The Best Mail Scanning Services

Friday, October 22nd

2021 Mail Scanning Service Reviews

US Global Mail

• Cost: Individual Plans starting at $10/month
• Family Plans starting at $15/month
• Business Plans starting at $25/month
• Mail scanning: $3 flat fee plus $0.50 per page

US Global Mail is best Mail Scanning service on the market today. With more than 80,000 expats having gotten their mail and packages through this company since 1999 - not to mention all of the domestic customers who've benefited from their mail forwarding and related services as well - it's easy to see why US Global Mail is our top choice for Mail Scanning.

Stellar reputation

US Global Mail has a stellar reputation, as demonstrated by an "A+" rating and accreditation from the Better Business Bureau. You can also check out some of their customer comments at the bottom of the site: at the time of this review, there were nearly 700 independently-verified reviews, and US Global Mail had a fantastic 4.6/5 average rating.

Transparent pricing

One of the things we love about US Global Mail is their transparency in pricing. They offer a crystal-clear pricing chart, complete with comparisons against many of their top competitors (including several you'll find in our reviews!). While not all of their services are the cheapest (mail scanning being one of them), you'll know exactly what to expect from their service when you sign up, without having to dig through too much fine print.

3 mail scanning plans

So, what does this service charge for mail forwarding and related services like scanning? Here's what you'll pay for their three plans:

• Individual: $15/month when paid month-to-month, $12.50/month when paying for a year at a time (16% savings), or $10/month when paying for 2 years at a time (25% savings). This is the plan for one person who needs a US address for virtual mail management: expats, retirees, digital nomads, and frequent travelers are the ideal users of this level of service.
• Family: $20/month when paid month-to-month, $16.50/month when paying for a year at a time (16% savings), or $15/month when paying for 2 years at a time (25% savings). If you need mail forwarding for more than one person on the same account (couples or families traveling together), this is the plan for you.
• Business: $35/month when paid month-to-month, $30/month when paying for a year at a time (16% savings), or $25/month when paying for 2 years at a time (25% savings). This larger plan is for companies overseas who need a US presence/address, companies that are operated remotely, or even small businesses who want help managing their incoming mail.

Plan benefits

All of the plans offered by US Global Mail have a long list of included benefits, while their competitors charge steep a la carte prices for them. Here's what this company gives you for free with any membership:

• Permanent US Street Address
• 24/7 access to your secure virtual mailbox
• Almost real-time notifications of incoming mail
• Unlimited incoming mail and forwarding addresses
• Free check deposit
• Free shredding of junk mail
• Free letter storage for 180 days
• Free package storage for 30 days

Extra services

There are also services available for an extra fee, such as opening and inspecting packages ($5/per package) and a $15/month wind-down service after you close your account but may still have mail coming in while you're changing to your new address. Mail scanning is one of these extra services: you'll pay a flat fee of $3 for every letter you ask US Global Mail to scan for you, plus an additional $0.50 for each page in the letter. That's a little steep if you expect to have a lot of incoming mail that you want scanned, but at least you know exactly how much you'll have to spend.

Reasonable refund policy

One small detail that has tripped up some customers: you can get a refund if you sign up for an annual or 2-year plan and need to close your account before your time is up. However, your refund will be prorated at the original month-to-month plan cost, not the lower monthly fees offered with the pay-in-advance plans. So, if you paid $360 for a 2-year family plan but cancel after a year, don't expect to get half of that back ($180). At the month-to-month rate, you would have spent $240 for that first year, so your refund wouldn't be more than $120. That's to prevent people from signing up for the discounted plans and then canceling after just a few months. That's reasonable.

Quick customer service

The site gave us a pop-up chat box as soon as we visited the site - but at the same time it told us that chat wasn't available because it was outside of their business hours. Their posted operating hours were 8A-6P Central time, and the pop-up happened at 3PM. However, that initial visit was on a federal holiday, and we had no trouble reaching someone the following day. Customers say that, on most days, they are able to get any questions resolved in just a matter of minutes, which is helpful when you've got an urgent issue needing attention.

Highest rating

Although US Global Mail isn't the least expensive Mail Scanning provider we evaluated, their fantastic reputation and extremely comprehensive suite of included services puts them light years ahead of the competition. US Global Mail sets the bar very high when it comes to Mail Scanning, and they earn our highest rating.

Physical Address

• Cost: Plans ranging from $7.98 to $53.98/month, depending on desired address
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• No contract required

Physical Address isn't going to jump out at you with a slick, bleeding-edge website to capture your business. But don't let first impressions stop you from looking at what the company has to offer you when it comes to Mail Scanning services. Why?

Extraordinary reputation

Simply put: their reputation is extraordinarily good. Yes, they have an "A+" rating and accreditation from the BBB, which is great. But the real clincher? We found so many glowing, 5-star customer reviews in other places that it absolutely caught our attention. And, it made us laugh to see that many of them had the same first impression: "How good can this service be if the website is this...underwhelming?" But, as one person put it, sometimes a less-than-awesome site means that the company is too busy doing a fantastic job to worry about it! We found that to be the case with this service, with more than 20,000 clients in 50 countries and counting at the time of our review.

Getting started

That does mean that you have to wade through the site a bit, and you might not find every answer you're looking for right away. Here's what you can expect from their packages.

Choose your city

First, you'll need to decide in which city you'd like to have an address: Las Vegas, Dallas, Orlando, Laguna Beach, or New York. Depending on which one you choose, your base price will be anywhere from $1.99 to $13.99 per month. An important feature of Physical Address' service is that all of their addresses belong to them. In other words, they don't outsource your Mail Scanning to another company (like UPS Store or some other mail receiving entity).

Choose your plan

Next, you'll have to enter your account and contact information, in order to select the mail plan you anticipate needing. Each plan includes envelope scans and content scans (with the number of included scans based on the package selected, which we'll get to later), 7-days-a-week support, free check depositing, unlimited secure shredding, and long-term non-parcel storage.

5 virtual mail plans

Physical Address offers 5 Virtualized Mail Plans:

• Plan 30 ($5.99/month): includes 30 envelope scans, and 10 content scans. It does not include multiple users.
• Plan 50 ($8.99/month): includes 50 envelope scans, 25 content scans, and multiple users/mail recipients.
• Plan 100 ($14.99/month): includes 100 envelope scans and 50 content scans.
• Plan 200 ($24.99/month): includes 200 envelope scans and 100 content scans.
• Plan 300 ($39.99/month): includes 300 envelope scans and 150 content scans.

Additional scans

With any plan, you'll get additional scans at a low fee of $0.20.

30 day money back guarantee

If you want to save money, you can get a 20% discount by paying for an annual plan - but there's no contract or commitment required otherwise. Every plan is backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee, if for any reason you're unhappy with the Physical Address service.

Highly recommended

So, while Physical Address doesn't make the best first impression, their prices and sterling reputation for extraordinary customer service do. We highly recommend that you consider their Mail Scanning services as one of our preferred providers in the industry.

Post Scan Mail

• Cost: Plans range from $9.95 to $34.95 per month
• Mail Scanning included in each plan, depending on service level
• Free trial may be available

Post Scan Mail is one of the newer Mail Scanning services in our review, getting its start in California in 2013. They've expanded their services into a nationwide network of mail processing centers offering open & scan, shredding & recycling, and much more.

Easy process

Getting started with Post Scan Mail is easy. First, you'll have to choose your plan and a mailing address (more on that below). Yes, you still have to fill out the required USPS form that allows them to receive mail in your name. When your virtual mailbox starts getting envelopes and packages, your scanned images can be viewed through the PSM app (available on Google Play and the Apple app store). Once you've viewed your mail, you can request to have it opened and scanned, forwarded, or shredded and recycled. Pretty easy!

3 mail scanning plans

The service consists of 3 main plans:

• Starter ($9.95/month): this includes 30 items received (mail and/or packages) and 5 open-and-scan items.
• Standard ($14.95/month): this level of service gives you up to 60 items received and 10 open-and-scan items.
• Premium ($24.95/month): this top-tier plan gives you up to 120 items received and 20 open-and-scan items.

Each package will cost more if you choose to have a Preferred or Prestigious mailing address associated with your account.

Free trial?

When we considered the Pricing page, all plans were described as coming with a free trial - but there was nothing in the sign-up process that explained what to expect or for how long. When we clicked on the Help chat bubble, not only was there no one available during Pacific business hours, there was no answer to the question in their FAQ/answer database. We had a similar experience when trying to determine the difference between Basic, Preferred and Prestigious address designations. Eventually, as we looked at the Locations map, we could see that some addresses in our state were labeled as Basic and others as Preferred (there were no Prestigious ones, by the way) - but there was still nothing to indicate which made one address "better" than the other, or worth the extra monthly expense.

Affordable extra services

Going back to Pricing: on that same page, you may want to consider services that will incur additional fees. If you need more Mail Scanning in a particular month, expect to pay $1 per envelope (up to 10 pages included) and then $1 for every additional 10 pages in the envelope. That's a pretty bargain rate compared with many of Post Scan Mail's competitors. If you need your mail physically forwarded to you, that will cost $0.85 for each item, along with any postage fees. And, if you have more than one person getting mail at your plan's mailbox - spouse, kids - you're on the hook for $5 more per month, per person.

Good reputation

So, how does Post Scan Mail hold up when considering customer experience with the service? The answer is "pretty well". Checking out their listing on the BBB, we found that while their accreditation was fairly recent, the company has indeed been in operation for more than 10 years, and was rated as an "A+" business. That's a great start.

Positive customer comments

Then, considering actual customer comments, we found overwhelmingly positive comments: accurate forwarding, quick mail scanning, and very prompt, courteous service from PSM's customer reps. We were happy to hear that, given that we weren't able to connect via live chat during regular business hours.

Strong option

The Mail Scanning offered by Post Scan Mail is affordable and reliable. If you need a plan for just one person, this service may be the very lowest on the market today (though their pricing is fairly reasonable for couples and families as well).

Traveling Mailbox

• Cost: Plans range from $15 to $55 per month
• Some mail scanning included in each plan
• No contract required
• Enterprise plans available for businesses

Serving thousands of customers throughout the United States - and nearly 50 other countries! - since 2011, Traveling Mailbox offers Mail Scanning and Forwarding services that won't break the bank. In the last 8+ years, the company has scanned nearly 3 million envelopes, nearly 5 million documents, and shredded more than 25 tons of mail.

3 mail scanning plans

Traveling Mailbox has three main plans, plus several enterprise-level packages. Since most customers will be looking for the services offered in the primary tiers of service, we'll focus on those:

• Basic ($15/month): this plan includes 40 incoming envelopes and 35 page scans per month, free mail shredding, junk mail filtering, unlimited cloud storage of your scans, and the ability to change plans at any time with no long-term contracts. You can have up to 3 recipients on this plan (spouse, kids, business, etc.).
• Extended ($25/month): if you expect a higher incoming volume of mail, this plan is your best value. You'll get 100 incoming envelopes and 80 page scans, and if you don't use all of your scans in a particular month, they'll roll over (just like some mobile phone plans have offered). You also get up to 5 recipients included.
• Small Business ($55/month): if you have a very large household or need mail scanning for your company, this plan gives you up to 10 mailbox recipients, 200 incoming envelopes and 180 page scans each month. Those scans also roll over as in the Extended plan.

Extra scan pricing

On all three plans, you can opt to pay for extra scans if needed, at a rate of $0.50 per page. And, if you get more mail than your plan covers, you'll pay $0.25 for each additional envelope.

2-month-free discount

While all plans are month-to-month with no contracts, Traveling Mailbox does offer a 2-months-free discount if you pay for a full year in advance.

Mail forwarding

If you need to have your physical mail forwarded to you, expect a flat fee of $2 per shipment, plus any applicable postage. You can have it sent to you on demand, or schedule it at the intervals you prefer.

As with most Mail Scanning services, you'll need to provide a USPS Form 1583 to authorize Traveling Mailbox to receive your mail. Your account can't be activated until they've received this notarized form from you.

Potential delays

One of the bigger drawbacks we found with using Traveling Mailbox is that all mail is routed from the physical address you select to their processing center in North Carolina, then scanned and/or forwarded to you. That adds extra time to the procedure, and some customers have said that the wait is much longer than they'd expect.

3rd party forwarding

You should also know that the physical address you choose may go to a third party for forwarding company. For example, looking at the list of possible choices on the Addresses page at the time of our review, we found that one of them was for a private residence and another was for a UPS Store - and yes, some customer reviews mentioned that connection and wondered if Traveling Mailbox just rents out space from places around the US.

Strong reputation

On the other hand, this company has a strong reputation with the BBB, both accredited and with an "A+" rating. There are also positive reviews from social media posts and other sources on both the BBB site and on Traveling Mailbox's page, which is a good sign. One perk of using this service is that you can reach a customer service rep via phone, live chat and email 7 days a week - while many of their competitors make it much more challenging to get help if you need it.

Good option

Ultimately, you'll have to decide for yourself if Traveling Mailbox's services are a good fit for your situation: how much do you care about having your mail rerouted before getting scanned to your dashboard, compared with the savings you'll get compared with other companies who might make you sign a long-term contract? Traveling Mailbox has a reasonably good track record for customer service, making them a good option for most Mail Scanning needs.

Earth Class Mail

• Cost: $69/month for a virtual address
• $129/month for mail automation (plus $50/month for scanned mail content)
• $179/month for mail & check automation (plus $50/month for scanned mail content)
• Customized plans available

If you're looking for a Mail Scanning service with a long history in the industry, you may be considering Earth Class Mail. Since their start in 2008, the company has processed more than 10 million pieces of mail! Their reputation is solid, with an "A+" rating from the Better Business Bureau and very few complaints from customers on the BBB site. However, our research led us to believe that the company may have gone through a bankruptcy and ownership change over the last few years, so let's take a look at what your experience with ECM might be now.

In your face

First, be prepared to get a LOT of pop-ups when browsing the Earth Class Mail site. While we're generally big fans of live chat help, and we're happy to help a company understand our shopping decisions, the three pop-ups we got in the first three minutes of our most recent visit were a little much. But, at least you know that Earth Class Mail stands at the ready if you have even the smallest question, and they definitely want to know what it takes to earn your business.

Mail scanning services

No matter which plan you choose, here are the services you can expect from Earth Class Mail:

• Unlimited Cloud Storage
• Unlimited Secure & On-Site Shredding
• Unlimited Users/Administrators
• Rule-based Mail Automation Options
• Encrypted Data Protection - Transfer + Storage
• Cloud Service Integration Options
• Secure Online Account Access
• Complimentary Notarized Online Activation

Both small and large customers

If you have zero clue about what some of those are, don't worry! This company also services large businesses who want help in managing their mail, so some of the features mentioned above would primarily apply to those companies. As an individual consumer, you don't need to be concerned with HIPAA compliance or industry-specific regulations (law firms, medical offices, and so on).

Cancellation fee

You should also be aware that Earth Class Mail has a $50 cancellation fee on every plan. That might seem stingy until you consider that the company will still have to handle physical mail and paper during your cancellation period - which could take up to 6 months to complete.

Focus on business

As for plans for individual customers, Earth Class Mail still offers plans for Mail Scanning - but you'll notice on the site that the focus is definitely on business customers. In fact, when we tried to find pricing for individuals, we quickly got lost. We found three tiers of pricing, but they were so much more expensive than our last review that we weren't sure we even had the right information:

• Virtual Address: $69/month already sounds pretty steep. But add in the $15/month for scanning incoming mail envelopes, and another $10/month for opening and scanning mail content, and you're already at almost $100/month.
• Mail Automation: at the $129/month level, you'll get unlimited scans of incoming mail and up to 3 recipients who can get mail at your designated address. You'll still have to pay $50/month for scanning any mail content.
• Mail + Check Automation: this package probably wouldn't apply to individual customers, but if you need check handling as part of your mail scanning package, you can get up to 30 deposited each month. This service level costs $179/month - and yes, you guessed correctly if you thought you'd still be paying $50/month extra for scanning your mail's content.

Friendly chat

So, we took advantage of that handy chat feature we mentioned earlier, to find out what services were available for people, not just businesses. The very friendly agent who responded agreed that the pricing details on the site were confusing, and that if we could set an appointment with an account specialist to see if Earth Class Mail could come up with a customized plan to meet our needs - and our budget.

Why so expensive?

When we connected with the rep from ECM, he explained that yes, we would need to sign up for the $69/month plan. It included 10 pieces of scanned mail content each month and unlimited shredding of junk mail, and an 8% discount was available if we signed a year-long contract. The rep also acknowledged that their services are more expensive than their competitors', saying it was due to the extra security protocols (like HIPAA compliance and all employees doing the scanning being under non-disclosure agreements). He also said that ECM's technology is a big plus, with all scans being fully text-searchable, and their platform having full integration with Dropbox, Google Drive, and so on.

Customer complaints

However, while we were waiting for a response from the account rep, we took a look at what people were saying about Earth Class Mail on other sites. What we found was disappointing to say the least: numerous people said that it was literally the worst customer service experience they'd ever had, with lost mail (including checks!), drastic price increases despite being promised a fixed lifetime rate, and many other complaints.

Disappointing

Unfortunately, all of this combines to drop Earth Class Mail much lower in our rankings than they were in our earlier review. If you're looking for affordable, reliable Mail Scanning services, you'll probably need to choose another provider.

My US Postbox

• Cost: $19.95 to $49.95 per month
• Minimum 6-month contract required

My U.S. PostBox offers services for anyone who needs a mailing address within the USA: expats, people who are relocating, and beyond.

3 mail scanning plans

They advertise three levels of service, all of which require a 6-month minimum contract:

• Silver: for a monthly fee ranging from $17 to $20, depending on the contract length you select, you'll have a mailing address, postbox number, and your mail will be stored in a water- and fireproof safe. You'll get instant email notifications when new mail comes in.
• Gold: monthly fees range from $27 to $30. You get the same features as Gold, but additionally you'll receive a monthly listing of the senders' names on the correspondence received. You can request some or all mail to be sent by courier, or have it scanned and viewable online. These services cost extra.
• Platinum: for fees ranging from $42 to $50 per month, you get the features of the Gold package plus translation services on any viewed mail and secure disposal of junk/unwanted mail.

Check the fee schedule

You should see the fee schedule to determine which package level would give you the best value. For example, at the Silver tier of service, you will pay $0.50 for every piece of mail you ask MUSPB to shred for you, and the same price per page that they scan. But, jumping to the Gold package, you get at least 50 scans per month included at no extra charge, along with 50 shreds. Those numbers go up if you opt into a longer initial contract term (a year instead of 6 months).

Problems signing up

However, when we went to fill out the signup form, we had a lot of problems. First, we got a pop-up telling us - inexplicably - that we had to fill out the form in English... which we had been doing. Then, we had multiple required fields that wouldn't allow us to enter our information at all.

Are they even in business?

With all of this, it doesn't seem that My U.S. PostBox is even doing business anymore. Despite a fully live website, the toll-free number for the company defaults to a busy signal. Plus, we found no BBB listing to confirm that the business is still in existence - in fact, the physical address given for My U.S. PostBox on their site was listed as the address for a credit and debt counseling service in the Better Business Bureau's directory.

See you later

Add to that a website with a copyright date of 2006, with many pages never having been updated with the security update from several years prior (as would be indicated by the lock symbol in the URL), and it's easy to see why we recommend that you bypass My U.S. PostBox when considering your mail scanning service.