The fastest way to get a business fax number is through an online fax service, which gives you a working number in minutes for as little as a few dollars a month. You can also set up a traditional dedicated fax line through your phone company, though that takes longer and costs more. The right choice depends on how often you fax, whether you need to receive faxes, and whether your industry has specific security requirements.
Online Fax Services
An online fax service assigns you a local or toll-free fax number that works entirely through the internet. Incoming faxes arrive as PDF attachments in your email or in the provider’s app, and you send faxes by uploading a document from your computer or phone. There’s no machine to buy, no extra phone line, and no paper to load.
Setup is straightforward. You pick a provider, choose a plan, select your number (usually from a list of available local area codes or toll-free options), and you’re ready to send and receive. Most providers have you up and running within five to ten minutes.
Pricing varies by how many pages you send and receive each month. Dropbox Fax, for example, gives you five free outbound pages when you sign up, then charges 99 cents for up to 10 pages and 20 cents per additional page after that. To receive faxes, though, you need a paid plan. That’s standard across the industry: free tiers let you send a limited number of pages, but getting your own fax number to receive documents requires a subscription. Monthly plans at most providers start in the $10 to $15 range for light usage and scale up for higher volumes.
When comparing services, pay attention to the monthly page allotment, the per-page overage cost, whether the plan includes a local number or only a toll-free number, and how faxes are delivered (email, app, cloud storage, or all three). If multiple people in your office need access, check whether the plan supports shared inboxes or additional users.
Free Options and Their Limits
A handful of services let you send faxes for free, but none provide a free number for receiving them. FaxZero allows up to five faxes per day, each limited to three pages plus a cover letter and a total file size of 25MB per day. You cannot receive faxes through FaxZero at all. Fax.Plus gives you 10 free outbound pages when you sign up, and Dropbox Fax offers five free pages with the option to earn 15 more by completing basic account tasks like syncing contacts.
These free tiers work if you only need to send an occasional document, like a signed contract or a government form. They won’t work as a permanent business fax number because you can’t receive anything on them. For that, you’ll need a paid plan.
Setting Up a Dedicated Fax Line
If you prefer a physical fax machine, you’ll need a dedicated phone line. This means contacting your local phone company and ordering a second analog (copper) line for your business, then connecting a fax machine to it. The fax machine itself typically costs $100 to $300 for a basic business model, and the monthly line charge varies by provider and location.
One important detail: standard VoIP phone service often doesn’t work reliably with fax machines. Verizon, for instance, explicitly states it cannot guarantee a fax machine will function on its VoIP-based Business Digital Voice service and recommends purchasing an additional copper telephone line for fax use. If your office phone system runs over the internet (which most modern systems do), you may need a separate analog line specifically for faxing. Ask your provider whether they still offer copper or analog lines in your area, since availability has been shrinking as carriers move to digital infrastructure.
A dedicated line makes sense if you send or receive a high volume of faxes daily, need a physical paper trail, or work in an environment where a fax machine is already part of the workflow. For most small businesses, though, an online service is cheaper and simpler.
Porting an Existing Fax Number
If your business already has a fax number tied to an old landline or a different provider, you can transfer (port) it to a new online fax service so your contacts don’t need to update their records. The process typically works like this:
- Submit a porting request through your new provider’s website or support team.
- Provide documentation, including a signed Letter of Authorization and the most recent invoice from your current fax provider. The LOA confirms you’re the account holder and gives the new provider permission to take over the number.
- Receive a temporary number so you can send and receive faxes while the port is in progress. Some providers require you to be on a higher-tier plan to initiate porting.
- Wait for completion. Porting usually takes one to four weeks depending on the carriers involved. You’ll get notifications as the process moves forward.
Once the port finishes, your existing number is fully active on the new service and the temporary number is removed. If you want to keep both, some providers let you do that on a higher plan. Don’t cancel your old service until the port is confirmed complete, or you could lose the number.
Choosing a Number Type
Most online fax providers let you pick between a local number with your area code or a toll-free number (800, 888, etc.). A local number can make your business feel more established in a specific market, while a toll-free number projects a national presence. Functionally, both work the same way. Some providers charge slightly more for toll-free numbers, so check the pricing before you choose.
If your business operates in multiple regions and you want fax numbers with different area codes, many providers offer additional numbers for a small monthly add-on fee. This can be useful if you want separate fax lines for different departments or locations without maintaining separate accounts.
HIPAA and Security Considerations
If your business handles medical records, patient information, or other protected health information (PHI), you need a fax service that supports HIPAA compliance. HIPAA is the federal law that governs how health data is stored and transmitted, and it applies to healthcare providers, insurers, and any vendor that touches patient data on their behalf.
Not every plan from a given provider qualifies. With eFax, for example, you need a Corporate Secure account specifically designed for HIPAA use. You also need to sign a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) with the provider, which is a legal contract spelling out how they’ll protect the data, what they’re allowed to do with it, and what happens if there’s a breach. Without a valid BAA in place, sending PHI through a fax service is itself a HIPAA violation, regardless of whether the service has encryption or other security features.
Providers like Documo market HIPAA-compliant plans at various price points. When evaluating options, confirm the provider offers a BAA, encrypts faxes in transit and at rest, and stores data on servers that meet HIPAA’s physical security requirements. If your business doesn’t deal with health data, standard encryption (which most reputable providers include) is sufficient for typical business documents like contracts, invoices, and signed forms.
What You’ll Need to Get Started
For an online fax service, all you need is an email address, a payment method, and a few minutes. Most services work through a web browser and a mobile app, so there’s no software to install on your computer unless you want desktop integration.
For a physical fax line, you’ll need to coordinate with your phone company on line installation (which may require a technician visit), purchase a fax machine, and have a dedicated phone jack. Budget a week or two for the line to be activated.
Either way, once your number is live, share it on your business cards, website, and any forms where contacts might need to fax you documents. Test it by sending yourself a fax from another number or a free service before relying on it for anything important.