Faxing may seem like outdated technology, but many organizations still conduct business via fax. There’s no need to invest in a fax machine or computer fax modem, however. Free online fax services allow you to send faxes from your computer and receive them in your email.

The free fax offerings from these services may have limited features. Read carefully before choosing one.

FaxZero

With FaxZero, send a fax for free anywhere in the United States and Canada, as well as many international destinations. Upload a document or PDF file or enter the text you’d like to fax. There is no fax-receiving function, however.

  • Great for very limited faxing needs.

  • Faxes straight from Word files.

  • Limited free offering.

  • Includes ads on the cover page.

  • No way to receive a fax.

The free service places an ad on the cover page and is limited to a maximum of three pages per fax and up to five free faxes per day. If you need to send more than three pages, send a fax of up to 25 pages with priority delivery and no advertising on the cover page for $2.09. This service is accredited by the Better Business Bureau.

GotFreeFax

If you prefer no ads on your cover page, consider GotFreeFax. GotFreeFax doesn’t place ads on its free fax cover pages and doesn’t add any GotFreeFax branding to your fax. Send faxes online to anywhere in the U.S. and Canada. Like FaxZero, there is no fax-receiving functionality.

  • No branding or ads.

  • Reasonable fee structure.

  • Very limited number of free faxes.

  • No ability to receive faxes.

Send up to three pages per fax with two free faxes allowed per day. If you need to send more than three pages, GotFreeFax allows you to fax up to 10 pages for 98 cents, 20 pages for $1.98, and 30 pages for $2.98. The premium pay-per-fax service also uses an encrypted connection and provides priority delivery.

FaxBetter Free

FaxBetter Free gives you a dedicated toll-free fax number, allowing you to receive up to 50 pages per month. You’ll get email notifications every time you receive a fax. FaxBetter Free stores up to 1,000 pages on its site for you to access your faxes online.

  • Great for people with consistent but low-volume fax needs.

  • OCR and document-search capability.

  • Online storage.

  • Weekly fax receipts to keep your number.

  • Can’t send faxes.

However, you can’t send faxes using this free fax number, and the fax-to-email service, as well as the OCR/searchable fax feature, is free only during a 30-day trial. Additionally, you agree to receive browser ads when the free version is installed.

If you expect to receive many faxes or want to send faxes in various formats, the FaxBetter Premium account starts at $5.95 per month for up to 500 pages per month, and two cents per page after that (although this plan requires you to pay upfront for two years). This plan also includes unlimited fax storage, searchable fax notifications, and no advertising.

eFax Free 14-Day Trial

The eFax free trial gives you a free fax number for incoming and outgoing faxes. Send and receive faxes from your email program or log in to an online portal for faxing (the online portal even lets you sign faxes). During the trial, you can send and receive up to 150 documents.

  • Good for light-volume needs.

  • Select your own fax number.

  • Subscription model is pricey.

  • $10 setup fee for a paid tier.

After your trial period ends, sign up for the Plus plan ($15.83 per month billed annually) or Pro plan ($24.99 per month billed annually) and gain the ability to send and receive faxes from your mobile device via the eFax app. You’ll also be able to access all your faxes from your online portal.

When you sign up for a Pro or Plus plan, you can change the area code for your fax number and send and receive up to 170 pages (Plus) or 375 pages (Pro) per month. There’s a one-time setup fee of $10 for either plan.

PamFax

PamFax is free to join, and new users get three free fax pages. PamFax is available for the web, Windows, macOS, iPhone, iPad, and Android.

  • Reasonable pricing plans.

  • Skype integration.

  • Limited number of free pages.

  • Limited features in free offering.

Once you’re beyond your three free fax pages, choose between the PamFax on-demand service (9 cents per page), the Basic plan ($4.03 per month and 9 cents per page), or the Professional plan ($6.07 per month and 6 cents per page).

Both the Basic and Professional plans include a personal fax number and allow you to send multiple documents in a single fax. This fax service offers Skype integration, as well. The Professional plan also includes support for Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Box.

MyFax 14-Day Free Trial

The MyFax free trial lets you receive faxes and send faxes to more than 40 countries. It supports more types of files than other fax services, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and image files. MyFax works with iPhones and other smartphones.

  • Good overseas coverage.

  • Subscription plan is good for people with moderate-to-heavy fax needs.

  • Free trial means you’ll be charged if you forget to cancel.

The MyFax free trial lasts for 14 days, after which accounts start at $12 per month. MyFax’s Terms and Conditions are extensive, so make sure you read through them before signing up.

Internet Fax in Microsoft Office

Many users don’t realize that Microsoft Office has a built-in ability to send faxes through Outlook, Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. To use this feature, the Windows Fax driver or Fax Services must be installed and activated on the sending computer.

  • Free.

  • Built into Windows.

  • Requires a modem and phone line.

Using Microsoft Office to send a fax is an easy and free alternative to an outside fax service.

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