Internet fax services let you ditch the fax machine and fax from your computer or mobile device, which is great for any business or individual on the go. If you don’t need or want to commit to a monthly service, however, there are a number of standalone mobile fax apps that aren’t affiliated with subscription fax services. Here are our top four picks.
iFax
The iFax app is a free tool that works with iOS, Android, Windows, and Chrome. It’s won high praise from both business and personal users for its ease of use and good interface. Features include PDF and document integration that allows you to import documents from email, or upload or download from the web. iFax supports PDF, TIFF, and JPG files. The app will also send email confirmations, lets you edit images or PDFs for clarity, and lets you choose from customizable cover page templates, with the ability to add a signature. iFax also advertises itself as HIPAA-compliant.
Outgoing faxes are paid per fax, and the price depends on the number of pages and their destination. Most reviewers say that a fax of around 10 pages cost $1.99. For incoming faxes, users can subscribe for a dedicated incoming fax number, which runs $12.99 per month and includes unlimited inbound faxes.
FaxFile
FaxFile is a free app that works with both iOS and Android devices, and allows you to send PDF, doc/docx, and photo files to fax numbers in the U.S. and in Canada.
There isn’t a monthly subscription cost, but you do need to buy fax credits. Credits are available through either the app store for iOS or the Google Play store for Android. Credit purchases range from $2.99 (for 50 credits) to $49.99 (2,000 credits). A typical fax is 10 credits per page, so if you’re planning to send a high volume of faxes it makes sense to buy more credits at once to save money.
FaxFile allows you to take a photo or use existing photos, and to add documents from apps like Dropbox and Drive. To add a cover page, you will need to install FaxCover, which is also free.
FaxBurner
This app is only available for iPhones and iPads. FaxBurner gives you a free fax number, which you can either keep for free for a 24-hour period, or keep for longer with a subscription. Paid subscriptions come in two tiers: Professional and Premier. Professional is $9.97 per month, and includes a toll-free fax number, and 500 pages inbound and outbound per month. The Premier plan is $19.97 per month and includes 2,000 outbound and inbound pages.
FaxBurner’s features include archiving and eSigning.
PC-FAX
As the name implies, this app is not iOS-compatible. The Android app is free with in-app purchases. It only allows you to send one page per day with the free version, so PC-FAX is definitely not for the high volume budget fax user. If you want to send more than that, you pay within the app, with prices ranging from $1.31 to $30.51 per item, depending on how much and to where you’re sending.
PC-FAX lets you take a photo of a document or PDF and fax it, or upload documents or email attachments to fax. The app faxes to 50 countries worldwide, and doesn’t require a registration for the free version, which makes it very easy to use if you just need to send one page in a pinch.