As a digital nomad, you have everything on your devices, but what about physical mail? Having no permanent address can be a bummer when you’re expecting parcels and mails. This is where a virtual mailbox comes to your rescue.
You have everything, from maps to apps at your fingertips, and getting a virtual mailbox can help solve your “permanent address” woes too. What’s this all about? Let’s find out.
What Is a Virtual Mailbox?
A virtual mailbox is a physical mailbox that accepts and keeps your mail and shipments at a remote location. It allows you to digitize your mail delivery. Instead of providing a real mailing address, you can use a virtual mailbox service’s postal address for receiving any physical packages .
How Does a Virtual Mailbox Work?
When you get mail, your virtual mailbox service will send you a scan of the package or envelope to notify you that it has arrived.
After you’ve seen what it is, you can instruct them to perform one of the following actions:
- Send the mail to your current address.
- Open the envelope, scan it, and send it to you via email.
- Dispose of the letter to recycle or shred it.
Most also allow you to have other contents of your mail forwarded to you, which makes sense when you get parcels or important documents, credit cards, etc.
Are Virtual Mailboxes Safe?
Not all virtual mailboxes are the same but most provide greater protection and privacy than regular ones.
Here’s how they secure your mail:
- Virtual mailboxes have physical security mechanisms such as guarded rooms.
- They have specialized security workers who have passed background checks.
- Digital security measures are also implemented to secure your email and its contents on the internet.
During the last couple of years, security concerns have grown. Therefore, once you choose the right virtual mailbox for yourself, it’s a good idea to check all the features, privacy, and security measures thoroughly.
Virtual Mailboxes and Digital Nomads
Digital nomads work from restaurants, coffee shops, and coworking spaces. They move from place to place which makes it tough for them to maintain a permanent address. If they have to receive any physical mail or packages, virtual mailboxes are useful.
Virtual Mailbox Advantages For Digital Nomads
- A fixed street address: As a digital nomad, you don’t have to alter your permanent address over and over again. You get everything in your virtual mailbox, and that is your permanent address!
- Mail and package management made simple: You will be able to see, read, store, and trash mails online at any time and from any location. You can also route mail and shipments to any location on the planet.
- Services for check deposit: For dUsually, digital nomads pick a digital bank for, receiving income and payments from several countries is no problem. Now, yYou won’t need to go to the bank since your virtual mailbox service will handle everything.
- Mail security: A virtual mailbox service encrypts all of the mail and data it handles, and only the receiver has access to it. Packages are handled with care and housed in facilities that meet the highest security requirements.
All of this sounds amazing but how do you choose the perfect virtual mailbox for your specific needs? Let’s dive into some great options that you can choose from.
9 Best Virtual Mailboxes For Digital Nomads
Here are some of the best international virtual mailboxes that are great for digital nomads. Check their features and take your pick.
US Global Mail
US Global Mail is a virtual mailbox service that caters to individuals and businesses all over the world. You can choose individual or family plans on a month to month basis, 12 month or 24 month period.
Services:
- Mail storage
- Check deposits
- Reduced shipping rates
- Mail forwarding
- Physical mail storage
- Access to their simple mailbox app
- FREE letter storage for 180 days.
- FREE package storage for 30 days.
Price plans: Starts at $9.95 per month.
The only limitation or disadvantage is that they have only one location: Houston, Texas.
Virtual Post Mail
VirtualPostMail offers an international virtual mailbox service with a range of subscriptions to meet a variety of budgets and purposes.
They provide extensive mail management services. Other features include:
- Receiving courier papers and parcels
- Package forwarding
- Incoming mail email notifications
- Mail shredding
- Digital storage
- Unlimited digital mail archiving
- Free physical mail storage for 60 days
- No setup and cancellation fees.
Price plans: Starts at $20 per month
They only have three sites in the United States: California, Nevada, and Delaware.
One of its disadvantages is that there is no phone app for previewing your mail; you must get it via email.
Anytime Mailbox
Over 1200 mailbox addresses are available at Anytime Mailbox, making it one of the top aspects of the service. There’s a strong possibility they’ll be operating in the city where you reside, or where you’re going to be on your next trip.
In addition to the US, they have virtual mailboxes in Australia, China, Puerto Rico and other countries across the world. For digital nomads, this makes their service particularly tempting.
Their services include:
- Mail scanning
- Mail forwarding.
- Check deposits
- Mail shredding
- An app for receiving digital images of your mail
Price plans: $4.98 per month
It’s important to note that the price varies from city to city based on where you want your mailbox to reside. Also, there are no different plans available.
PostScanMail
Digital mailbox service provider PostScanMail has over 400 sites worldwide. In addition to the United States, they’re located in Europe, Canada, Grenada and Singapore.
Their services include:
- Incoming mail notifications
- Local mail and package pickups
- Package consolidation and shipping
- Scanning
- A mobile app for Android and iOS
- Free physical mail and package storage for up to 30 days
- Additional users can be added to the same virtual mailbox account so you won’t end up paying for multiple subscriptions.
Price plans: Start at $15 per month
PO Box Zone
People who get a lot of mail can choose from one of three PO Box Zone virtual mailing programmes. Their product is clearly intended for regular travellers, small companies, retirees and digital nomads.
They have two sites in Nevada and Wyoming.
Their services include:
- Their free app allows you to request for scans and get notifications
- Mails for up to 6 names are allowed
- They don’t open your mails till you ask them to
- Mails are stored for up to 6 months
- You can decide to forward or discard the mails
Price plans: From $99 per year
Earth Class Mail
Using Earth Class Mail, you have a choice of over 80 premium US addresses, where you’ll receive all your mail and it will be stored securely by the company’s HIPAA-compliant employees.
The services include:
- Over 90 addresses are available
- 30 days of free storage for mail and 10 days for packages
- Once you’ve downloaded your mail, you have the option to have it delivered to a third party, recycled, trashed or destroyed via their website.
- Earth Class Mail can be integrated with QuickBooks Online, Xero, Box, Google Drive and Bill.com
- Automatic check deposit services
- Mail management
Price plans: Starts at $19 per month
Northwest Registered Agent
With NorthWest’s virtual mailbox service, you get mail forwarding for Florida, Delaware, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana in the United States of America.
Their services include:
- Mail management
- Same-day digital scanning and physical mail forwarding
- It serves as your registered mail agent that scans your legal documents for $125 with real-time notifications
- You can upgrade to a virtual office for an additional $49 per month
Price plans: Starts at $40 per month
BusinessAnywhere
As the name suggests, BusinessAnywhere is more than just a virtual mailbox service; it’s a remote toolset for entrepreneurs. If you’re a digital nomad who runs a business or is planning to start a business, this one is a great option.
Their services include:
- A virtual mailbox for both you and your business
- You can register your company in any of the 50 US states
- Starting plans provide you up to 2 mail recipients, unlimited packages and mail along with unlimited scans
- Easy access to your dashboard from any device
Additional services for your business:
- Register your company (LLC, S-corporation, C-corporation or non-profit)
- Get any of your documents notarized remotely by accredited notaries
- Registered agent services to keep your business compliant and your details private
- Virtual mailboxes
Virtual mailbox services are available in Arizona, Wyoming, and New Mexico.
Price plans: Starts from $20 per month
iPostal1
With virtual mailbox provider iPostal1 you can choose from four memberships: Green, Blue, Silver, and Gold.
Green: 30 mail items per month
Blue: 60 mail items per month
Silver: 120 mail items per month
Gold: 240 mail items per month
You can change your plan any time as per your requirement. There’s no fee for signing up or any kind of contract. The company began operations in 2007 and is one of the oldest in this industry.
These different membership options aren’t the only cool thing about iPostal1. The organization also has 900 mailbox sites in the United States and across the world! Other locations include China, Germany, Canada, Spain, Italy, UK, Singapore and Switzerland.
Their other services:
- You can check and handle all of your mail on their online portal
- Your mail can be scanned immediately at your request
- You can send your mail to another address
- You can request for discarding or recycling your mail
Price plans: Starts at $9.99 per month
Make Your Life Easy With Virtual Mailboxes
Thanks to the availability of such amazing virtual mailbox options that you don’t have to worry about receiving or forwarding mails without a permanent address. Now, whether you’re lolling on the beaches in the Bahamas or sipping Long Island Iced Tea in Koh Samui, your mail will be the last thing on your stress list.