Buyer's Guide · By Povilas Konopackas, founder · Updated May 2026

The Cheapest Way to Send One Fax in 2026

You need to send one fax. Just one. Your doctor requires it, the court requires it, or some government office still has not heard of email. You are not going to sign up for a monthly fax subscription. You just need the cheapest way to get this one document through a fax machine and be done with it.

This guide compares 6 real options with real prices, verified in April 2026. We run one of these services (Shotfax), so we have an obvious bias. We will be upfront about it. Where a competitor is cheaper, we will say so.

1. The big comparison table

All prices are for sending a domestic (US) fax. International pricing varies.

Prices verified 20 April 2026 from each provider's public pricing page or in-store signage. Retail store prices vary by location. Competitor pricing may change — check each provider's current pricing page. FaxZero free tier limited to 3 pages of content plus a cover page with ads. eFax price is the Plus plan monthly rate ($18.99/month, 170 outbound pages).

2. The six options, explained

2a. FaxZero: free (with ads)

FaxZero is the cheapest option for a single domestic fax. It is free. You upload your document (PDF or DOC), enter the fax number, and it sends. The catch: FaxZero adds a cover page with advertisements. Your recipient sees the ad page before your document.

Best for: Casual faxes where professionalism does not matter. If you are faxing a form to a processing center that handles thousands of faxes daily, nobody there cares about the cover page.

Limitations: 5 free faxes per day. Maximum 3 pages of content (plus the ad cover page). US and Canadian numbers only. No delivery receipt document. No photo uploads.

Paid tier ($3.29): Removes the ads, allows up to 25 content pages. Still US/Canada only. This is $0.30 more than Shotfax and limited to domestic numbers, so Shotfax comes out ahead for international, for convenience (no PDF required, we convert photos), and if you want the lower base price.

2b. Staples: $1.50/page

Staples offers fax service at their print and copy centers. The typical rate is $1.50 per page for local/domestic faxes. International is more.

Best for: Sending a single page when you are already at Staples. One page for $1.50 is genuinely cheaper than any online option except FaxZero free.

Limitations: You have to physically go there. Staples locations are not everywhere. Multi-page faxes get expensive fast: 5 pages is $7.50. Hours are limited (you cannot fax at 10 PM from your couch).

The math: For 1 page, Staples wins ($1.50 vs $2.99 online). For 2 pages, Staples is $3.00 vs Shotfax $2.99. At 3+ pages, online services are cheaper, and you did not have to drive.

2c. FedEx Office: $1.59-$2.99/page

FedEx Office (formerly FedEx Kinko's) has fax machines at most locations. Domestic faxes run $1.59 to $2.99 per page, depending on the location. International faxes are $3.99 to $5.99 per page.

Best for: Similar to Staples. If you are already at FedEx Office for a print job, adding a single-page fax is cheap and convenient.

Limitations: Same as any retail option. You drive there, wait in line, stand at the machine. Multi-page faxes are expensive. A 5-page international fax at FedEx can run $20 to $30.

2d. UPS Store: $1.99-$3.00/page

The UPS Store charges $1.99 to $3.00 per page for domestic faxes. International rates are higher. Prices vary by franchise location because each UPS Store is independently owned.

Best for: Already at UPS for a package, need to send a single-page fax while you are there.

Limitations: The most expensive retail option per page. A 5-page fax at $2.50/page (midrange) is $12.50. That is four Shotfax sends. And you have to be there in person.

2e. Shotfax: $2.99 for up to 20 pages

This is us. We charge $2.99 flat for documents up to 20 pages. No subscription, no account, no ads, no cover page. Upload a PDF or take a photo with your phone, enter the number, pay once. Fax lands in about a minute via Telnyx. File deleted after delivery.

Best for: People who need to send one professional fax from their phone or computer without creating an account, without driving to a store, and without signing up for a subscription.

Limitations: Not the cheapest for a single page (FaxZero free is $0, Staples is $1.50). Not the cheapest for heavy usage (subscription services win at 6+ faxes/month). Send-only, no incoming fax number.

Disclosure: We run Shotfax. We put ourselves in this guide because the comparison is not useful without us, but we will not pretend we are the cheapest in every scenario. We are the best value for multi-page, one-off, ad-free faxes sent from your phone. For other use cases, read on.

2f. eFax: $18.99/month

eFax is the 800-pound gorilla of online fax. It has been around since 1997, has millions of users, and is a household name. Its cheapest plan that includes sending is the Plus plan at $18.99/month with 170 outbound pages included.

Best for: People who fax regularly (7+ times per month) and need both sending and receiving. eFax gives you a dedicated fax number, an online dashboard, fax history, and team features.

Limitations: It is a monthly subscription. If you send one fax and forget to cancel, you are paying $18.99/month for nothing. Per eFax's own published cancellation process, cancellation is handled by phone, not online. For a single fax, eFax is the most expensive option on this list by a wide margin.

3. Cost by page count

The cheapest option changes depending on how many pages you are sending. Here is how the math works.

FaxZero free limited to 3 pages of content + cover. FaxZero paid allows up to 25 pages + optional cover. Retail store prices are midrange estimates. Shotfax pricing: $2.99 flat for any document up to 20 pages. Documents over 20 pages are not supported.

4. The real cost of retail stores

People often search "fax near me" thinking the UPS Store or FedEx will be the cheapest option. For a single page, it can be. But most faxes are not a single page.

A typical medical records request is 3 to 5 pages. A signed lease is 5 to 15 pages. A court filing can be 10 to 50 pages. At per-page retail pricing, these add up fast.

UPS Store range based on $1.99-$3.00/page depending on franchise location. Shotfax: $2.99 flat for documents up to 20 pages.

There is also the time cost. Driving to a store, finding parking, waiting in line, standing at the fax machine, driving home. That is 30 to 60 minutes you are not getting back. If your time is worth anything, the $2.99 online option pays for itself the moment you skip the drive.

5. International faxes: a different calculation

If you need to send a fax to a number outside the US and Canada, your options shrink considerably.

• FaxZero: Does not support international faxes on the free tier.
• Retail stores: Charge $3.99 to $5.99 per page for international. A 5-page international fax at FedEx is $20 to $30.
• eFax: Supports international but charges additional per-page fees on top of the $18.99/month subscription.
• Shotfax: Same $2.99 base price to any of 90+ countries via Telnyx. A 5-page international fax costs the same as a domestic one.

For international faxes, Shotfax is the cheapest option by a wide margin unless you are already paying for an eFax subscription with included international pages.

6. What about free alternatives?

There are other "free fax" services besides FaxZero. Most of them follow the same model: free with ads, limitations, or both. Some require account creation. Some have smaller page limits. Some have longer delivery times.

The honest truth: if you just need to fax one page to a US number and you do not care about ads, FaxZero free works. It has been around for years and it does what it says. We are not going to tell you otherwise.

The question is whether the ads, the page limit, and the US-only restriction are acceptable for your specific fax. If you are sending a medical records request to your doctor, a signed contract to a landlord, or a filing to a court, the answer for most people is no. That is why paid options exist.

7. Bottom line

8. Frequently asked questions