How To Fax At Staples and Use Staples’ In-Store Fax Service – Updated for 2025

Traditional fax machines have slowly disappeared from our homes, with people generally seeing them as too bulky and expensive to keep. But Staples’ fax service has helped make sure that anyone can visit a Staples and use one of their fax machines, if they ever need to.

Many people are surprised to learn that you can fax at Staples. Staples is well-known as an office supply store, but most Staples stores (they have over 1,000 in the USA and 200 in Canada) also have self service fax machines available to customers, who have probably walked past them 10 times without even realising.

Please refer to our Fax Near Me page if you are considering other stores and locations like libraries, UPS and Fedex, we’ve got them covered as well.

This is a guide for how you can use your local Staples as a reliable, secure and convenient option to meet all your faxing needs – we will cover everything you need to know:

• How to send and receive faxes at Staples.
• Staples’ fax cost.
• The pros and cons of choosing to fax at Staples.
• An alternative way of faxing that you may find more convenient – online fax services.

How To Fax At Staples

The first thing you’ll need to do is to find the nearest store to you – you can use Staples’ store locator tool to find your local store and check the opening hours.

Once you’ve located the Staples store closest to you, follow these steps for a stress-free experience of faxing at Staples! This is your full guide, from before you go, to after you’ve sent your fax.

1. Before you go – prepare your fax documents. You should gather all of the documents you want to send as a fax – you can do this with paper documents or in digital format, such as SD cards or a portable USB drive, because the Staples fax machines can read digital format too.
   We recommend using a standard file format such as PDF for digital files – there is a risk that the fax machines will not be able to read other formats. If you want to send paper documents but don’t have a printer, Staples also offers printing services you can use.
2. Before you go – check your recipient’s fax number. Make sure you write down the full fax number of your recipient, and check whether it will be a local, long-distance or international fax. This will make a big difference in the price of Staples’ fax service.
   Here’s how to tell the difference: local faxes are faxes sent to the same area code as the fax machine. Long-distance faxes will have a different area code but will be in the same country, and you will need to dial ‘1’ before the fax number in the US and Canada. International faxes are sent outside of the country, and you will need to dial the country code before the fax number. This website can help you find your area and country code!
3. Before you go – check the price! You don’t want a nasty surprise at the cash register, so read below to see how much it costs to fax at Staples, depending on what type of fax and how many fax pages you are sending.
4. At the store – find the fax machines. The fax machines will usually be at the service desk in the business or postal area. They will usually be self service fax machines, and they are quite easy to understand, with clear instructions included – hit the fax button on the menu to get started. However, there are store associates who can help you if you need assistance – this is one of the big benefits when you fax at Staples.
5. At the store – prepare your fax. You can load your paper into the fax machine’s tray, or insert your USB drive to load your documents digitally. You can also prepare a cover sheet – these can be provided by a store employee, or you can bring your own – you will usually not be charged for a cover sheet. Then, most importantly, check the recipient’s fax number after you enter it. Remember that the employees at all Staples locations are trained to help you send faxes!
6. At the store – send your fax and confirm. Once your fax documents are ready and the number is entered correctly, just hit send. Remember to get your fax confirmation page – this is crucial to provide proof that you have sent the fax. The self serve machines should print it automatically once the fax has sent, but as always, you can ask a store associate for help if this doesn’t happen.
7. Want to receive faxes? Most Staples locations will also receive faxes on your behalf. You should use the store locator tool to check the store’s fax number first. Once confirmed, you can contact the store and ask them to receive faxes and hold them for you – the fees may differ on this, but will be similar per page to sending a fax at Staples.

How Much Does It Cost To Fax At Staples?

Unfortunately, there is no single price across the entire country to use the Staples fax service. This is because different states and countries charge different phone line and business rates, and taxes can be different too. However, we’ve checked a number of stores to estimate an average price of how much it will cost to send faxes at Staples. You are about to spend $2 to $2.5 per page to send a fax at Staples.

The table below shows the Staples cost compared to other similar stores that offer faxing services, and compared to using an online faxing service like the FAX App.

Type of Fax		FedEx	UPS	Staples	FAX From iPhone
Local Faxing	First Page	$2	$2	$2	Unlimited
	Extra Pages	$1.50	$1.50	$2.20	Unlimited
	A 10-page fax	$15.50	$15.50	$21.80	$9.99*
National Faxing	First Page	$2.50	$2	$2	Unlimited
	Extra Pages	$2	$2	$2.50	Unlimited
	A 10-page fax	$20.50	$20	$24.50	$9.99*
International Faxing	First page	$5	$3	$4	Unlimited
	Extra Pages	$4	$3	$4	Unlimited
	A 10-page fax	$41	$30	$40	$9.99*

Looking at the table above, you’re probably thinking “why is it so expensive?”. It’s true that faxing at an office supply store like Staples can be expensive compared to an online fax service, and this is for several reasons:

• Fax machines – the self service machines you’ll find at Staples are very good, and therefore very expensive to maintain! Online fax services allow you to use your mobile phones to send and receive faxes digitally, so there’s no extra equipment needed – this brings the cost down!
• Phone lines – a fax machine at Staples will need a dedicated phone line, likely a business line, which adds more cost!
• Taxes and rates – Staples are subject to sales taxes and business rates which can change in each state, so they have to pass on that cost to the customers – running a large store is expensive!

The Staples fax service is a great way to securely send faxes – self service the fax machines are premium, and the employees are very helpful. However, given the price and the inconvenience of travelling to your local Staples store, you may be wondering what the alternatives are. Let’s talk about online faxing, and how it can make sending a fax even easier (and much cheaper!) than Staples.

Online Faxing – How To Fax Documents From Anywhere!

There’s a strong chance that if you’re reading this, you don’t have a fax machine at home. But guess what – you actually do! Any internet enabled device can send and receive faxes thanks to online faxing, and you can save yourself a trip to Staples, and also save a lot of money by going with an online fax service instead. Here’s how it works:

1. Download the FAX App – available on iPhone and Android devices, as well as email-to-fax and web faxing options if you prefer!
2. Choose your unlimited, flexible plan – one of the best things about Municorn’s FAX App and email-to-fax services, is that they offer faxing services which are truly unlimited – even the cheapest option! No more pay-per-page, no more long-distance or international premium charges, and no extra fees at all, no matter how much you fax!
3. Fax online from anywhere – with an online fax service like Municorn’s, you won’t need to travel anywhere or use any other equipment. You can use your phone’s camera to scan all your documents inside the app, or use cloud services like Google Drive to upload the digital files you want to fax – supporting a huge variety of file formats. Don’t forget, you can also receive faxes from anywhere at no extra cost, and get your own fax number.

What Is The Best Way To Fax – Staples Or Online Faxing?

Using the Staples fax service and choosing to fax online both have good features. For example, Staples employees can be very helpful and well-trained, and you can also benefit from the other services offered in stores. However, online faxing is increasingly being preferred by millions of people, due to the following reasons:

Price

The FAX App is much lower-cost than faxing at Staples – and thanks to the unlimited faxing offered, you won’t ever have to pay extra per additional page, or for long-distance faxing. Local faxes and international are all included in the flexible subscription, which you can cancel at anytime. There’s also a bunch of free fax services, here’s our review for all those options.

Convenience

You won’t need to travel anywhere if you use online faxing services, it’s like having a fax machine in the palm of your hand! With email-to-fax and web faxing also included, you can choose your favourite way to fax in a way that suits your technology. It’s also faster – you won’t need to prepare your documents in the right format or print them out, since the FAX App supports a huge variety of file formats.

Security

Whilst the self service fax machines at Staples are very safe, you are however going into public areas with your important documents, which always carries risk. With online faxing, there’s no risk of anybody seeing any sensitive information – this gives you peace of mind when you are faxing healthcare or financial information. The FAX App is also fully HIPAA-compliant and end-to-end encrypted, which means you’re legally protected with your healthcare information.

Environmentally Friendly

Using a fax app is more eco-friendly than a machine – there’s no extra equipment that needs to be built or powered, you don’t need to use paper, and you don’t need to travel to a Staples store – it’s a much better option for the environment.

Start Faxing Today

You’re now ready to send and receive faxes, whether you choose to go to your local Staples, or fax from anywhere with online faxing! If you just can’t wait for your local Staples to open, you can get started right now by downloading the best online fax app today!