Roundup
The best bitcoin ATM alternative: how to buy bitcoin with cash for less
Bitcoin ATMs are the most expensive common way to buy bitcoin, with markups that commonly run from the mid-teens to over 20%, and they have become the payment method of choice for scammers. If you have cash and want bitcoin, there are cheaper and safer ways to do it. Here is how the main options compare, judged on what a cash buyer actually cares about.
Updated October 2026. Figures from each company's published fees, terms and filings, and the public sources named on this page.
What is the cheapest way to buy bitcoin with cash?
Buying from a business with a desk rather than a machine. Anytime Capital takes cash across the counter at its Atlanta branch or by mail from anywhere in the U.S., priced from 4% with the spread included, against kiosk markups that commonly run 15% to 25%. On $500 that is from $20 instead of $75 to $125. A kiosk only wins on hours and distance: if you need a small amount tonight and a machine is on your street, that convenience is what the markup buys.
How we judged them
All-in cost on cash
The fee on a kiosk is mostly in the exchange rate, so we compare what you pay against the bitcoin you receive, not the line-item fee.
A person you can reach
When a purchase stalls, or someone has talked you into a payment, a human who can see the order matters more than anything else on this list.
Limits and verification
Kiosk ID tiers and state caps decide whether a larger purchase goes through at all.
Still operating
The largest network in the country shut down in 2026. A provider you use should be open and in good standing.
Bitcoin ATM operators and alternatives compared
| Provider | Cash purchase cost | Where you pay cash | Talk to a person | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anytime Capital | From 4%, spread included | Atlanta branch, or by mail nationwide | (470) 748-2530, business hours; walk-in branch | Open |
| CoinFlip | 21.9% listed markup (U.S. terms) | About 4,200 U.S. kiosks | 24/7 phone line | Operating; regulator actions pending |
| Coinme | About 16.5% reported at kiosks | Coinstar kiosks, MoneyGram counters | Chat and tickets | Operating |
| Athena Bitcoin | Up to 26% alleged (DC AG suit) | About 4,000 kiosks | Phone line published | Operating; lawsuit pending |
| Bitcoin Depot | About 20% reported, before the shutdown | Offline since May 2026 | Claims through the bankruptcy court | Closed (Chapter 11) |
Kiosk costs are each operator's published or reported markup as of October 2026 and vary by machine and state; several states now cap kiosk fees at 15% to 18%. Anytime Capital pricing is the published starting rate with the spread included.
The picks
1. Best for cash without a kiosk markup
Anytime Capital
A fintech company, not a bank, that takes cash for bitcoin across the counter at its Atlanta branch at 2549 Piedmont Road NE, Suite 110, Atlanta, GA 30324 and by mail from anywhere in the U.S., priced from 4% with the spread included and the total on screen before you pay. One ID check covers larger orders, a phone line at (470) 748-2530 reaches a person during business hours, and the same account takes cards, Apple Pay, ACH, same-day wire and Cash App. It is not open at midnight and there is not one on every corner; for anything above pocket change, the price difference covers the trip or the postage many times over.
Buy crypto with cash2. Best for a small amount tonight, with phone help
CoinFlip
A large kiosk network, about 4,200 U.S. machines on its own locations page, with a 24/7 phone line and two-way machines that also buy bitcoin for cash. Its U.S. terms list a 21.9% purchase markup, varying by machine, and it faces pending actions from the Iowa and Missouri attorneys general and Washington's financial regulator.
CoinFlip vs Anytime Capital3. Best for cash at a grocery store Coinstar
Coinme
The bitcoin option on Coinstar machines and at MoneyGram counters, so there is often one inside a supermarket. The all-in kiosk fee is widely reported around 16.5%, coins land in a Coinme custodial wallet first, and support is chat only.
Coinme vs Anytime Capital4. Best for a kiosk where the others have none
Athena Bitcoin
Roughly 4,000 machines by Coin ATM Radar's count in early 2026, with a published phone line. The District of Columbia Attorney General's 2025 lawsuit alleges fees of up to 26% and is pending.
5. Best for nobody, today
Bitcoin Depot
Once the largest network in North America, with about 9,700 kiosks at the end of 2025 and a spread widely reported around 20%. It filed for Chapter 11 in May 2026 and took its network offline; Bitcoin Bancorp has since won the bid for about 2,450 machines and the brand.
What happened to Bitcoin Depot
Why bitcoin ATMs cost so much
A kiosk operator pays for the machine, a share of the store's rent, cash collection and armored transport, and compliance on every unit, and recovers all of it in the exchange rate. That is why the number on the screen sits well above the market price, and why a flat-looking fee of a few dollars is usually the smaller part of the cost. On $500 of cash, a 20% markup is about $100 to the operator before the network fee.
Regulators have started to cap it. California, Illinois, Iowa, Arizona and Connecticut are among the states that now limit kiosk fees, at figures around 15% to 18%, and set daily purchase limits as low as $1,000. Check the cap in your state, and the rate on the machine in front of you, before you insert anything.
The scam problem
Bitcoin ATMs have become the payment rail of choice for impersonation scams, because cash in a machine is fast and hard to reverse. The FTC reported that losses to scams paid through bitcoin ATMs rose nearly tenfold from 2020 to 2023, to about $114 million, and that people aged 60 and over accounted for most of it. The FBI counted roughly $389 million in reported crypto kiosk losses in 2025.
The rule is simple: no real bank, government agency, utility, police department or tech support desk will ever ask you to pay with a bitcoin machine. If someone on the phone is telling you to go to one, hang up.
- Nobody legitimate asks for payment at a bitcoin ATM
- Never scan a QR code someone sent you to receive the coins
- If someone is on the phone while you buy, stop
- Report scams to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and the FBI at ic3.gov
How buying with cash at a desk works
At Anytime Capital you verify once, with a government ID and a selfie, online or in person. You then bring cash to the Atlanta branch and hand it across the counter, or mail it using the cash-by-mail instructions, and receive a quote priced from 4% with the spread included. The coins go to a wallet you control or to the free Anytime Capital wallet. Staff can ask the questions a machine cannot, which is the point if someone has been pressuring you to buy.
Have cash? Skip the kiosk markup.
Bring it to the Atlanta branch or mail it from anywhere in the U.S. Priced from 4% with the spread included, total shown before you pay, and a person on (470) 748-2530 if you have a question.
- Wire transfer
- Cash in person
Digital assets are not FDIC-insured, are not bank deposits, and may lose value. Availability and limits subject to identity verification and compliance review.
Questions
Best bitcoin ATM alternative: FAQ
Where to go next
Other roundups
Important Disclosures
- Information about other operators is drawn from their published terms and fees, regulator and court announcements, SEC filings, Coin ATM Radar counts and press reports as of October 2026. Fees vary by machine and state and change often; check the rate on the screen before you pay.
- Regulatory actions described on this page are allegations or pending proceedings as announced by the agencies named, unless stated otherwise.
- Anytime Capital and the companies named are independent. This page is not endorsed by or affiliated with any of them. Third-party names are used only to identify the companies compared.
- This comparison is for information only and is not financial, investment, tax or legal advice.
- Cryptocurrency is not FDIC insured, is not a bank deposit and may lose value.