Faxing might seem like a relic of the past, but it’s far from obsolete—especially when sensitive information or legal documentation is involved. In fact, many businesses and institutions still rely on faxing for secure, reliable communication. That’s where the best online fax services of 2024 come in, offering a modern solution to an old-school problem.
Whether you need to send or receive faxes regularly or just once in a while, these services make it possible without the need for a bulky machine or a dedicated phone line. Let’s dive into the top options available to help streamline your faxing needs.
We evaluated the most used online fax services against our methodology to bring you this list.
- Fax.Plus: Best overall
- RingCentral: Best VoIP & Online Fax Bundle
- Ooma: Best for distributed teams
- Nextiva: Best for enterprise
- Phone.com: Best for security
Featured partners
How to fax online
Can faxes even happen without a dedicated phone line? Yes, in fact. Though basically all of them require some 3rd-party intermediary. Here’s what we mean.
It’s surprisingly common for faxes to be sent from an email account to a phone line, or from a phone line to an email account as the destination. In both cases, though, the email client itself isn’t the one arbitrating the exchange. It’s an online fax service that supports the function through an email client.
Email isn’t the only way faxes are sent and received, though. In some cases, it happens directly from an app or platform, or even a mobile device. Finally, some VoIP providers will include fax functionality in the package, and exact implementation will vary from provider to provider (sent or received via email, app, virtual phone line, etc.)
Some online services will let you do all of this for free—provided you keep the page count low, and aren’t bothered by ads they include as a cover page. If sending or receiving faxes is something you need to do regularly as part of your business, you may be better off signing up for a paid service.
Why fax in the first place?
Fair question; why indeed? Most of society gets by just fine these days by sending and receiving information through other means. So, why use a fax at all?
One reason is because some places require it, but that’s a bit of circular reasoning—so, let’s dig a bit deeper.
Those businesses, organizations, and institutions might insist on faxes for a few reasons, such as:
- Fax/phone numbers don’t tend to change as often as emails do—when staff leave their position, their team email address becomes defunct, but a fax number doesn’t.
- A fax is treated differently than an email: they’re given more urgent attention, they don’t bottleneck communications with unneeded back-and-forth, and it’s easier to find or keep a record of just numbers.
- Faxes often bypass normal communication channels, going directly to the department (and sometimes the specific individual) you’re trying to reach.
- Sending a fax may help in avoiding issues related to file types, compatibility, or other tech-related hangups.
- Validity, security, and data privacy.
That last one is perhaps the category with the biggest impact. A significant number of fax communications still in play today are dealing with information that’s sensitive, protected, or legally binding. Healthcare teams fax medical records, prescription orders, and other HIPAA-covered paperwork, and in the eyes of the law, email isn’t considered to be guaranteed as private.
Digital documents can also be edited. There are safeguards against this, of course, but they’re not always easy or inexpensive to use, and they may conflict with other issues mentioned above.
Best online fax services at a glance
Expert Score
Monthly Starting Price (per Line)
Key Features
Fax.Plus
3.95
$6.99/month
- Free faxing
- Affordable upgrade options
- No need to pay for extras you don’t want
RingCentral
3.90
$27.99/user/month
- VoIP, fax, and everything in-between
- Get more for less with bundled service
- Plentiful “unlimited” options
Ooma
3.62
$19.95/user/month
- Fax functionality in every plan
- Collaboration tools for distributed teams
- Less costly than some
Nextiva
3.53
$35/user/month (for fax service)
- Premium services at a premium price
- Come for the faxes, stay for the…everything
- Can replace whole sections in tech stacks
Phone.com
3.48
$14.99/user/month (+ $4.99/month for inbound faxes)
- HIPAA compliance across the board
- Affordable options
- Makes the most of video tools
Fax.Plus: Best overall
Overall Score
3.95/5
Pricing
4.58/5
Core features
5/5
Advanced features
3.33/5
Integration
4.17/5
Security and compliance
4.17/5
Customer support and service
2.29/5
Pros
- Offers free plan
- Inexpensive paid plans
- Port your current fax number for free
- HIPAA compliant
Cons
- Free users can only send, not receive faxes
- Caps for page counts are very low
Why we chose Fax.Plus
Fax.Plus gets checkmarks and gold stars in a lot of key areas. They offer a free online fax service (though the caps are pretty harsh), and their cost structure is comparatively affordable. They have reliable data security and their services are HIPAA compliant. They integrate with both Google and Slack, have mobile apps for both iOS and Android, and subscribers can leverage the programmable API to build even more integration options for themselves.
Fax.Plus isn’t as effective as others in this list if you happen to need to fax at volume (either large-sized faxes, or large quantities), and you may find yourself a little underserved by even their custom pricing. But for individuals and small businesses, Fax.Plus has everything you need, at a price you won’t hate.
- Best value: Get the core online fax functionality at a very affordable price, with some room to scale up if you need to really get your fax straight.
- Data privacy: With strong, industry-leading security features and a HIPAA compliance guarantee, your data is in safe hands.
- Integration options: Leverage popular apps and integrations right out of the box, or use the API tools to curate your own.
- User-friendly design: It’s easy to learn and easy to use (certainly easier than the last monster of an office appliance you faxed from).
- International faxing: They offer toll-free and international numbers for faxing.
- Subscription plans
- Free: no cost, up to 10 pages
- Basic: $6.99/month
- Premium: $13.99/month
- Business: $27.99/month
- Enterprise: $79.99/month
- Price per extra page
- Free: $0.20
- Basic: $0.10
- Premium: $0.07
- Business: $0.05
- Enterprise: $0.03
RingCentral: Best VoIP & online fax bundle
Overall Score
3.90/5
Pricing
4.17/5
Core features
5/5
Advanced features
3.33/5
Integration
4.58/5
Security and compliance
3.75/5
Customer support and service
2.29/5
Pros
- Available standalone fax option, with 3,000 pages/month cap
- Reasonably priced VoIP/video/fax/messaging bundle
- 24/7 support
- “Faxing from anywhere on any device”
Cons
- Combo requires an annual contract
- No TFA (despite HIPAA compliance)
- Limited integrations for standalone plan
Why we chose RingCentral
RingCentral is a major player in the VoIP space, and can be found in industry best lists across the web. They’re on this list because they have a standalone online fax option, as well as included fax functionality in their VoIP packages. If you’re looking for free or cheap, they’re a little outside that range. But with their bundle subscription just another $7 more per user per month, there’s little reason to pay for two separate services when you can get both for less with a reliable vendor.
You’ll be better served by RingCentral if you do a lot of faxing, and thus can justify a little more spend for that purpose. Smaller teams might prefer a more budget-friendly option, like Fax.Plus above. But larger organizations will have plenty to gain from RingCentral’s focus on higher quantities of larger faxes. Relatedly, larger businesses will also find added benefit from their VoIP, video, and team productivity features.
- Fax forward: Get bulk fax functionality as a standalone service, if that’s all you need. But you’ll get more bang for your buck when you pair it with the other telecom toys they have on offer.
- VoIP and beyond: RingCentral is a major VoIP and video call provider, so if you need both, they can provide both for less than getting it separately.
- HIPAA compliance: though their services lack two-factor authentication options and a few other security staples, they still meet the standards required for HIPAA compliance.
- No cap: their Advanced plan includes unlimited faxes, unlimited audio conferences, and more. If you need unlimited minutes for audio and video calls as well, there are upgraded plans and add-ons available for those, too.
- Internal communication: RingCentral also boasts some team productivity boosters, like team chat/messaging, integration with apps like Salesforce and Zendesk, and more besides.
- Monthly billing
- Fax3000: $27.99/user/month
- RingCentral Advanced: $35/user/month
- Annual billing
- Fax3000: $22.99/user/month
- RingCentral Advanced: $25/user/month
Ooma: Best for distributed teams
Overall Score
3.62/5
Pricing
3.75/5
Core features
4.58/5
Advanced features
3.33/5
Integration
4.17/5
Security and compliance
2.92/5
Customer support and service
2.08/5
Pros
- Fax functionality, unlimited VoIP call minutes, video conferencing, and more included in every plan
- Supports both virtual fax and analog faxing
- Robust call handling system
- Mobile and desktop support
Cons
- Must upgrade to Pro or Pro Plus for audio function
- Many team collab tools require upgrade
Why we chose Ooma
People are working from just about everywhere these days. And while some organizations seem dedicated to their efforts to rebuild the traditional office environment, just as many have decided they prefer the flexibility and the freedom. That leaves teams with some logistical concerns they didn’t necessarily have before.
Ooma is a leading business solution provider that handles a lot of these issues. Like RingCentral, they’re primarily known for their VoIP, call management, and video conferencing services, but also like RingCentral, most of their stuff comes as part of a package. If all you need is the faxing, their Essentials plan serves well as a substitute “standalone” fax service (as it lacks the voice functionality and most of the team features).
Bottom line: Ooma can function decently for smaller teams that only need fax functionality, but is best suited for those who can afford the upgrade to higher tiers—where they can benefit from expanded services, and possibly use Ooma to replace other apps in their tech stack.
- Just the fax: faxing functionality (analog and virtual) is available on every plan, even the Essentials plan that omits VoIP services.
- Well handled: first-class call handling and call management are the hallmarks of Ooma’s VoIP services, and if you find yourself in need of such things, you’ll be well-served.
- Team work: Ooma’s collaboration tools are rather extensive, and surprisingly robust. You have to opt for their premium plan to get some of the best ones, but odds are you were gonna pay for them somewhere else anyway.
- Virtual receptionist: a lot of VoIP providers include this or IVR features, but Ooma’s adds it to their “work from anywhere” methodology, making it easy to, for example, forward calls for a given extension to a mobile device.
No contract necessary for any plan.
- Ooma Office Essentials: $19.95/user/month
- Ooma Office Pro: $24.95/user/month
- Ooma Office Pro Plus: $29.95/user/month
Nextiva: Best for enterprise
Overall Score
3.53/5
Pricing
3.75/5
Core features
5/5
Advanced features
1.25/5
Integration
5/5
Security and compliance
3.33/5
Customer support and service
1.88/5
Pros
- Bundled services include fax, voice, email, chatbots, social media management, and more
- Highly scalable
- Extensive AI/IVR tools, user access options, and productivity solutions
- Robust integration options
Cons
- No standalone fax option
- Pricing preferences larger teams with bigger budgets
- Some users report less than stellar support experiences
- No TFA or digital signature functionality
Why we chose Nextiva
Here’s our top-shelf, “Swiss chocolate” option. Nextiva is very definitely a premier, enterprise-focused solution. Looking at the feature lists for their subscription tiers, you’ll see almost immediately how basically all of the good stuff is in the upper-most subscriptions. Even digital fax is still an add-on at the second tier. So we won’t pretend that this is the economy option.
But, as surely you’ve come to expect from premium price points, Nextiva has premium features to match. They may be the most expensive pick in this list, but they justify it with some very serious, “at scale” functionality.
You’re not just getting faxes, here. You’re getting voice with AI transcription tools, SMS, email, and messaging application functionality. Nextiva plans also include social and review platform management and a unified team interface, with supervisor tools and admin functionality. This is an extensive amount of bonus features. So if you’re not intimidated by the asking price, there’s plenty to benefit from.
So, just to be clear, Nextiva is our big budget option: premier feature sets at a premium price.
- Fax, voice, video: as you might expect, Nextiva comes with all the standard go-tos, namely inbound/outbound voice, video calls/conferencing, faxing, etc.
- Texts and messages: use SMS and messaging apps to your brand’s advantage, and reach your customers and target market on the go.
- Social skills: this is usually an entirely separate B2B solution, and often costs a lot more than this. Manage both your social accounts and your profiles at online review sites in one place.
- Advanced intelligence: IVR, AI transcriptions, and more are available to top-paying users. Make the most of the fact that hey, you’re doing all of this through computers.
- Management tools: control user access rights, gain visibility into team activity, and otherwise get a bird’s-eye view of the operation.
- Billed monthly
- Digital: $25/user/month (fax functionality not included)
- Core: $35/user/month
- Engage: $50/user/month
- PowerSuite: $75/user/month
- Billed annually
- Digital: $20/user/month (fax functionality not included)
- Core: $30/user/month
- Engage: $40/user/month
- PowerSuite: $60/user/month
Phone.com: Best for security
Overall Score
3.48/5
Pricing
4.58/5
Core features
5/5
Advanced features
1.67/5
Integration
3.75/5
Security and compliance
3.75/5
Customer support and service
2.08/5
Pros
- Send faxes from your phone with every plan
- Enjoy HIPAA-compliant video calls and conferencing with upgraded plans
- Make the most of inbound/outbound voice with capable call handling features
Cons
- Receiving faxes requires paying for an add-on, regardless of subscription.
- Feature list is shorter than some competitors.
Why we chose Phone.com
Phone.com is an example of quality over quantity. They don’t have the most comprehensive call management features. They may not have the lowest prices (but they’re in the right ballpark). They don’t offer some of the advanced AI and IVR functionality that brands like RingCentral and Nextiva put front-and-center in their marketing.
What they do have is an affordable service that facilitates HIPAA-level security for fax, voice, and critically, video. Now, they’re not the only option here with that phrase somewhere in their website copy. But they are the only ones that apply the term to video and video recording. And that’s in addition to fax functionality (of course), standard VoIP and video conferencing, and even live streaming to YouTube (among a lot of other things).
You’ll have to upgrade to Plus or Pro for most of these cooler features, and even Basic users will have to add $4.99 per month to the Basic plan to get inbound fax support. But $20/month is still cheaper than most on this list, and HIPAA compliance is a gift that keeps on giving to those who find it relevant. So for those who need to prioritize security or web conferencing, Phone.com is a better option than the others in this list.
- HIPAA anonymous: Did we mention all their stuff is HIPAA compliant? You’ll have to upgrade to Plus if you want HIPAA compliant video and video recording, but audio is compliant for every plan.
- Fax and forget it: you want faxes? Get yourself some faxes. You’ll have to sign up for the inbound fax add-on if you want to be able to receive them, but outbound faxes are included in every plan.
- Hit record: Phone.com offers a host of tools for recording calls, audio and video, plus tools for transcriptions, analytics, and more.
- Stream engine: don’t just video call or video conference. Go a step further and take a page out of the book of those Fornite kids—live stream it straight to your YouTube channel for the world to see (minus the HIPAA-protected info, obviously).
- Live line: among their add-on packages like international calling and (technically) faxing, Phone.com also offers Live Answer-Connect, so you can ditch the “virtual” part of the virtual receptionist.
- Billed monthly
- Basic: $14.99/user/month
- Plus: $21.99/user/month
- Pro: $31.99/user/month
- Billed annually
- Basic: $12.74/user/month
- Plus: $18.69/user/month
- Pro: $27.19/user/month
Choosing the Best Online Fax Service for Your Business
If you’re on the hunt for a fax service, how should you be making your decisions? What details should be front and center in your considerations?
Well, far be it from us to assume we know better than you what your business needs are. But, since you asked, here are a few of the points we looked at while putting this list together.
Price
Is this ever not a factor? Well, either way, that’s something we considered. As mentioned at the top of the article, there are some free options if you just need to send one or two single-page faxes. Beyond that, you’re probably looking at signing up for some kind of monthly fee.
That’s not to say that it has to cost you an arm and a leg, though, and you may be able to straddle the line between freemium service and paid subscription with the right vendor.
Bundled features
Remember how we said a lot of online fax solutions are also VoIP solutions? The combo packages don’t stop there. If you’re in need of things like video call/conferencing functionality, internet service, etc., odds are you can find a provider that does all of that in a single bundle. Whether or not the additional functionality is worth the price of admission, though, that’s something you’ll have to decide on your own.
International service
Just as with phone calls, things get a bit wonky when you need to communicate with someone in another geopolitical region. Not all services support international faxing, and the prices will vary with any that do. But it is available, if that’s a thing you happen to need.
Bulk faxing
Both quantity of faxes and size of individual transmissions may factor into pricing, limitations, and availability of online fax services, depending on the vendor in question. Some will be better for larger faxes sent less frequently, while others will be priced better for those who send smaller faxes, but more frequently.
Security and privacy
Finally, data privacy may or may not be a concern for you. If it is (meaning, if it matters to your business for regulatory reasons), you’ll want to be looking for a provider that guarantees that level of security. Failing to do so can leave you on the hook for the “due diligence” that didn’t get done.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
