Internet Fax Service

[Justin234]

Does anyone out there use an internet fax service?

I've been landline free for about 8 years, and would never want to go back; but I run a small business, and occasionally need to send and receive faxes. I've been dealing this in a haphazard way so far (using a friend's machine) but that is not very professional, and is inconvenient - I need my own number.

I was wondering if anyone has experience companies out there. I really only need to send and receive 50 pages, max, per month (probably much fewer).

I'm currently looking at Nextiva, which has a $5 per month monthly contract for 500 pages a month (send or receive).

If anyone can recommend a reliable and inexpensive service, I'd really appreciate it!

[Daley]

VOIPo Cloud Numbers. $3/month, roughly 300 pages a month, ~2.5¢ a page over.

There's a way to receive for free (excuse the cost of e911) using CallCentric, but does nothing for sending, which leaves you going to another provider. Easier for the money to just go VOIPo.

Edit: I should point out that Nextiva is a fine product for the money as well.

[totoro]

I use myfax.  Works great, especially because I travel a lot and prefer to receive my faxes as email attachments.  I didn't realize there were less expensive options. 

[hybrid]

Just make sure you have a scanner so you can make images (usually PDFs) of the the documents you need to fax.  There is a host of cloud-based services that can help you, and in this day and age all you need is email and a scanner on your end.

[Daley]

Just make sure you have a scanner so you can make images (usually PDFs) of the the documents you need to fax.  There is a host of cloud-based services that can help you, and in this day and age all you need is email and a scanner on your end.

In a pinch, you can even get away with a smartphone camera.

Also, there's the paperless method.

[hybrid]

Just make sure you have a scanner so you can make images (usually PDFs) of the the documents you need to fax.  There is a host of cloud-based services that can help you, and in this day and age all you need is email and a scanner on your end.

In a pinch, you can even get away with a smartphone camera.

Clever!  I maintain a fax server at my firm and have been watching the number of faxes steadily dwindle over the years - but that slowdown was fast at first and then actually slowed down over time - there are still a bunch of folks with fax machines who hang onto them.  I'm still surprised how much use it gets.  It's rather like a senior citizen and their beloved land line (and AOL account, even if they have broadband....).  It takes a long time to unwind the last few folks who don't want (or have) to change their habits.

[philmanx]

I use Fax87.com - one of the cheaper ones I've found and perfect reliability.

[Chris_Kurt]

There are some free e-fax service such as efax.com. But you cannot choose your fax number and there's limitation too. I read about some free additional internet fax service at http://voipbands.com/voip-reviews/ringcentral-review/internet-fax-service/. Not sure if suits you, but it does make more professional to your business in just under 9 dollar/mo. Is some kind of a free service from VoIP.

[TennisPro]

I know this is an old thread, but just in case any Mustachian searches for an internet fax service, I wanted so share my discovery.

I have used faxaway.com for at least five years.

It costs me $1/month for my own fax number, plus $0.11 minute to send or receive faxes.  The $1/month "maintenance charge" is actually relatively new (about two years ago they started it, before that, it was free for any month I didn't send or receive any faxes).

So, a typical month for me now costs $1.  A month where I fax about 20 pages is about $2.

Before I posted this, I read at the bottom of "MMM recommends" that MMM recomends Maxemail, at a cost of $24/year or more, so I thought this faxaway option was worth mentioning, since it could represent a savings of more than 50% for most light fax users like me.

[the fixer]

For occasional faxing I just use faxzero.com. For only a couple pages, it's free. I occasionally need to fax larger amounts of stuff, which costs $2 for each fax. I don't recall exactly, but it's possible that every time I've needed to fax more than 3 pages has been related to applying for a mortgage, so yeah it doesn't happen very often.

[SarahStoke]

Does anyone out there use an internet fax service?

If anyone can recommend a reliable and inexpensive service, I'd really appreciate it!

Online fax is great – it’s inherently secure so you can send sensitive information, which you shouldn’t with email. ome services are HIPAA-compliant, which adds extra layers of protection.

With an online fax provider like Sfax, you are probably looking at around $0.10 per page (here are the prices http://www.sfaxme.com/plans-pricing/monthly/). Most will offer a similar price per page, it may vary by $0.01 or $0.02. You do get extra layers of security for that money which other providers like Popfax might not have and their fax mailing is pretty good.

[Nords]

Another vote for FaxZero.com, or websites like USAA where you can actually scan, login, and upload a document directly onto their secure server.

Of course I'd also try to stop doing business with people who insist on doing business by fax.

[ketchup]

Does anyone out there use an internet fax service?

If anyone can recommend a reliable and inexpensive service, I'd really appreciate it!

Online fax is great – it’s inherently secure so you can send sensitive information, which you shouldn’t with email. ome services are HIPAA-compliant, which adds extra layers of protection.

With an online fax provider like Sfax, you are probably looking at around $0.10 per page (here are the prices http://www.sfaxme.com/plans-pricing/monthly/). Most will offer a similar price per page, it may vary by $0.01 or $0.02. You do get extra layers of security for that money which other providers like Popfax might not have and their fax mailing is pretty good.

We use Sfax at work and it's been great for us so far.  Really easy to use and pretty cheap.  We have it for compliance reasons for HIPAA-related matters.

[dodojojo]

I used to be able to send and receive faxes with my work email account.  This year the company changed the phone setup and now I can only send faxes.  I'm looking for a service that allows for incoming faxes but on a very occasional use plan--pay per use mainly.  I only need it 2-4 times a year max.  Right now, I have incoming faxes going to a co-worker who is still on the old phone setup.  But I would like to receive my private faxes directly.

[Daley]

I used to be able to send and receive faxes with my work email account.  This year the company changed the phone setup and now I can only send faxes.  I'm looking for a service that allows for incoming faxes but on a very occasional use plan--pay per use mainly.  I only need it 2-4 times a year max.  Right now, I have incoming faxes going to a co-worker who is still on the old phone setup.  But I would like to receive my private faxes directly.

The guide covers various fax options (halfway down the page), including solutions that would fit those needs specifically.

[RootofGood]

I use Vestalink for VOIP home phone service.  I originally signed up for $30/yr but now it's more like $45-50 per year (and I have coupon codes if anyone is interested in getting those prices).  An awesome (but rarely used by me) benefit is free incoming and outgoing fax service.  They do deduct 10 minutes per page of fax, which ate into my 500 minute plan, but the unlimited minute packages are almost the same price now (so not a big deal for new customers).  For the infrequent user, this is a great free service add on (on top of a home phone for a few bucks per month).