If you ask anyone who’s firmly committed to staying ahead of the curve, the fax machine is outdated. In today’s day and age, you can easily send files via e-mail or through services like Slack and never even need to worry about fax.
But fax machines are still a “thing.” And in the corporate setting, especially, many people still find value in sending and receiving faxes rather than using e-mail to send large files.
Therefore, it’s a good idea to have a fax machine. But you don’t need to go to your local store to buy a unit. Instead, you can use one of a variety of computer-based apps that let you fax documents from your computer. The apps simply ask you to scan in documents, input a number, and they’ll take it from there.
Simply put, software-based fax machines bridge the gap between traditional faxing and e-mail. And they tend to work exceptionally well.
Read on for a look at five outstanding fax apps that will get you sending documents with ease:
OpenText RightFax
OpenText’s RightFax solution is a custom offering that can be used in a variety of ways. If you have a company and would prefer to have your fax hosted locally, OpenText can come in and make it happen. If you’d prefer a completely server-based model that handles all of your faxing in the cloud, RightFax can also get the job done that way.
RightFax works with a variety of services, including Office 365, Oracle, Google Apps, and others. Once you create a document in those services, you can ship it off to the RightFax Server in the cloud with its destination and it’ll land on the other side in a fax machine.
Equisys Zetafax
Zetafax is another nice service for power users that do a lot of faxing and want something that’s capable of easily handling all faxing needs.
The app is a fax server that lives in the cloud and allows you to send faxes remotely. Like many others, it works with a variety of popular applications that let you quickly send documents into the cloud. Zetafax’s server then translates your document into a faxable document and sends it out remotely to your recipient.
With help from a Zetafax archiving feature called Fax Relay, you can also keep a record of all of your faxes for access later on.
eFax
In all of its marketing materials, eFax promises one thing: that it’s the easiest and fastest way to send out faxes.
The service is a cloud-based service that can work not only from your computer, but also a tablet and smartphone. When you load it up, you log into the eFax MyAccount page and choose the “Send Faxes” option. You can then type a message, attach up to 10 documents, and send the fax to the person of your choosing.
eFax is available in monthly installments of $16.95 to start. You’ll also need to pay a $10 setup fee. That plan includes 150 free pages sent or received each month, then costs you 10 cents for every additional page you send or receive. eFax Pro costs you $19.95 per month, includes a $19.95 setup fee, and ups your monthly page count to 200 pages.
MyFax
MyFax is another simple solution that aims at making your faxing experience about as easy as walking over to a device, inputting some digits, and sending it off to someone.
With MyFax, you can sign up for as little as $10 per month to send 100 pages and receive 200 pages each month. If you bump that to $20 per month, you can send and receive 200 pages. A $40-per-month plan will net you 400 pages sent and received each month.
MyFax gives you a local fax number to start, but you can also opt for a toll-free or international number, if you so choose. Once you’re set there, you can send e-mails via MyFax and the service will automatically convert them to faxes that can land on a fax machine.
Interestingly, MyFax also includes a “Share with 5” feature that means you can send faxes from up to 5 e-mail addresses without needing to pay extra.
RingCentral Fax
RingCentral is best known for offering a cloud-based phone system for companies. But it also delivers what the company calls a “modern, cost-effective way to fax.”
The company’s RingCentral Fax allows you to send faxes and receive incoming faxes from your smartphone, tablet, or computer. The service keeps a log of all of the faxes you’ve sent and received and allows you to keep your existing fax numbers or choose from new ones. Best of all, it comes with a free trial so you can see how it works.
RingCentral Fax prices start at $12.99 per month for up to 750 total pages per month.
