You work in a regulated industry (healthcare, legal) where your fax service needs to meet HIPAA requirements
- You want a managed app with history, cover pages, and team features
The honest answer to "which is better" is that neither is better in the abstract. They serve different use cases. The mistake most people make is signing up for a subscription when they only needed a one-time send.
Sending a fax without a subscription
If you only need to fax a document once (a signed lease, a medical form, a government notice), you can do it at payperfax.com without creating an account. Upload the document, enter the fax number, and send. The per-page charge applies only if the fax is delivered successfully.
For more on how this works, see our guide to sending a fax online one time without a subscription.