A ChangeHero alternative that never asks for ID

ChangeHero publishes its fees as ceilings: no more than 0.5% with Best Rate, its floating option, and up to 0.7% with Fixed Rate, with the exact figure depending on market conditions and liquidity. Ghostex charges 0.48% on both rate types, already inside the quote. On a $1,000 swap at ChangeHero's stated maximums, counting the service fee only:

On floating rates the two are close enough that the market rate each service finds matters more than the fee. On fixed rates the ceiling gap is wider, and it is the rate type most people pick when they want to know the exact payout. Because ChangeHero's figures are maximums, a given swap may cost less there, so compare the final amount both quotes promise for the same pair and amount, fixed against fixed. The quote at the top of this page already includes the 0.48% and the network fee for sending your payout.

10, 15 or 30 minutes to send

ChangeHero's homepage FAQ says a fixed rate is locked for 15 minutes from the moment you create the transaction. Its terms are stricter in two places: section 3.2 lists a deposit sent more than 10 minutes after you confirm a fixed-rate transaction among the cases that may be refunded, and section 2.2 lets ChangeHero refuse a fixed-rate swap and refund you if the rate has moved by more than 2%. Section 3.2 also accepts only one deposit per transaction ID on fixed-rate orders.

Ghostex's Terms, section 8, lock the amount you receive for 30 minutes from order creation, as long as the deposit matches the order amount, and name no market-move condition. If the deposit is late or differs, it runs at the market rate or is refunded automatically, and the order page shows which. That margin matters most when you pay from an exchange account, where withdrawal checks eat into the clock; see withdrawing crypto from an exchange to a wallet and fixed vs floating rates.

ChangeHero is registration-free and KYC is not mandatory. Its FAQ describes a risk-based policy instead: if its threat detection system flags a transaction, the swap is put on hold and you are asked for a photo of a government ID (resident ID, passport or driving licence) and a selfie holding it with the transaction ID written or printed on paper, sometimes with more documents. The FAQ says the procedure usually takes 24 hours or less and that personal data is erased once KYC is completed.

If you would rather not identify yourself, section 3.7 of its terms sends the deposit back to the address it came from, minus the network fee and an operational fee of 10% of the amount, but not less than $100 equivalent. The minimum weighs most on small swaps:

What triggers a flag is not public; the AML/KYC policy says the criteria are kept confidential for security. The same policy, last updated June 2022, lists signs it treats as high risk, among them connecting through Tor from IP addresses in different countries, using mixers, and using "secure, untraceable cryptocurrencies". It also lists standard due diligence for occasional transactions of €1,000 or more, applied to the extent the customer's risk profile requires. If you plan to swap into or out of Monero, those lines are worth reading before you send.

What Ghostex does instead

Ghostex has no identity step at any amount within its limits and will never ask for identity documents, so there is no verification to decline and no fee for declining one. That does not mean every order runs. Under Terms, section 6, the service may use automated analysis of public blockchain data, and an order connected with a prohibited use may be delayed, declined or refunded. A declined order is refunded under section 12, minus the network cost of returning it, unless the law requires otherwise. Our checklist on whether no-KYC exchanges are safe covers what to read in any service's terms before you send.

ChangeHero's terms (s.3.3) say it handles refund requests case by case and that its decisions are final. Some cases are handled without you asking: its FAQ says a fixed-rate order that receives more or less than the stated amount is refunded automatically, and section 3.4 sends fixed-rate refunds to the refund address you gave. For the rest, a refund starts with you:

1. Contact support by live chat or email within one calendar month of sending the funds (s.3.11).
2. Give the transaction ID, the hash of your deposit and a refund address; a request missing any of them may be declined (s.3.12).
3. On a Best Rate order, the refund goes to an address you give support, which section 3.4 ties to 10 days from the start of the transaction.

Ghostex's Terms, section 12, work the other way round. When an order cannot complete, Executor decides the refund and Courier sends it to your refund address or, if you gave none, back to the address you paid from, in the same asset and on the same network, minus the network cost of returning it. There is no request, no deadline and no service fee on a refund. If you pay from an exchange account, give a refund address of your own when you create the order, because a refund to a shared exchange address is then in that platform's hands. How automatic refunds work walks through each case.

Neither service rescues every mistake. On Ghostex, a deposit of the wrong asset, on the wrong network or without a required memo is not refunded automatically and recovery is not assured. ChangeHero reviews such cases individually and its terms (s.3.5) allow a $50 fee for extra work caused by user error. The cheapest fix is prevention; see when a memo or destination tag is required.

ChangeHero pages read on 30 September 2026:

• ChangeHero Terms of Use (last updated March 2026): fixed-rate refusal, refunds, KYC refusal fee, prohibited jurisdictions, operator
• ChangeHero AML/KYC policy (last updated June 2022): risk scoring, high-risk signs, due diligence
• ChangeHero FAQ: fees, order tracking, KYC documents, declining KYC
• Homepage and its FAQ: fee ceilings, 15-minute lock, limits, asset count, fiat partners, wallets, account
• XMR to BTC page: Monero on the send side

Pages behind the "Other ChangeHero alternatives compared" table: Changelly's fees FAQ, Terms of Use and XMR to BTC page, read on 30 September 2026; the FixedFloat, ChangeNOW, SimpleSwap, Exolix and Godex pages linked in the table, read on 26 September 2026.

ChangeHero, Changelly, FixedFloat, ChangeNOW, SimpleSwap, Exolix and Godex are trademarks of their respective owners. Ghostex is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by them. Details were taken from their public pages on the dates above and may have changed.