1. Online, pay per fax
Upload a PDF or photos of the pages, type the fax number and pay for that one fax. Nothing to install and nothing to cancel later. On the fax page here it is $3.99 for up to 25 pages to any US or Canada number, with an optional cover page, live status and a delivery confirmation. If it can't be delivered, the payment is refunded automatically.
Best for: the occasional fax, which is most people.
2. An online fax subscription or email-to-fax
Monthly fax services give you your own fax number, let you send faxes as email attachments and receive faxes as PDFs in your inbox. They make sense if you fax every week or need to receive faxes. For one or two faxes a year, a monthly plan costs more than it saves, and you have to remember to cancel it.
3. A phone fax app
App stores have many fax apps. Read the price before you scan anything: many are free to download but charge a weekly subscription that starts as soon as you send the first fax, and keeps renewing until you cancel it in your phone's subscription settings. If you only need one fax, a pay-per-fax option is usually far cheaper.
4. A print and ship store or library
Many office supply stores, shipping stores and some public libraries send faxes for you, charging per page. You bring the paper, they dial. It works well if you are nearby and your documents are already printed; call ahead, since not every location still has a fax machine and prices vary.
5. A computer with a fax modem
Windows still includes Windows Fax and Scan, and it can send faxes, but only through a fax modem connected to a working analog phone line. Most homes and offices no longer have either, so this is only an option if you already do.
How to send a fax online, step by step
- Get the document ready: a PDF, or the paper pages and your phone's camera.
- Check the fax number with the recipient. Fax numbers are often different from the main phone number.
- Open the fax page, add the PDF or take a photo of each page in order.
- Type the fax number and, if you like, add a cover page saying who it is for, who it is from and what it is.
- Pay, then watch the status go from queued to sending to delivered. Download the delivery confirmation for your records.
Tips for a fax that is easy to read
- Fax is black and white and lower resolution than your screen. Dark text on white paper comes through best; light pencil and colored highlighter often disappear.
- Take photos straight on, in daylight or bright room light, without shadows across the page.
- Put your name and a phone number on the cover page, so the recipient can call if a page is unreadable.
- Do not use fax to send ads to people who did not ask for them. Unsolicited fax advertising is illegal in the US under the Junk Fax Prevention Act.