The Best Online Fax Services of 2019

by Adam C. UzialkoLast Modified: January 2, 2019

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The Best Online Fax Service Comparisons

Fax machines have a bad reputation for being expensive, bulky and uncooperative, not to mention their need for constant maintenance and toner replacement. With the advent of the digital era, many entrepreneurs likely envisioned a (happy) future without faxing, but it has not come to pass. Despite a mass migration of business communications to email and videoconferencing, faxes still exist in large numbers, particularly in industries that regularly handle sensitive data.

Still, there's no need to hang on to that outdated, unsightly and frustrating fax machine. Even though digital technology could not usher in the end of the fax, it has furnished us with a solution for sending and receiving faxes. Online fax services streamline faxing in a digital inbox, much like those of any email service provider, allowing users to easily send, receive and store faxes in one central location. A SaaS model means you subscribe to the level of service you need when you need it. If you only fax occasionally, a pay-as-you-go or free service might suffice. If you find yourself faxing regularly, a subscription is still likely to cost less than a fax machine, and the efficiency of a cloud-based inbox is a great benefit as well.

This buyer's guide is designed to help you become acquainted with the online fax service industry and some major brands. We've also selected some best picks, including eFax, MetroFax and Sfax. Online fax services vary in their pricing plans and the level of service they provide, so keep in mind how frequently you need to send or receive faxes and how long you'd like to store them. Some organizations, like medical practices, also require a higher level of security than others. Whatever your needs, you'll find the faxing partner you're looking for here.

Best Picks

Medical Practices

Multiple Users

Pay as You Go

Free Outgoing

Free Incoming

Overall

SRFax

Best Online Fax Service for Medical Practices

We picked SRFax as the best online fax service for medical practices because it offers a healthcare-specific set of plans geared at not just complying with HIPAA regulations, but securing sensitive data above and beyond the legal requirements with optional features like PGP encryption. SRFax offers a strong online fax service at its core, and it leverages more than two decades of experience in the healthcare industry to deliver one of the most competent medical faxing solutions on the market. It's also highly affordable, given the level of service it offers. In addition to securing data in line with HIPAA regulations, SRFax provides the required business associate agreement outlining how it will use, transmit and store protected health information. It's clear that SRFax understands the regulatory framework facing healthcare providers and takes great pains to meet and even exceed the legal standards.

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RingCentral Fax

Best Online Fax Service for Multiple Users

RingCentral is our best pick for online fax services that accommodate multiple users because it is easy to grant team members full access to your account and retain administrative control over them. RingCentral also offers additional lines and pricing plans that can accommodate even bigger teams or be used to organize departments around a specific faxing line. With RingCentral's online fax service, you can send and receive faxes in a digital environment that looks and operates much like any leading email provider's platform. The user interface is intuitive, with little to no learning curve.

RingCentral is slightly more expensive than some of the other online fax services we reviewed, but its quality features and streamlined user experience make it a good service for the money.

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GotFreeFax

Best Pay-as-You-Go Online Fax Service

GotFreeFax's pay-as-you-go online fax service offers companies with limited faxing needs an affordable way to send the occasional fax without committing to a monthly or annual subscription service. It is an incredibly easy-to-use online fax service that doesn't attach advertisements to your free faxes, maintaining a level of professionalism without the added cost. In addition to the base pay-as-you-go model, GotFreeFax allows you to purchase never-expiring page credits, which can be used at any time and saved in perpetuity. This option is great for businesses that know they will intermittently need to fax in the future but are not prepared to spend the extra money on a regular subscription. GotFreeFax also includes the ability to attach documents, send payment via PayPal, access technical support and use an encrypted connection for secure sending.

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GotFreeFax

Best Free Outgoing Online Fax Service

GotFreeFax is our best pick for free outgoing fax services because it is extremely easy to use and effective, allowing you to send up to three pages of faxes twice a day for no cost. For companies that only need to send faxes on occasion, GotFreeFax is a stellar option to do so without paying for a subscription or maintaining a costly fax machine that requires regular maintenance. The best part of GotFreeFax's free sending service is that, unlike most free services we reviewed, it does not append any advertisements to your communications, allowing you to retain the appearance of professionalism while saving money. It also supports the sending of numerous file types and the inclusion of a free cover page, which are uncommon features in free fax sending services.

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FaxBetter

Best Free Incoming Online Fax Service

FaxBetter is our best pick for free incoming online fax services because it provides the unique ability for you to receive faxes in a digital inbox without paying a monthly or annual subscription. Most other free services only support the sending of faxes, but FaxBetter establishes a free fax number and digital inbox that operates as simply as any leading email provider. The only downside to FaxBetter's free service is that you're required to receive a fax once a week, or else you lose their number. Upgrading to a paid plan prevents this consequence, but thrifty users can simply send themselves an email once a week to avoid this. FaxBetter allows the indefinite storage of up to 1,000 pages of faxes, a strong number for a free service.

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Nextiva vFax

Best Online Fax Service

Nextiva vFax is our best pick for online fax services because it offers affordable payment options, service levels to accommodate varying needs, and the most useful online faxing features. These include a secured client portal and the abilities to port your existing fax number, add more users to your fax line, and purchase additional numbers. This online fax service is extremely easy to navigate and use, with little learning curve. Nextiva vFax also offers extremely helpful and knowledgeable customer service via phone, email and live chat. The only downside we identified was Nextiva's lack of a mobile application for its online faxing service, but it does maintain a client portal that you can use on a mobile device via web browser, so it's not too much of a limitation.

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Pricing

Pricing fluctuates from vendor to vendor, but most online fax services follow a similar model: monthly subscription fees for a certain number of faxes, and additional overage fees per fax.

Monthly subscriptions or annual plans typically range from $7 to $30 per month for anywhere from 100 to 750 faxes.
Overage fees range from 3 to 12 cents per fax after the monthly limit has been reached.

Less common is for an online fax service to charge a setup fee, but it occasionally happens. In our experience, setup fees were rare and did not exceed $10.

Varying plans are also available for different faxing needs. Some online fax services charge separately for sent and received faxes, while others just include a total number of faxes that you can send monthly. Some services allow only sent faxes or received faxes. Some vendors also offer corporate packages for businesses that send a high volume of faxes.

Reviews

Here are all our reviews of online fax services and fax software that can digitize your faxing needs and eliminate the need for a physical office fax machine.

Online Fax Service Trends to Watch in 2019

What can you expect from the online fax service industry in 2019? In two words, growth and consolidation. According to market research company Arizton, the online fax industry will grow to more than $2.4 billion in value by 2022. That value is driven by the obvious factors that drive most digitization: increased efficiency, reduced expenditures, scalability through a SaaS model and superior service. Adoption will continue to be focused primarily in the North American and European markets, where data privacy regulations and continued innovation are high priorities. This is especially true for companies that regularly handle sensitive data they would prefer to keep off vulnerable networks, such as those in the healthcare or financial industry.

Consolidation has already begun and is poised to continue in what remains a crowded and competitive industry. While there are many online fax services out there, many are owned by the same company, and some organizations have made acquisitions a central component of their strategy. The big name in the space is J2 Global, which has acquired more than a dozen online fax brands, including its flagship eFax, MetroFax and Fax.com. As leaders emerge, it is likely the industry will continue to consolidate, driving the growth of a few prominent companies.

Community Picks

We polled Business.com community members to find out which online fax service they use. Of the survey respondents who indicated they use one, here are their top three picks.

22%

13%

Negotiation

When preparing to sign up with an online fax service, follow these tips to ensure the best deal possible:

Ask for recommendations from similar businesses that use online fax services.
Contact multiple vendors to compare pricing, customer service and key features.
Understand the fee structure, when there are additional costs and if there are any setup fees.
Request free demos when possible to test out the product and ensure quality.
Determine the level of security the service offers, especially if you're in a HIPAA-compliant industry.
Ask about any possible discounts or fee waivers the service might be willing to offer to land your business.

For those subscribing to an annual plan, review any contracts and legal documents carefully before signing. Be sure all the fee structures and features you've agreed to with the company are included, and that you can easily cancel service if it is not satisfactory. Ask if there are there any fees associated with cancellation, and whether the company requires an advanced notice period.

Our Methodology

We invested substantial time to research various online fax services, plans and features. We started the process by coming up with a comprehensive list of vendors that offer online faxing through our own research as well as other lists and reviews of popular vendors.

From there, we visited the websites of each fax service to compare pricing and features. We watched product demos and tutorials, and we sent sample faxes when that feature was available. We used this criteria to narrow down our pool of candidates.

Next, we contacted all the services we were considering, calling and posing as a customer when possible. We wanted to get a feel for how the companies handle actual customer interactions, so we asked each customer service rep the same questions about features, options and pricing, and we noted our reactions to the experience.

For our overall best pick, the decision came down to which company offered the best balance of affordability, robust features and ease of use. We shied away from vendors that offered low upfront pricing with lots of hidden fees or expensive over-limit fees.

Here are the criteria we used to evaluate each online fax software provider:

Ease of use
Variety and features of plans
Pricing structure
Fax limits and overage fees
Mobile access
International and toll-free faxing
Contract requirements

In Business.com's evaluation of online fax services, we looked for programs with functions like advanced scheduled delivery, international faxing and integration with Microsoft Outlook. We selected services that allow you to sign documents electronically and send faxes to more than one recipient at a time. We found that the best fax services offer toll-free fax numbers, unlimited fax storage and quality customer support to their subscribers.

We performed hands-on evaluations of each service by signing up for free trials and using the fax services the way we would as a customer. We developed test faxes that we sent through the online desktop programs and mobile apps, where available. We tracked the time it took for our faxes to send and scored each platform on its intuitiveness and ease of use. The services that allow you to create cover pages in the software, have fax templates and offer fax confirmations received additional points.

Laws About Faxes

The FCC has laws that regulate faxing, just as it does for other forms of communication like emails, phone calls and texts. Breaking these laws can result in lawsuits from the people you've contacted and in financial penalties from the FCC. These penalties start at $500 per page sent that was not in line with the regulations.

The most important rule is to not send unsolicited – sometimes known as junk – faxes. There are some cases, however, when this is acceptable:

You receive the number as part of a contract or application.
You find the contact information on an advertisement or directory, assuming it does not state that the contact won't accept unsolicited faxes.
You have ensured the person you're faxing agreed to have their information listed on the directory or advertisement.

If the above criteria are met, you can send unsolicited faxes without penalty. When you send these faxes, however, you must include an obvious and cost-free way for the recipients to opt out of your faxes. This notice must include your contact information on the first page of documents you send. If you receive an opt-out request, you must reply within 30 days of receipt.

Fax laws may vary depending on location. Be sure you know and understand the laws in your area before you start sending faxes.

State of the Industry

Faxing might seem like a thing of the past, but businesses and customers alike still find faxing to be a useful and even essential part of modern business. But there is a better, more efficient way to fax than maintaining bulky and often difficult machines. A 2014 survey of small businesses conducted by J2 Global, an electronic fax service provider, found that 27 percent of respondents wanted to get rid of their machines.

The answer is online fax services, which wholly digitize the process, making it cheaper and less cumbersome. A report from Arizton estimates that the global online fax market will eclipse $2.4 billion by 2022.

"The advancement in technology and flexibility provided by online fax vendors enable organizations to automate their fax solutions and hence is a major driver for the growth of the market," the report said. "While the healthcare sector is likely to contribute maximum revenue to the market, the manufacturing, transportation and logistics sectors are going to post the highest-growth CAGR during the forecast period."

Online fax services increase security, speed up the transmission of information, help with archiving and filing, reduce an organization's paper footprint, and decrease maintenance costs. Digitizing your faxing needs could impact your bottom line and streamline a component of office life. Large corporations are driving the bulk of adoption as well, according to the report.

"Large enterprises are the major contributors of online fax services with 48.6 percent of share to the market," the report reads. "The market for home office users will decline during the forecast period because of the growth of their organizations, and hence adding more revenue to the SME markets."

Map

Fax.PlusGeneva,

Fax.com

PO Box 22500

San Diego, CA

MetroFax

6922 Hollywood Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA

Faxage

313 Inverness Way South

Englewood, CO

MyFax

6922 Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood, CA

Nextiva vFax

8800 E Chaparral Road

Scottsdale, AZ

RingCentral Fax

20 Davis Drive

Belmont, CA

SRFax

203 - 5190 Dublin Way

Nanaimo, BC

Sfax

9050 N Capital of Texas Hwy

Austin, TX

TrustFax

6922 Hollywood Boulevard

Los Angeles, CA

aFax

2024 E Ben White Blvd

Austin, TX

eFax

6922 Hollywood Boulevard

Hollywood, CA

mFax

3773 Howard Hughes Pkwy

Las Vegas, NV

Services

List of the The Best Online Fax Services of 2019

Fax.Plus

https://www.fax.plus

Hoping to "bring joy into faxing," Fax.Plus allows businesses to send faxes to 150 countries. The company helps optimize documents for faxing and uses encryption to secure all faxes.

Visit Fax.Plus

Fax.com

http://www.fax.com

Fax.com has an intuitive interface for its basic faxing service.

Visit Fax.com

MetroFax

http://www.metrofax.com

MetroFax is an affordable fax service with a helpful feature set. The service is easy to set up, and the company offers competitive pricing.

Visit MetroFax

FaxBetter

https://www.faxbetter.com

FaxBetter is an online faxing service that lets you receive faxes for free.

Visit FaxBetter

Faxage

https://www.faxage.com

Faxage is an online fax service designed with small businesses in mind. It offers six different pricing plans, and customers can choose from internet and toll-free fax numbers.

Visit Faxage

Faxx.us

https://faxx.us

Faxx.us is a straightforward, affordable online fax service for companies with basic faxing needs that don't plan to transmit a large volume of faxes.

Visit Faxx.us

GotFreeFax

https://www.gotfreefax.com

GotFreeFax is a good online fax service that lets you send faxes for free.

Visit GotFreeFax

HelloFax

https://app.hellofax.com

HelloFax's online platform is competitively priced and easy to use.

Visit HelloFax

MyFax

https://myfax.7eer.net

MyFax makes it easy to send faxes anywhere. It offers unlimited storage, international faxing capabilities and Microsoft Outlook integration.

Visit MyFax

Nextiva vFax

http://www.nextivafax.com

Nextiva vFax is an affordable fax service that lets you send and receive faxes online or with a fax machine.

Visit Nextiva vFax

PayGoFax

https://www.paygofax.com

PayGoFax.com offers online fax services based on one-time services. The company believes people don't send faxes all that frequently, so monthly fees are wasting people's money.

Visit PayGoFax

RingCentral Fax

https://www.ringcentral.com

RingCentral, our best pick for online fax services for multiple users, offers the receipt and sending of digital faxes via the internet with a desktop computer, email platform, or mobile device.

Visit RingCentral Fax

SRFax

https://www.srfax.com

SRFax is a Canadian-based company offering internet fax service in North America. It offers the convenience of email and the mobility of the internet to make it easier for businesses to send and receive faxes.

Visit SRFax

Sfax

http://www.sfaxme.com

Sfax's online fax software is especially helpful for healthcare businesses since it focuses on HIPAA compliance.

Visit Sfax

TrustFax

http://www.trustfax.com

TrustFax provides online faxing services with a monthly or annual plan. It includes features such as digital signatures, a fax number, email faxing and international faxing.

Visit TrustFax

aFax

https://www.afax.com

AFax allows customers to send fax messages by connecting the aFax app to Gmail. AFax never receives a busy signal either, regardless of whether multiple faxes are being sent at the same time.

Visit aFax

eFax

https://www.efax.com

eFax, a j2 Global company, is an online fax service that supports both incoming and outgoing faxes. Its easy-to-use mobile app lets you fax on the go.

Visit eFax

mFax

https://www.mfax.io

mFax by Documo is a fax-over-IP solution that is built for enterprises, but available to anyone. The cloud-faxing platform offers HIPAA-quality security and compliance, and the company said its network boasts industry-leading fax success rates and the latest infrastructure. Faxes can be sent via email, the web interface or using traditional fax machines.

Visit mFax

The Best Online Fax Services of 2019

by Adam C. UzialkoLast Modified: January 2, 2019

The Best Online Fax Service Comparisons

Best Picks

Best Online Fax Service for Medical Practices

Best Online Fax Service for Multiple Users

Best Pay-as-You-Go Online Fax Service

Best Free Outgoing Online Fax Service

Best Free Incoming Online Fax Service

Best Online Fax Service

Pricing

Reviews

eFax Review

SRFax Review

RingCentral Fax Review

MetroFax Review

HelloFax Review

Nextiva vFax Review

GotFreeFax Review

FaxBetter Review

Faxage Review

Faxx.us Review

Online Fax Service Trends to Watch in 2019

Community Picks

Negotiation

Our Methodology

Laws About Faxes

State of the Industry

Map

Services

List of the The Best Online Fax Services of 2019

Fax.Plus

https://www.fax.plus

Fax.com

http://www.fax.com

MetroFax

http://www.metrofax.com

FaxBetter

https://www.faxbetter.com

Faxage

https://www.faxage.com

Faxx.us

https://faxx.us

GotFreeFax

https://www.gotfreefax.com

HelloFax

https://app.hellofax.com

MyFax

https://myfax.7eer.net

Nextiva vFax

http://www.nextivafax.com

PayGoFax

https://www.paygofax.com

RingCentral Fax

https://www.ringcentral.com

SRFax

https://www.srfax.com

Sfax

http://www.sfaxme.com

TrustFax

http://www.trustfax.com

aFax

https://www.afax.com

eFax

https://www.efax.com

mFax

https://www.mfax.io

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