eFax is the biggest brand in online faxing — it’s been around since the late 1990s and shows up first when people search for a way to fax without a machine. Big-brand recognition, though, comes with big-brand pricing: a monthly subscription whether you fax or not, page allowances, overage fees, and a cancellation process with a documented paper trail of frustrated customers.
Here’s the short version, as of July 2026:
- eFax is subscription-only: roughly $18.99/month for the Personal plan (200 pages to US & Canada, $0.10/page after that), no free tier, a credit-card-required trial that auto-converts, and a widely reported one-time setup fee of about $10. It does include a local or toll-free fax number, mobile apps, and email-to-fax.
- Browserfax starts free — 20 pages on Google sign-in, no credit card — then sells one-time page packs from $4 that never expire. A fax number with unlimited incoming faxes costs $8/month, less than half eFax’s entry price.
Feature and policy facts below were checked against efax.com in July 2026; where eFax’s site doesn’t publish a number, we say so.
eFax vs Browserfax at a glance
| eFax | Browserfax | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | None — trial only (card required, auto-converts) | 20 free pages on Google sign-in, no card |
| Entry price | ~$18.99/mo (Personal, 200 pages US/CA) | $8/mo (Basic: fax number + 100 send pages) |
| Pay-as-you-go | Not offered | Packs: $4/25, $11/100, $49/1,000 pages — never expire |
| Setup fee | ~$10 one-time (widely reported) | None |
| Overage fees | $0.10/page (Personal), $0.07/page (Business) | None — buy another pack only if you need it |
| Incoming faxes | Count toward monthly page allowance | Unlimited on every plan |
| Fax number | Local or toll-free, 1 per plan | Dedicated US number, provisioned instantly |
| Cancellation | Online for standard accounts; annual plans require a phone call | Cancel anytime in Stripe billing portal |
| Failed fax handling | — | Automatic page refund |
| Platform | Web, iOS/Android apps, email-to-fax | Chrome extension (desktop) |
| International sending | Business tier: 51 countries | 50+ countries on all plans, including free pages |
What eFax gets right
An honest comparison starts here — eFax is a mature product with real strengths:
- Mobile apps. eFax has iOS and Android apps. Browserfax is a desktop Chrome extension and doesn’t do mobile faxing.
- Email-to-fax. You can send a fax by emailing an attachment to a special address — handy for automated workflows.
- Toll-free numbers. eFax lets you pick a toll-free fax number; Browserfax numbers are standard US numbers.
- High-volume tiers. If your office faxes thousands of pages a month, eFax’s Corporate tier is built for that scale.
If those specific features are must-haves, eFax (or another enterprise service) is a reasonable choice.
Where eFax costs more than it looks
There’s no free eFax. The trial requires a credit card and converts to a paid subscription automatically unless you cancel in time — and trial cancellations take effect immediately, so you lose the remaining trial days.
The subscription meter runs whether you fax or not. Most people who search “how to fax” need to send a handful of pages a few times a year. At ~$19/month, an occasional faxer pays well over $200/year for what might be 30 pages of actual faxing. Browserfax’s model inverts this: pages are the product. $4 buys 25 pages, they never expire, and there’s no subscription unless you want a fax number.
Extra fees stack up. A one-time setup fee of about $10 is reported across independent reviews (eFax’s own pricing page doesn’t display it as static text — check your checkout total). Go past your monthly allowance and overage billing kicks in at $0.07–$0.10 per page. Incoming faxes draw from the same allowance — on Browserfax, receiving is unlimited on every plan.
Cancellation can require a phone call. eFax’s official policy allows online cancellation for standard accounts, but annual plans and accounts with multiple numbers must call support. Reviews on ConsumerAffairs and complaints filed with the BBB describe long hold times and billing that continued after cancellation attempts. One more policy worth knowing before you commit: once your account closes, your stored faxes become inaccessible. Browserfax billing runs through Stripe’s standard billing portal — cancel in a couple of clicks, no phone call, and your one-time page packs are yours regardless.
Price check: three real scenarios
You fax twice a year (a few pages each). eFax: ~$228/year in subscription fees, minimum. Browserfax: $0 — your 20 free pages cover it.
You fax monthly, maybe 15–20 pages. eFax Personal: ~$19/month. Browserfax: a $11/100-page pack lasts ~5 months, no subscription — roughly $2/month equivalent.
You need to receive faxes at your own number. eFax Personal: ~$19/month, incoming pages count against your 200-page allowance. Browserfax Basic: $8/month with unlimited incoming faxes plus 100 send pages (annual billing gets you 3 months free).
Which one should you use?
Choose eFax if you need mobile apps, email-to-fax automation, a toll-free number, or corporate-scale volume — and the subscription price is fine for your usage.
Choose Browserfax if you fax from a computer and want to pay for what you actually use: 20 free pages to start, one-time packs that never expire for sending, and a dedicated US fax number with unlimited receiving at $8/month when you need one. Every fax shows live delivery status — Queued → Sending → Delivered — with automatic page refunds if a fax fails.
FAQ
How much does eFax really cost?
About $18.99/month for the Personal plan (200 pages, US & Canada), plus a commonly reported ~$10 setup fee and $0.10/page overage. Annual billing discounts exist; exact totals appear at checkout.
Is there a free version of eFax?
No — only a credit-card trial that auto-converts to a paid plan. Browserfax’s free tier (20 pages) requires only a Google sign-in.
Can I keep my faxes if I cancel eFax?
Download them first: eFax states stored faxes become inaccessible after account closure.
Is Browserfax cheaper than eFax?
For sending: yes, substantially — $4 one-time for 25 pages versus a ~$19/month subscription. For receiving: Browserfax Basic at $8/month with unlimited incoming is less than half eFax’s entry price.
Faxing from your computer anyway? Install Browserfax from the Chrome Web Store — 20 free pages, no credit card, no subscription.