MetroFax

Pricing

MetroFax is somewhat different from other online fax services in that it only publishes the price for its Personal and Small Business plan. If you are interested in a corporate package, MetroFax asks you to fill out a quick form on their website and wait for one of their representatives to contact you with a price quote. MetroFax service also includes an activation charge of $12.95, which is not common among the major online fax providers. If you keep your plan for a year, the setup charge adds up to an additional $1.08 per month over the course of that year.

Personal and Small Business Plan

Ease of Use

When compared to some of the other online fax providers, MetroFax has a simple-to-understand user interface with big readable buttons and easily-accessible information. They prominently display the number of pages you’ve used per month and the pages you have remaining. They also offer a “Quick Fax” option at the bottom of their dashboard. For a customer who wants to login quickly and send a fax without using any of the other features, this option can be a real time-saver. Of course, you also have the ability to access additional options simply by clicking on the “advanced” link.

MetroFax's user interface

To see how to send a fax with MetroFax, click the video below.

Customer Support

We sent MetroFax emails twice during normal working hours. Both times, we received a response within 5 minutes. When we sent an email during off-peak hours, we received a response early in the morning. It seems that they get through their email cue quite quickly and efficiently. The answers to our questions were helpful and solved the issues that we raised.

When we called phone support, we got through to a live representative in an average of 1 minute 42 seconds.

We called and emailed MetroFax 3 times to gauge their responsiveness and the accuracy of those responses. Note the results in the table below.

Phone Support

Email Support

Fax Transmission Speed

We sent five faxes using MetroFax’s online service at random times of the day to find out how long it would take for each fax to reach its destination. We found that MetroFax’s faxes were transmitted in an average of 2 minutes and 12 seconds. The average fax time for all of the providers we tested was 2 minutes and 36 seconds, or 14% slower than MetroFax.

Transferring Existing Fax Numbers

MetroFax suggests in the FAQ section of their site that you call them for information on transferring your existing number to their online service. Once you do, they’ll email you with a Letter of Authorization to fill out. You’ll also need to send them your most recent invoice from your current provider to verify your account. The Letter of Authorization asks for the current number you’re using, your name and company name, your address, contact phone number or email, your signature, your title and the date.

With MetroFax, transferring your number will cost you a 1-time fee of $49.95.

Summary

Positive Features

• MetroFax has an online demo that is able to demonstrate – in seconds –exactly how to send or receive faxes via email.
• MetroFax’s overage charges 3¢ per page for overage charges, which is as low as any service we reviewed.
• MetroFax’s online interface is clearly designed with large buttons and easy to find information.
• With an average of 2 hours and 41 minutes, MetroFax’s email support was among the fastest we tested.

Negative Features

• MetroFax does not activate your account immediately after purchase. They send an email notifying you that you’re account will be made active within four hours.
• MetroFax only publishes one package and price. It does offer quotes if you're interested in a corporate package but you'll have to fill out a form or call them for the price.
• MetroFax charges a $12.95 activation fee. Most other providers do not have similar charges.
• You cannot schedule faxes to be sent at a specific time with MetroFax.