How to Send a Free Fax

No Fax Machine? No Problem! Send a Free Fax

Back in the 1990s, I had to get in my car and travel to a local print shop to send or receive a fax. It was expensive, time-consuming, and completely lacking in privacy. Later, I bought a fax machine and discovered that incoming fax spam is a thing. Paper jams, toner spills, and the expense of a dedicated phone line convinced me to ditch it.

Even though we live in a digital age, there are still plenty of faxes whizzing back and forth over the wires. If you deal with doctors, lawyers, banks, accountants, insurance companies, or almost any office that handles lots of paperwork, you will occasionally need to send a fax.

But what if you don't have a fax machine? You could drive to the nearest copy shop or office supply store (if they're open) and pay them to send your fax. Fortunately, there's a much better way. You can send a free fax right from your computer or smartphone - no fax machine required! (Even if you have a big head, and little arms.)

The first and best option in most cases is to try one of the many free fax servers to be found on the Web. FaxZero is one these free fax services. Just enter your name, email address, and optionally your company or fax number. Add the fax number and name of the intended recipient. Upload a file in PDF, DOC, or DOCX (Word 2007 and higher) format. If you have hardcopy pages that need to be faxed, you'll need to scan them into PDF format first (or take a picture of the document with your phone).

You can type a short message in the form to accompany your fax, or skip the attachment and just send the text. The form allows for basic formatting (bold, italic, underline, justification, and headings). You can fax up to three pages (plus cover page) five times a day for free.

Faxzero and most other free fax services have subscription-based plans for higher volume customers. Faxzero charges $2.09 for priority delivery of faxes up to 25 pages. See my list in Free Internet Faxing for more options. If you're often on the receiving end of faxes, my article Get Your Free Inbound Fax Number will show you how to funnel all that paper into your email inbox instead.

If you use an iPhone or iPad there are apps you can use to send a fax from your mobile device. Look in the Apple's App Store for PC-FAX (offers one free page per day) or on Google Play Store for Android devices.

Desktop Faxing Solutions

Let's start with the Fax and Scan utility built into Windows 7, 8, 10 and 11. To start Fax and Scan, click Start, type WFS, and press Enter. If Fax and Scan is not installed on your system, right-click the Start button, click Settings, Apps, Optional Features, Add a Feature. Click the box next to Windows Fax and Scan, and click Install. All modern versions of Mac OS have fax sending capability built in.

You can send a fax using a standard fax modem, if your computer has one. Just plug your phone line into the telephone jack on the back of your computer, and you should be good to go. Windows Fax and Scan lets you compose a text-only fax on the fly, or you can send any file, such as a Word document, a spreadsheet, a photo, or a scanned page to a remote fax machine. Cover pages are also easy to create with this program. On a Mac, open the document, click File/Print, click the PDF button, then choose "Fax PDF" from the pop-up menu.

Modern Macs and PCs may not have an internal modem, because the age of dial-up Internet is largely over. If your computer lacks a fax modem, you may already own an "all-in-one" printer/fax/scanner that will do the job.

Third-party fax software for Windows is preferred by some users, and some of these programs offer features that Windows Fax and Scan lacks. Electrasoft offers a shareware program that can print incoming faxes, forward them to your email inbox, or use your cellular phone to send a fax. A bit of Googling with reveal that there are plenty of free and low-cost fax programs with different features to suit every taste.

Enterprises which send lots of faxes each month can benefit from an in-house fax server. Such a server is a network-connected computer equipped with special telephony cards into which multiple phone lines can be plugged. Software handles receipt and queuing of digital fax documents from users on the network, and the transmission of faxes through multiple phone lines. A fax server can also store sent faxes, allowing users to quickly find, view, and print copies of what they sent.

Have you ever sent a fax from your computer? Tell us about it, or post your own comment or question below...