Fax Machine Prices: Factors, Features, and Cost Considerations

Fax machines have been used for years to send and receive documents and images through phone lines. Although many people today consider them outdated, businesses still commonly use them as a means of communication.

However, as technology has evolved, traditional fax machines have become less popular due to the high costs and inconveniences associated with their usage. For example, suppose you’re using a traditional fax machine to send information internationally. You might encounter hidden fees and international surcharges that add up quickly due to the long transmission lines. Today, many businesses prefer digital fax services as they offer a more cost-effective and efficient solution for sending and receiving documents.

Still, if you are new to the world of faxing, you might wonder how much fax machines cost and how traditional faxing compares with digital alternatives. 

What’s the Average Cost of a Fax Machine?

The average cost of a fax machine generally ranges between $100 and $500, depending on the model and specifications. At first glance, these machines are inexpensive, considering their functionality. They can serve as telephones, document retrievers, copiers, and printers.

However, when evaluating the price of fax machines, you should also consider the additional costs associated with supplies for traditional fax machines, such as paper, cartridges, toner, and maintenance. Over time, these costs can add up to make these basic machines quite costly. 

3 Factors That Affect the Price of a Fax Machine 

The cost of a fax machine depends on various factors, including its build and quality, model, and service frequency.

1. Build Quality and Material

Fax machines made from higher-quality materials such as solid metal components or durable plastics are likely to command a higher price because their production costs are also higher. Besides, premium materials and superior build quality may contribute to a higher perceived value of the machine, and customers may be willing to pay more. 

2. Model

Premium models often come with advanced capabilities and features, such as higher resolution and larger paper capacity, so they are naturally more expensive. In addition, higher-end fax machines may come with extended warranties or extra accessories, which can add to their overall cost. Before making a purchasing decision, consider the features and accessories offered by different models and weigh them against your budget. 

3. Service Frequency

Another major factor that impacts the cost of a fax machine is how often it needs servicing. Regular servicing — replacing paper and toner, cleaning the machine, and repairing defects — can be expensive over time. Choose a reliable and durable fax machine with low servicing requirements to minimize these costs. 

Alternatively, you can avoid the costs of fax machine servicing altogether by going for online fax services. This is especially critical if fax machine downtime can affect your business. 

Additional Costs Associated With Physical Fax Machine Ownership

Additional costs associated with owning a traditional fax machine include the following:

• High international fax rate: You will have to pay extra fees when sending faxes abroad.
• Landline connection: The fax machine will only transmit documents if it’s connected to a landline. A landline connection can add to the overall cost of a traditional fax machine due to installation and setup costs, monthly services, energy consumption, and other charges.
• They are time-consuming: A fax machine can only send one fax at a time, meaning losing valuable time, especially when sending faxes to multiple recipients. 

Exploring The Different Fax Machine Options

When you’re considering buying a traditional fax machine, you’re probably asking yourself ‘how much does a fax machine cost?’. The price of a fax machine is an important factor to consider. 

First, let’s consider the types of fax machines. 

Basic Fax Machines

These are your regular, dedicated fax machines. They connect to a phone line and can only send or receive faxes. They don’t have any other functions, but they’re extremely affordable and work well for low-volume faxing. They also take less expensive printer toner and paper than a multi-function device takes, making them cheaper to operate. Basic fax machine price ranges start as low as $100. 

Multi-Function Devices

A multi-function device (MFD) combines faxing with printing, scanning, and copying. These are often three to four times the cost of a fax machine, and they require different types of ink cartridges and usually more expensive copy paper. 

An MFD is a much more convenient solution because it allows users to copy, scan, and print documents as well as send or receive faxes. Multi-function pricing used to be around $300 to $400, but these days you can buy an MFD fax machine priced between $150 and $300. 

Top 8 Picks for Affordable Fax Machines

There are still a handful of affordable fax machines available on the market today. The major brands include Canon, Brother, Hewlett Packard (HP), and Epson. Here are the top eight fax machine prices: 

4 Key Factors to Consider When Buying A Fax Machine

Choosing the right fax machine for your needs will depend on a range of factors including fax machine prices. Here are four key things to consider before you buy a fax machine:

Fax Machine Price and Price Per Fax

The price of a fax machine isn’t the only fax cost to consider. There is also the cost of printer paper and toner or ink. Try to account for how many faxes you’re likely to send over the course of your fax’s lifetime, and how much consumables will cost per page. 

Fax Transmission and Printing Speed

Time is money, and nobody wants to sit around waiting for a large fax to print out of a machine. If you send a lot of large faxes, you’ll want a fax machine with a good transmission speed or Baud rate. 

If you receive large faxes often, try to get a fax that prints at more than 20 pages per minute. 

Connectivity 

Wireless internet connectivity makes it easier to use your machine across multiple devices. This is particularly important for MFDs where printing and scanning features are used. Not only that, but wireless fax machines use less cables, and nobody wants a nest of wires intruding on their workspace. 

Size and Portability 

In this modern era of home offices, space is at a premium. A bulky fax machine can eat into that space and make your desk seem cluttered or inefficient. Look for a fax machine that fits your space and budget, and also consider units that are compact enough to stow away when not in use. 

Traditional Faxing vs. Online Faxing Services: How They Compare

Traditional faxing involves sending and receiving faxes using a physical fax machine connected to a phone line. When you feed a document into the fax machine, the scanner converts it into a digital signal and sends it to the intended recipient through the phone line. The receiving fax machine then decodes the signal to recreate the original document before printing it.

Online faxing, on the other hand, involves the digital transfer of communications or documents. These faxes are sent online using computers, smartphones, or other devices. Online faxing eliminates the need for phone lines, toner, and paper, as all fax documents are transformed into digital files and sent online. 

There are several other distinctions between traditional faxing and online faxing services. 

1. Cost

There is a remarkable difference between conventional fax machines and online faxing services in terms of cost. Fax machines need a significant investment in supplies, hardware, and software. On top of that, there are other hidden costs associated with fax machines for repairs or replacements. This makes traditional fax machines much more expensive to use and maintain. Online faxing is more affordable since the entire process is digitized.

2. Convenience and Speed

One major problem with traditional fax machines is slow transmission and communication speeds because they use dial-up connections and require manual operation. 

On the other hand, digital faxing can offer faster transmission speeds to send or receive faxes anywhere across the globe. That’s because you don’t require a dedicated phone line to send or receive documents. All you need is a stable internet connection. Plus, you can receive and send faxes simultaneously without waiting for a dial tone or clogging the system.  

3. Security

Security is an essential factor to consider when picking a fax service. At some point, you may need to fax confidential documents or information, such as financial statements, legal contracts, or personal identification documents. Online fax services offer safer transmission than traditional fax machines. They provide features like verification, password protection, and data encryption, which are not found in ordinary fax machines. 

Why eFax is the Better Alternative To Physical Fax Machines?

In today’s digital world, you don’t require a traditional fax machine to receive and send faxes. With online faxing, you can send outgoing faxes as email attachments and similarly receive them. The time (and money) your team would have spent performing fax machine upgrades or maintenance tasks can be spent on more meaningful, profitable tasks. eFax, the world’s leading online fax service, helps you receive and send faxes anywhere, anytime, on any device. With so many features packed into one service, eFax is the perfect option for anyone searching for a reputable online fax service company. Sign up today and start faxing online.