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Gratis Fax Services vs. Paid Faxing: Which Should You Utilize?

Nothing guarantees that you'll sit down up and pay attending quite like the discussion "free." The lure may seem especially tempting when it comes fourth dimension to transport a fax. Several services let you ship a fax online for nothing rather than making you pay a monthly fee that more total-featured services charge. Is complimentary worth it for online faxing? Here's a closer look at your options, both free and paid, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each blazon of service.

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To answer the costless-versus-fee faxing question, we looked at several free fax services (HelloFax, FaxZero, GotFreeFax, FaxBetter Gratis, PamFax and BestFreeFax) to decide what they offered and how they compare with the paid services nosotros've reviewed (including MetroFax, Efax and SRFax. While the terms and weather vary from service to service, we've formed some general impressions of when free faxing is worth it and when you're meliorate off with a paid service.

Free Fax vs. Paid Fax Services Compared

	Send/Receive Limits	Price
FaxZero	3 pages + cover (with advertising); receiving faxes non available	Complimentary (five faxes per twenty-four hours maximum)
GotFreeFax	3 pages + embrace (with ad); receiving faxes not available	Free (2 faxes per solar day maximum)
MetroFax	500 pages send & receive	$7.95 per month
Efax	150 pages send & receive	$16.95 per month (with one-time $10 setup fee)
SRFax	25 pages send & receive	$3.29 per month

Zilch guarantees that you'll sit up and pay attention quite like the word "free." The lure may seem specially tempting when it comes time to send a fax. Several services allow you send a fax online for cipher rather than making you lot pay a monthly fee that more total-featured services accuse. Is free worth information technology for online faxing? Hither'southward a closer look at your options, both free and paid, along with the benefits and drawbacks of each type of service.

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To answer the costless-versus-fee faxing question, nosotros looked at several free fax services (HelloFax, FaxZero, GotFreeFax, FaxBetter Free, PamFax and BestFreeFax) to determine what they offered and how they compare with the paid services we've reviewed (including MetroFax, Efax and SRFax. While the terms and conditions vary from service to service, we've formed some general impressions of when gratis faxing is worth it and when you lot're ameliorate off with a paid service.

The example for free faxing services

There'south an obvious reason to consider costless faxing — it'south right there in the name. But there are some other advantages, also:

No monthly charges or commitments: That'south the very definition of "free." None of the gratis services nosotros looked at take whatever sort of monthly commitment or accuse, nor do they require a credit card.

That said, some services, such as FaxZero and GotFreeFax, have a premium single-apply service. FaxZero charges $1.99 to boost the page limit from 3 to 25 pages, remove the logo on the comprehend page and give the fax a college priority on its servers for a speedier delivery.

GotFreeFax charges 98 cents for upward to xx pages, has options for upward to 30 pages for on-off faxing, and allows you to buy upward to 1,000 folio credits at a single fourth dimension with the creation of an account for a one-time fee of $49.99. GotFreeFax lacks advertising on its cover page and says its costless faxes have priority on its servers.

Free services handle common file formats: If you're faxing a document, it'due south a strong bet that you're saving it as either a Microsoft Word .md or .docx file, or an Adobe Acrobat PDF file. If you're using those, and then you lot won't run into whatever bug with a costless faxing service. Just attach your document via the service's web page, and you're adept to go.

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You can fax to northward of the border: Fifty-fifty for free, you can typically send a gratis fax to Canada. If you desire to send a fax elsewhere in the world, virtually "gratuitous" services can do and so, for a a per-use step-up fee that covers international faxing. While the fees can vary depending on which countries and which service you use, FaxZero, for example, notes that a 15-page fax to most countries will cost $iii.63.

The case confronting free faxing services

Hither are 3 reasons to steer clear of costless faxing, even if it ways splashing out some cash.

Tiresome faxing restrictions: Most free services impose page restrictions, with some allowing simply iii pages per fax. Most services likewise restrict the number of times y'all can ship a fax per mean solar day.

For instance, FaxZero limits you to iii pages per fax, and v faxes per day. By dissimilarity, FaxBetter Free has generous faxing (including 500 pages sent and 20 received per month), just you lot have to receive a fax every vii days to keep the account complimentary.

Most free services impose page restrictions, with some allowing just three pages per fax.

Advertising on your cover folio: Some services add their ain logo to the cover folio, which detracts from the professionalism of the cover folio, even if that page oftentimes is the beginning to stop up in the recycle bin. Some services, like FaxZero, let you ditch the logo, but only if y'all pay a per-fax footstep-up fee.

Limited functionality: All but i of the gratis services nosotros've found are ship-but, meaning they are intended for you to send a fax but they lack a persistent fax number from which y'all tin receive faxes. That also means those free services don't have a way to manage faxes via a service's online storage, and free services don't have fancier features, like fax scheduling or fax delivery logs. The exception is FaxBetter Free, just that service's gimmick is that it requires you to receive a fax at to the lowest degree once every vii days to proceed your free business relationship.

The instance for paid fax services

There's i argument against paid services: You've got to intermission out the credit carte. And it'due south not just a 1-time charge, either. Many paid faxing services disbelieve their charge per unit if y'all brand an annual commitment instead of going month to calendar month. And then if you want the best price, you accept to exist prepared to commit to a specific paid service for at least a yr.

But there are enough of reasons to opt for a paid faxing service over a gratis i if faxing is function of your regular routine:

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Permanent fax number: Every paid fax service provides you with a permanent fax number. Some services even permit you to become a toll-free number. Most permit yous selection the surface area code at the very to the lowest degree, with some, like MetroFax, fifty-fifty letting yous choose among several number options.

In that location'due south 1 argument against paid services: You've got to intermission out the credit menu. And it'due south not merely a one-time charge, either.

Fax by email: All paid services let you lot send a fax simply by attaching supported files to your email. As well, received faxes can be delivered directly to your email inbox as PDF files.

Customizable cover page: Near paid services let you customize the encompass page's advent; some go equally far equally to let you change the layout, graphic and font.

Fax storage: Many services provide gratis storage for your inbound faxes; some store your outbound faxes equally well.

Paid services have their own limits on sending and receiving faxes, simply these are typically in the hundreds, not single digits as they are with free fax services.

Fax monitoring and management: Most paid services provide a transport/receive log for your faxes. Some, similar Nextiva vFax and RingCentral, offering additional fax management abilities, like scheduling faxes and broadcasting faxes, besides every bit support for boosted authorized users who can send and receive faxes from that number.

Few limitations on faxing: Paid services accept their ain limits on sending and receiving faxes, but these are typically in the hundreds, not single digits as they are with free fax services. The number of pages you tin can fax at a single time may exist constrained only by the file-size limits of your email service.

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With paid services, yous tin send faxes as many times a twenty-four hour period as you desire, so long as y'all stay in the monthly page budget. As with costless services, you can fax to the U.Southward. and Canada, merely international faxes volition usually have a nominal per-folio boosted accuse.

Lesser Line

It's tempting to opt for a free service, and if y'all don't have to fax frequently, it's a solid choice. Just exist prepared for the fax to accept a little longer to become to its destination, as these services typically queue the completely costless fax delivery behind paid or pace-up faxes. Become with a free fax service if you lot occasionally need to ship a few pages to someone, provided the page and frequency constraints won't go far your way.

Paid faxing is all-time if you want to both send and receive faxes, and need to practice so with any degree of frequency. With a paid fax account, you lot go the convenience of sending and receiving a fax from your email, and y'all ditch the pesky folio limits and frequency limitations of gratuitous faxing. You lot typically go a host of fax direction and commitment logs, likewise.

Credit: Tom'southward Guide

Melissa Perenson is a freelance writer. She has reviewed the best revenue enhancement software for Tom's Guide for several years, and has also tested out fax software, among other things. She spent more a decade at PC World and TechHive, and she has freelanced for numerous publications including Computer Shopper, TechRadar and Consumers Assimilate.