If you need to send a fax from your Mac, we’ve taken a look at the best fax software for Mac in 2023 including for the latest M1 and M2 chip Macs.
Using fax software is by far the easiest and cheapest way to send and receive faxes from a Mac as there’s no need for fax machines, paper, modems or phone lines.
Although it used to be possible to fax from a Mac using an external modem, the latest versions of Ventura, Monterey, Mojave, Catalina and Big Sur no longer support using modems to fax from macOS.
After hours of research, we found by far the best fax app for Mac is RingCentral which has a free Mac desktop app that makes it easy to send and receive faxes from macOS including both Intel and Apple Silicon M1/M2 Macs.
RingCentral is also one of the few fax services that is HIPAA compliant so it’s the most secure way to fax from macOS and also the best fax solution for healthcare providers or other organizations handling confidential client data.
This means that its suitable for signing HIPAA Business Associate Agreements (BAA).
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Best Fax Software For Mac Compared
| RingCentral | FaxPlus | Wisefax | eFax | Nextiva | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac Desktop App | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ (USA only) | ||
| M1/M2 Desktop App | ✔️ | ||||
| Mobile Apps | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| eSign Documents | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Free Incoming Pages (Basic Plan) | 1400 | 200 | - | 300 | 500 |
| Free Outgoing Pages (Basic Plan) | 1400 | 200 | - | 300 | 500 |
| Fax & Sign Photos | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ||
| Web Support | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
| HIPAA Compliant | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
| Fax via Email | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
| iCloud, Google Drive, OneDrive Support | ✔️ | ✔️ | |||
| Multiple Fax Numbers (Costs Extra) | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
| Users/plan | 30 | 1 | - | 5 | 5 |
| Free Trial | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
| Switch Fax Number | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
| Price/m | $21.99+ (currently $17.99 for a limited period) | $6.99+ | $0.99 per fax or $8.99/m | $15.83+ | $7.95+ |
Free Trial | Free Trial | Visit Site | Free Trial | Free Trial |
Best Fax App For Macs
With this in mind, here is the best fax software for Mac of 2023 in order of ranking.
1. RingCentral
RingCentral is the best fax tool for Macs with an excellent macOS desktop app and the service offers amazing value for money and features compared to most fax services.
One of the things we really like about RingCentral is that unlike all other fax services it has its own slick Mac desktop app which means you don’t need a browser to use it like you do with all the other options we’ve seen.
RingCentral is also the only fax service to provide a fax app that works on both Intel Macs and the latest Apple Silicon M1/M2 Macs.
Simply go to the RingCentral app download page and click on “Download For Mac”:
And then choose either the Intel version or the Apple Silicon version if you’re using an M1 or M2 Mac.
Not only is the only fax service with a Mac app but RingCentral gives you a lot more for your money than most other online faxing systems.
RingCentral gives you 1500 free fax pages monthly which is way more than any other comparable fax service.
Unlike many faxing solutions, RingCentral also allows you to upgrade to phone, video conferencing and faxing too making it an excellent alternative to Skype for Business on Mac.
RingCentral allows you to send and receive faxes from your computer including PDFs, gives you a dedicated fax number and allows you to send and receive faxes from your Mac via e-mail.
RingCentral is also HIPAA compliant so it’s also suitable for medical centers, signing Business Associate Agreements (BAA) and other organizations handling confidential client data.
RingCentral pricing plans are very reasonably priced considering all you get with the basic RingCentral 1500 plan starting at $22.99 per month
Phone support is also included in this should you have any problems with the service so you can speak to someone directly if there are any problems.
You can try RingCentral Fax for free for 30 days.
You can also check our full RingCentral Fax review for more.
Price: $22.99/m+ – 30 Day Free Trial – No Setup Fee
Pros:
- Excellent free Mac desktop app
- Fax app for both Intel and M1/M2 Macs
- Best value for money fax service
- Most secure faxing with HIPAA compliance
- Supports faxing from email and PDFs
- Easy to use mobile apps for faxing on the move
Cons:
- No free version for occasional faxing
2. FaxPlus
FaxPlus is a simple, secure and reliable fax service which offers you the choice of a free fax number or the ability to transfer your fax number from an existing provider.
It’s also one of the most private solutions around as it’s based in Switzerland and complies with strict Swiss security laws on privacy.
There’s a very basic free version that allows you to send 10 faxes for free but you have to upgrade to a paid plan in order to receive faxes and get a dedicated fax number.
Although there’s no FaxPlus Mac app, you can use the simple web interface in any browser on a Mac.
There’s also an app for iOS and Android which allows you to scan documents, add signatures and browse the archive.
There are Enterprise plans for those that need to send bulk volumes of faxes and you can also digitally sign faxes. You also receive a confirmation email when your fax has been sent successfully.
FaxPlus allows you to buy fax numbers from 46 different countries and send faxes to 150 countries worldwide.
Pricing plans are flexible starting at $6.99 per month for 200 pages sent or received per month going up to $79.99 for Enterprise plans.
Price: Plans starting from $6.99/month.
Pros:
- Simple fax service
- Benefits from Swiss security laws on privacy
- Flexible pricing plans
Cons:
- No Mac desktop app
- No M1/M2 Mac app
- No email faxing
- Not many fax customization tools
- No HIPPA compliance for secure sending
3. WiseFax
WiseFax enables you to send (but not receive) faxes from a Mac without a subscription.
WiseFax has a basic fax app for Macs although it does not work natively on M1 or M2 Macs without using Rosetta.
WiseFax allows you to upload your fax document in a wide variety of formats including Apple Pages, Microsoft Office, Keynote, JPEG, PNG and BMP format.
You can also take a picture of a document and upload it to WiseFax for sending.
You can send to 240 countries with WiseFax and you receive a confirmation PDF that your fax has been sent via email.
WiseFax offers both pay-as-you go faxing or a fax subscription plan. It costs $1 for one fax token which you can pay for via PayPal or credit card. Alternatively, you can pay $8.00 per month for your own fax number.
We found that you sometimes have to wait a long time with Wisefax for confirmation that a fax has been sent and so if you’re in a hurry and need to send something important, you may find Wisefax a bit frustrating.
It also works out pretty expensive at $1 per fax and even if you subscribe, you only get 10 sent faxes per month included.
You can check out our full WiseFax review for more.
Pricing: $1 per fax or $8.00/m
Pros:
- Supports uploading of documents in various formats
- Mac app
- Supports pay-as-you go faxing
- Simple and easy to use
Cons:
- Pay-as-you go doesn’t support receiving faxes
- No M1/M2 Mac app
- Fax sent confirmations are slow
- Expensive per fax costs
- Some destinations cost more than one fax token
4. eFax
eFax is an easy to use email fax sending service although you get less for your money than its closest rival RingCentral.
Most notably, the basic eFax plan is limited to just 300 COMBINED free sent or received pages per month compared to RingCentral’s 1400 free pages per month.
That means you only get 150 incoming and 150 outgoing faxes compared to the same comparable RingCentral subscription – anything beyond that you have to pay $0.10 per fax.
eFax is however very complete and provides many services such as e-signing of photos and documents and a generous file attachment limit of 3GB.
You can use a regular email account to send faxes with eFax although you can of course send faxes via the eFax web interface too.
Alternatively, you can log into your eFax account online and send them via the eFax web interface.
eFax also offers mobile fax apps for iPhone, iPad and Android.
The eFax mobile apps are the only ones to support swipe-signing of faxes which is useful for official documents that require a signature.
eFax now has two monthly subscription plans – eFax Plus for $15.83 per month and eFax Pro for $20.83 per month.
The only difference between these two plans is that you get 150 sent and received faxes per month with eFax Plus compared to 200 with eFax Plus. Overage rates for pages beyond this are $0.10 cents per page.
eFax also offers Enterprise plans for unlimited faxing on request.
eFax offers less for your money than RingCentral although the ability to add electronic signatures for important documents, take and sign photos and a generous file upload limit are a plus.
You can try eFax free for 14 days and cancel at anytime if you’re not satisfied.
You can also check out our full eFax review for more.
Price: $15.83-$20.83/m – 14 Day Free Trial
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Lots of fax customization tools
- Mobile apps
Cons:
- Expensive compared to other fax services
- No Mac App
- No M1/M2 Mac app
- Requires calling to cancel subscriptions
5. Nextiva vFax
Like RingCentral, nowadays Nextiva is an all-in-one office communication solution with VoIP phone, Service CRM and even an email marketing software.
However, you can just choose to subscribe to Nextiva vFax.
Like the other fax platforms, Nextiva allows you to send and receive faxes via email or your mobile device.
There is a Nextiva Mac desktop client which is on the Mac App Store but note that it cannot be downloaded or used outside of the USA. It also does not work on M1/M2 Macs without using Rosetta.
However, you can use the web interface both inside and outside of the USA and the web interface is very clean with a simple dashboard which helps you manage sent and received faxes.
You can upload documents in most major formats such as PDF, DOC, PNG, JPG etc. However, Nextiva has the smallest file upload limit of our top picks though allowing just 5MB and a maximum of 10 attachments at one time.
You can also choose to send a copy of the fax to an email address if you want to have confirmation of it.
Nextiva vFax is also one of the only fax services that allows you to connect your physical fax machine to your Mac although this requires a special Nextiva fax adapter.
There’s a Nextiva iOS and Android mobile app but note that Nextiva does not support faxing internationally.
Nextiva does however support setting-up of toll-free fax numbers at no extra cost to users.
For small businesses, the Essential $7.95/user per month package supports 500 sent and received pages per month which is arguably the most competitive deal on the market.
For medium sized businesses the Pro Plan costs $13.95 per month which allows up to 1000 pages per month.
For bigger businesses that require HIPAA compliance, there are Enterprise plans on request.
You can try a free trial of Nextiva for 30 days.
You can also check out our full Nextiva vFax review for more
Price: $7.95/m+ – 30 Day Free Trial – No Setup Fee
Pros:
- Easy to use interface
- Competitive pricing
Cons:
- No toll free numbers
- Mac app does not work outside of the USA
- Mac app not native M1/M2 Macs compatible
- No international faxing
- Can be slow to send faxes
Faxing From a Mac With a Modem or Multifunction Printer
Using the fax software we’ve reviewed here is definitely the best way to send and receive faxes from a Mac in 2023 and the only way to fax from Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur or Monterey.
However, there are a few other ways to fax from older versions of macOS.
These options only work on El Capitan or lower because Apple has now removed support for all types of modems in the latest versions of macOS.
They also require a landline phone connection point and unless you’re willing to go the hassle of installing an older version of macOS on your Mac, it’s really not worth it anymore.
Here’s a few ways to fax from older versions of macOS:
- Connect a multi-function printer to your Mac with fax capabilities. This only works on macOS El Capitan or lower as Apple has removed support for all-in-one printer faxing from Macs and it requires a phone line.
- Use an external modem via Windows installed on your Mac. This requires you to install Windows on your Mac and you need a landline.
- Use an external modem by installing El Capitan or earlier versions of OS X. This is very complicated as it’s very difficult to install such old versions of OS X on a Mac nowadays and it still requires a landline.
You can learn more about all the ways to fax from a Mac here.
How To Fax From a Mac For Free
All of the fax tools featured here offer a free trial which allow you to fax for free while you try their services.
Although there are some web based services that allow you to fax for free from a Mac, we also don’t recommend them either as they insert watermarks, ads, impose page limits and worst of all, are extremely unreliable.
Note that generally we do not advise using fax apps from the Mac App Store as they are only able to send faxes – they don’t allow you to receive them.
Many of them claim to send faxes for free but they are unreliable at confirming whether a fax has been sent or not which can cause more stress than it’s worth, especially if the fax is important.
I’m not sure why you’re selling RingCentral as the only app providing a “Mac Desktop App.” There is no app for Mac Desktop – followed your link – nothing on the site I could find. It’s not in the Mac App Store for Mac OS.
The RingCentral Mac app is not in the Mac app store but you can download it from RingCentral here.
FaxDocument does show you how much credit you have, if you click on the $ icon. You can also send from the website instead of the app, and your credits show on the send fax page. I have been using it for a few years, and I like the option of not having to buy a subscription. It is also good value, because the price is per fax, rather than per page. It is quite fast and the most reliable one I’ve used for sending large faxes internationally. There doesn’t seem to be any limit to the size of the files you can send. I don’t send faxes very often, and it will take me several more years to use my quota. Fortunately, it never expires.
HIPAA, not HIPPA.
I have a multifunction machine and after the Maverick update all fax functionality has been removed from my OS. I was able to manually add it but after the update prior to Sierra it was again removed, and there is no way to add those options and features.
My multifunction has the capabilities, however Apple has removed the features that are available with my device. I have tried everything and there is no way to add the missing components to the print dialog box, or even to add the printer as a fax. The device has the capacity and capabilities, however Apple has removed certain components that enables it to work.
I am annoyed and frustrated because I can’t do things that I was able to do before OS updates. I don’t want to print anything to fax, that is not environmental friendly. I already have a printer, and I don’t want to purchase another. My printer is a Canon Pixma MX479, and I have tried to download the fax drivers, the OS won’t allow anything that is not on the current list to be downloaded. Can’t even force the download now.
update drivers
https://www.usa.canon.com/support/p/pixma-mx479
I would recommend Snapfax. It is a pay-as-you-go service. It covers 50+ countries. Simply download it from Mac App Store. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/snapfax-send-fax/id1159281090?ls=1&mt=12
Hello. Very interesting but It seems you should update what concerns the use of the Robotics 5637.
I used it on my Mac w/o any problem till El Capitan. But since I installed Sierra (and even its last update 10.12.1) and as written by Apple himself (assistance) “Sierra Fax Modem is no more recognized” plus, as conclusion :
“You can no longer fax directly from a Mac running macOS Sierra. Fax modems are no longer supported. End of story. Deal with it or downgrade back to a previous version of OS X that does. It’s not coming back. There is no solution. Good luck”
As I read above, other solutions do exist, but they are “heavy” if one fax few faxes.
I regret and don’t understand this decision of Apple : the Robotics modem is very small and using it was very easy, similar to printing.
Reading that a fax can be replaced by an email is not correct : in many cases, a printed document (at least a fax) is asked by administrations, lawers etc
I don’t know if 4-in-1 printer (print+copy+scan+fax) could do the work, but anyway they can be compared to the small Robotics modem (volume, transport for example)
I contacted Apple Care : this problem is not known and the reply was “Apologies, we’ll check, perhaps an another update?”
Any idea ?
Regards
Georges (Belgium)
Hi, Thanks for sharing your experience and highlighting this issue. Even though you can no longer use USB Fax modems with macosSierra (unless Apple decides to add it again via an update to OS X 10.12), you can still use the modem in a printer-copier-scanner-fax machine to send faxes from Sierra. Apple publishes a list of officially supported Printer-Scanner machines for Sierra and also indicates which ones can fax to. Alternatively, if you only send the occasional fax, you can use one of the pay-as-you-go fax apps featured in the article rather than sign-up for an online faxing service.
can you please recommend an application that i can use with my Zoom 56k modem, as i need to send broadcast faxes to 250 customers every other other weekend.
i was using FaxSTF pro software since 2009 , but since i upgraded to Yosemite the FaxSTF software is not compatible.
David in Florida
Hi David, Are you sure it doesn’t work with the latest version of Yosemite 10.10.1? If you update Yosemite, you might find it works. There’s an Amazon discussion here that suggests one user at least has had success with it.
Nice article.
Thanks Jeffrey – hope it helped you fax from your Mac!
under printer selected as fax from the menu bar “jobs” shows a list of completed jobs….still it odes not report the date and hr of the fax sent….:o
Try clicking, right clicking or double clicking on the jobs and selecting “properties”. If the option is not available, then I’m afraid there’s no way to know the actual time and date the faxes were sent.
hey help, I’m stuck! I can’t fax nor find a fax list of faxed items…..I need to fax a doc..I hope u can help again:)
Hi and thx for all your listing. I have done the modem procedure since I have a router modem plugged into my macbook and so have hopefully sent my fax through my printer though it was necessary to set a new one in the print dialog box and into print & fax pref as well. Now the only thing It went in an eyeblink and I haveno proof of it being sent. How do I get a fax receipt now?
Thanks again, if you can be asap…
HAve a nice eveningPaula
Paula, No problem and glad it helped. Can you confirm which version of OS X you are using? You may be able to find a list of faxes sent from your Mac under in your Print & Scan preferences. Make sure your modem is plugged in and search Spotlight for “Print” and your preferences should appear.
Hey thx for ur quick reply! I hv snow leop 10.6.8 and ifax works from . 7 on, thats why I went for the modem sol.
I was able to solve my issue at the source though, so I will check in pref for traces of my fax tom. Thank you very much for now I ll keep you updated!
🙂
Great. Glad you’ve been able to send faxes from your Mac!
Incomplete. The author hasn’t looked much around or he is new to Mac, because one of the oldest and most powerful options is 4SightFax. I have been using it for many years and the developers keep updating it over and they give great support, though it is not meant for the casual fax user.
You also have Coma X, another fax app for OS X that keeps updating over the years. Interface is not pretty but it is powerful, convenient and relatively cheap compared to 4SightFax.
Thanks for the tip Victor. We’ve added it to the list – Coma X has quite a basic interface as you say and doesn’t work with all modems but has some interesting features.
We didn’t include 4-Sight Fax because at $797.00 it’s not exactly a solution aimed at general users. However, we’ve now given it a mention for interested business users.
A good comprehensive summary of what’s available out there when you feel a need for a fax. Although email does exist for sending documents, having some kind of a fax system helps to make your business seem bigger than it probably is, so it is worth it.
Enjoy!
Agreed – and thanks. Glad it helped you learn about faxing from a Mac.