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Choosing an online fax service can feel overwhelming when there are so many options out there. Whether you send the occasional fax or deal with high-volume business communications daily, finding the right service matters for both your wallet and your workflow.
If you’re completely new to online faxing, you might want to start with our step-by-step guide first.
Here’s the quick breakdown if you’re in a hurry:
| Service | Best For | Price | Pages Included | Key Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Onetime Fax | Occasional use | $5 per fax | Unlimited | No subscription needed |
| eFax | Brand recognition | $16.95/month | 150 pages | Well-known name |
| HelloFax | Small business | $9.99/month | 300 pages | Great cloud integration |
| RingCentral | Enterprise | $7.99/month | 750 pages | High volume handling |
| FaxZero | Free option | Free | 3 pages/day | Costs nothing |
Quick recommendations:
Let’s be honest - traditional fax machines are a pain. They break down, jam constantly, and eat up paper and toner like they’re going out of style. Online fax services solve these headaches by letting you send and receive faxes from your computer or phone.
Traditional fax setups can cost you big time. Between the machine itself, dedicated phone lines (usually $30-50 monthly), paper, toner, and repairs, the costs add up fast. Online services often work out to be 50-80% cheaper, especially when you factor in all those hidden costs.
The biggest game-changer is mobility. Send a fax from your coffee shop, home office, or while traveling. No more rushing back to the office because you forgot to send that important contract. Everything works 24/7, whether it’s 3 AM or Christmas morning.
This might surprise you, but online fax services are often more secure than traditional machines. Modern services use bank-level encryption, while old fax machines send data in plain text over phone lines. Plus, there’s no pile of sensitive documents sitting in a tray for everyone to see.
Learn more about fax security in our security guide.
We didn’t just read marketing materials and call it a day. Our team actually signed up for accounts, sent real faxes, and tested everything on both desktop and mobile. We looked at delivery speed, reliability, security features, customer support responsiveness, and pricing transparency.
We also dug into user reviews and talked to industry experts to make sure our recommendations hold up in the real world.
Pricing: $5 per fax Best For: People who send 1-10 faxes monthly
If you only fax occasionally, monthly subscriptions feel like throwing money away. Onetime Fax gets this - you pay $5 when you need to send a fax, and that’s it. No monthly fees, no forgotten subscriptions draining your account.
What’s great about it:
The downsides:
Perfect for:
Try Onetime Fax right now - no signup required.
Pricing: $16.95/month (150 pages included) Best For: People who want a recognizable brand
eFax has been around forever, and that brand recognition means something to a lot of people. Their service works well enough, and they’ve got mobile apps for both iPhone and Android.
The good:
The not-so-good:
If you’re looking for better value, check out our eFax alternatives guide.
Pricing: $9.99/month (300 pages included) Best For: Small businesses and teams
HelloFax (now owned by Dropbox) shines with its cloud integrations. If you’re already using Google Drive or Dropbox, this service feels like a natural extension of your workflow.
What works:
What doesn’t:
Pricing: $7.99/month (750 pages included) Best For: High-volume business users
If you’re sending lots of faxes, RingCentral offers incredible value. 750 pages for under $8 is tough to beat, and they’ve got all the enterprise features you’d expect.
The advantages:
The limitations:
Pricing: Free (3 pages), $1.99 for 5 pages Best For: Very occasional users
Sometimes you just need to send a quick fax and don’t want to pay for it. FaxZero covers this need, though with significant limitations.
What’s free:
The catches:
For more free options, check out our free fax comparison.
| Feature | Onetime Fax | eFax | HelloFax | RingCentral | FaxZero |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Cost | $0 (pay per use) | $16.95 | $9.99 | $7.99 | Free |
| Per-Fax Cost | $5.00 | $0.11* | $0.03* | $0.01* | Free/1.99 |
| Setup Needed | None | Account creation | Account creation | Account creation | None |
| Fax Number Included | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Mobile Apps | Web-based | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| International | Yes | Yes | Limited | Yes | No |
| Security Level | High | Standard | Standard | Enterprise | Basic |
*After included pages are used up
Go with Onetime Fax. You’ll save money and avoid subscription hassles. Perfect for personal use or small businesses that only fax occasionally.
HelloFax or RingCentral work well here. HelloFax if you love cloud integrations, RingCentral if you want maximum value.
RingCentral wins hands down. The volume pricing makes it unbeatable for high-volume needs.
Onetime Fax or RingCentral handle international faxing well. Onetime Fax keeps it simple with one flat rate anywhere in the world.
Need help with international faxing? Check out our international guide.
eFax or HelloFax have the best mobile apps, though Onetime Fax works great in mobile browsers too.
Mobile faxing tips in our mobile guide.
When choosing a fax service, security should be high on your priority list, especially for sensitive documents.
Look for these features:
Dive deeper into fax security with our security comparison.
Best choice: RingCentral or Onetime Fax for HIPAA compliance. Onetime Fax gets bonus points for not storing documents at all.
Best choice: Onetime Fax or RingCentral. Both provide delivery confirmations and professional transmission quality that courts accept.
Legal professionals should read our legal faxing guide.
Best choice: HelloFax or eFax for mobile convenience and document signing features.
Best choice: Depends on volume. Onetime Fax for occasional use, HelloFax for regular business needs.
Let’s break down real costs by usage:
1-5 Faxes Monthly:
10-20 Faxes Monthly:
50+ Faxes Monthly:
More cost analysis in our free vs paid comparison.
Modern services typically achieve 99%+ uptime, making them more reliable than traditional fax machines that can jam or run out of supplies.
Most subscription services allow number porting, though there may be fees. Pay-per-use services like Onetime Fax don’t provide dedicated numbers.
Most services handle PDF, Word documents, and images (JPG, PNG). PDF usually gives the best results.
This varies widely:
This varies by service and destination. Some charge per page, others (like Onetime Fax) charge a flat rate regardless of destination.
For international details, see our international faxing guide.
Step-by-step instructions in our online faxing guide.
The online fax world has come a long way from the days when eFax was your only real option. Today, you’ve got choices that fit different needs and budgets.
For most people sending occasional faxes, Onetime Fax offers the best value without subscription hassles. If you’re running a business with regular fax needs, HelloFax provides great features at a reasonable price. And for high-volume users, RingCentral delivers incredible value.
The key is matching the service to your actual usage patterns rather than getting swayed by marketing promises or brand recognition. A simple pay-per-use service might serve you better than an expensive monthly subscription you’ll barely use.
Whatever you choose, you’ll be trading up from the frustrations of traditional fax machines to something that actually works in today’s mobile, digital world.