A Changelly alternative with automatic refunds

On a floating rate, Changelly's published service fee is the lower one. Its fees FAQ gives 0.25% plus the network fee; Ghostex charges 0.48%. On a fixed rate there is no figure to compare: Changelly describes a dynamic fee that is built into the locked rate and publishes no percentage. On a $1,000 swap, counting the service fee only:

The floating-rate gap is $2.30 in Changelly's favour before network costs. Whether it survives depends on the payout network fee, which Changelly's terms (s.3.1.2) say is estimated when the order is created and can end up different. Sending a payout on a low-cost network costs little, so Changelly's lower percentage is likely to show in the final amount. On a busy network the fee can narrow the gap or reverse it. Ghostex's number does not move with the network: the payout fee is covered inside the quote, and only your own wallet's fee to broadcast the deposit sits outside it.

The fair test is the same on both sites: the same pair, the same amount, fixed against fixed or floating against floating, taken within a minute or two. The quote that promises more at the end is the cheaper one. The quote at the top of this page already includes the 0.48%, and how network fees work explains why payout costs differ so much between chains.

15 or 20 minutes, or 30

Changelly's terms (s.2.7) hold a fixed rate while you send within 15 minutes of clicking "confirm & make payment", or 20 minutes when you pay in BTC, XMR, LTC, DCR, EOS, GAS, BNB or VET. 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. Neither lock depends on how far the market moves.

The extra time matters most when the coins sit on an exchange account, where the platform's own withdrawal checks count against your clock; our guide to withdrawing from an exchange to a wallet covers why that step is hard to time. Floating rates turn this around: Changelly accepts a floating deposit for 3 hours (ToS s.2.6), while a Ghostex order expects the deposit within 30 minutes and then runs a late one at the market rate or refunds it automatically. For when each rate type makes sense, read fixed vs floating rates.

Changelly's refund FAQ says its refund process is not automated: support staff resolve each case by hand, so replies can slow down when many users hit problems at once. What it describes, case by case:

• A fixed-rate order that fails, for example because the deposit arrived late or in the wrong amount, is refunded to the refund address you entered when creating it, which the FAQ says takes up to one hour.
• A floating-rate swap that cannot go through, for example after a sharp rate move, is either pushed through at the new rate or, if you ask for a refund, refunded less applicable fees, usually 1 to 7 business days after you confirm a refund address (ToS s.2.6).
• A floating deposit sent after the 3-hour mark, or sent again to a used deposit address, gets no notification and no automatic refund: you contact support, and the FAQ says such deposits are usually pushed or refunded within 1 to 2 working days.
• A deposit too small to cover the network fee cannot be refunded at all.

On Ghostex, refunds follow Terms, section 12. 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. You do not open a ticket or quote your order ID. If you pay from an exchange account, give a refund address of your own, 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. A deposit of the wrong asset, on the wrong network or without a required memo is not refunded automatically on Ghostex, and Changelly's troubleshooting FAQ calls wrong-network deposits extremely hard to recover, with no ETA. Checking the network before you send is worth more than any refund policy; see what happens when USDT goes to the wrong network.

Identity checks

Changelly's KYC FAQ says verification is not required of every user, but its risk scoring puts flagged transactions on hold. Its FAQ names triggers such as several accounts opened with disposable emails and wallet addresses linked to mixers or black markets. Verification asks for an identity document, a photo or video of you holding it, and sometimes proof of where the funds came from. The FAQ says verification usually takes no longer than 24 hours, and warns that a review involving outside parties can sometimes take weeks or even months, though most do not.

Ghostex has no identity step at any amount within its limits and will never ask for identity documents. That is not a promise to run every order: the Terms, section 6, allow 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 unless the law requires otherwise. For what to check before trusting any no-KYC service, read are no-KYC exchanges safe.

Changelly pages read on 30 September 2026:

• Changelly Terms of Use (last updated December 2024): account, floating and fixed rates, refunds, fees, AML/KYC, restricted locations, operator
• Changelly AML/KYC policy (last updated February 2022): risk scoring, documents, verification
• Fees FAQ: 0.25% floating fee, dynamic fixed-rate fee, limits
• KYC and security FAQ: when verification is asked, documents, review times
• About FAQ: swapping without an account, refund policy, wallet integrations
• Exchange troubleshooting FAQ: wrong network, holds, failed transactions
• Homepage and supported currencies page: coin count, fiat partners, launch year
• XMR to BTC page: Monero on the send side

Pages behind the "Other Changelly alternatives compared" table: ChangeHero's homepage 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.

Changelly, ChangeHero, 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.