Can you send a fax by email? How email to fax works
Yes, you can send a fax by email - but not with your email app alone. A fax travels over a phone line, so the email has to go to an online fax service that has an "email to fax" feature. The service turns your attachment into a fax and dials the number for you.
Full disclosure: I make HonestFax, an iPhone fax app. HonestFax does not send faxes by email or deliver faxes to your inbox - I explain below what it does instead, so you can pick what fits.
Checked on October 21, 2026 against the Fax.Plus help center article "How can I send faxes from my email?" (updated June 24, 2026). Other services work in a similar way, but their address format and rules differ - check your provider's own help page.
How email to fax works
You write an email to a special address made of the fax number plus the service's domain, attach the document, and send. With Fax.Plus, for example, the address looks like +16692001010@fax.plus: a plus sign, the country code, the area code and the number, then @fax.plus.
What their help page lists as requirements:
- A paid plan. Email to fax is not part of their free plan.
- The email address on your account. You send from the same address you signed up with - that is how the service knows who is paying.
- The attachment is the fax. PDF, Word, Excel, PNG, JPG, RTF and TIFF files are accepted. If you switch on the setting for it, the email body becomes the cover page; otherwise only the attachments are faxed.
So email to fax makes the most sense if you already pay for an online fax service and you work at a computer all day. The other ways to send from a desk are in how to fax from a computer.
What "fax to email" means
It's the opposite direction: a service gives you a fax number, and faxes sent to it arrive in your inbox as PDF attachments. Some online fax services include this with a plan that has a fax number. If that's what you need, check the provider's help pages for how incoming faxes are delivered and what the number costs per month.
Faxing an email attachment from your iPhone
If the document is sitting in your email and you just need to send it, you don't need an email-to-fax account. You can fax the attachment from your phone in about two minutes:
- Save the attachment to Files. Open the email, tap the attachment, tap the share button, then Save to Files.
- Add it to a fax. In HonestFax, on New Fax, tap Add image or document, then Choose a file, and pick the document. You can add several files and they go out as one fax.
- Enter the fax number and choose the country.
- Check the price and send. The price shows before you send, and you see when the receiving machine confirms delivery.
The full walkthrough, including combining several PDFs and fixing the page order, is in how to fax a PDF from your iPhone. If you're starting from paper instead, see how to send a fax from your iPhone.
Email to fax or a phone app?
| Email to fax service | iPhone fax app (HonestFax) | |
|---|---|---|
| What you need | An account, usually a paid plan | The app; your first page is on us |
| Where it works best | At a computer | On your phone, with paper or files |
| Price before sending | Per your plan | Shown on the screen before you send |
| Delivery confirmation | By email, per the provider | In the app, when the receiving machine confirms |
| Receiving faxes | To your inbox, if your plan has a number | In the app's Inbox, with a 7-Day Pass or Pro |
What each option really costs is compared in how much does it cost to send a fax.
If you need to receive a fax
With HonestFax, a received fax arrives in the app's Inbox as a PDF, with a notification - not in your email. If you only need a number for one fax, the 7-Day Pass gives you a US or Canadian fax number for a week and never renews. How it works: how to receive a fax on iPhone.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send a fax from Gmail?
Only through an online fax service that offers email to fax. Gmail sends the email to the service, and the service sends the fax. Gmail itself can't dial a fax number.
Can I just email the fax number?
No. A fax number is a phone line, not an email address. The email has to go to your fax service's address for that number, in the format the service tells you.
Does HonestFax send my faxes to my email?
No. Sent faxes show in the app's Sent list with their delivery status, and received faxes arrive in the app's Inbox.
Is a fax sent by email still a real fax?
Yes. Whatever starts it - an email, a website or an app - the recipient gets an ordinary fax on their machine or fax line.