mFax vs Retarus

Keep reading for the full Retarus vs mFax comparison.

Security and Compliance

mFax is designed for organizations that handle sensitive information and operate in highly regulated environments. It encrypts all the data transmitted and stored through its systems using AES 256-bit encryption and TLS 1.2 encryption. It implements 2FA (two-factor authentication) and account-level user access controls to protect from unauthorized access. You also enjoy automated session timeouts, advanced tracking, reporting, and audit trail features. These features, along with a signed BAA, make mFax a HIPAA-compliant faxing solution. 

As an alternative to mFax, Retarus also ensures HIPAA compliance by employing HTTS transfers, VPN, and encrypted TLS connections. It has redundant backups across multiple storage centers to ensure maximum availability and business continuity. It’s 100% HIPAA-compliant and GDPR-compliant, using AI to recognize documents intelligently.

mFax User Interface (Source)

User Experience

Surprisingly, for an enterprise solution, Retarus offers a modern-looking interface with a portal where you can access various communication options beyond digital faxing. This is expected since Retarus is best used as an enterprise communication tool capable of other essentials like secure email and SMS. The clean interface is also easy to set up and configure, so you can send digital faxes immediately, create automated workflows, and enjoy a consistent experience.

As a Retarus alternative, mFax offers a modern and intuitive user experience. Even newbies to digital faxing can quickly learn the interface and instantly send their first fax. The various functions are neatly organized in a dashboard, and there are helpful icons to offer extra guidance.

Device Applications

Retarus offers a web app called WebExpress, which you can use to manage your faxes. This works with all major browsers. You can use Retarus Mail2Fax to send and receive faxes from any email client and Retarus Faxolution for Windows to send faxes directly from your desktop or any MS Office application. Unfortunately, there are no dedicated mobile apps, so you’d need to use a mobile browser or email client to fax from a smartphone or tablet. 

As an alternative to Retarus, mFax offers free iOS and Android apps that you can easily download to send and receive faxes conveniently from a mobile device. You can also send, receive, and manage faxes from a web portal, which boasts a mobile-friendly interface. They also offer email-to-fax and print-to-fax.

Sample Retarus Fax API (Source)

API and Developer Support

Retarus has a robust fax API that can extend your faxing capabilities across various systems. You can choose from SOAP, REST, and numerous development-friendly functions to integrate your faxes into your business or cloud applications. 

mFax also offers a developer-friendly API built on the RESTful architecture. It offers a free sandbox environment and scalable volume-based pricing. You can test their developer API for free for 30 days.

Fax Broadcasting and Fax Scheduling

Both mFax and Retarus offer high-volume faxing where you can send a single fax to multiple recipients at once. This option, termed fax broadcasting, lets you conveniently send mass messages such as health education, public alerts, or marketing communication. You can also schedule faxes to be sent at the most convenient time.

Fax Numbers and Number Porting

As a global fax provider, Retarus offers local numbers for various countries worldwide. You can easily manage these numbers through the EAS portal, which also lets you port any existing number. 

Likewise, mFax offers fax numbers for its subscription plan, and you can always purchase extras for an additional $3.00. Porting an existing number costs $15. 

Fax OCR

mFax and Retarus offer fax OCR (optical character recognition), where they’ll extract editable text from your faxes so you can effortlessly search, archive, and share important information. This feature helps you save time and effort from manual transcription and endless search indexing. 

For mFax, this feature is available as an add-on to their monthly plans.

Pricing and Plans

mFax has three subscription plans suitable for small to enterprise organizations. 

• Professional – $25 per month, 1 user, 400 pages
• Business – $150 per month, 10 users, 2,500 pages
• Enterprise – $500 per month, 50 users, 10,000 pages

You can also request custom pricing for unlimited pages and users. 

Retarus doesn’t have monthly or annual plans. Instead, it offers its services as “pay-per-use.” Their sales team will give you a quote that reflects your unique needs. You can also request a free trial if you want to take their solution for a spin.