Comparing mail scanning services: How does digital mail processing work, how much does it cost, and who are the providers? Teeberg includes free scanning.
Short answer
A mail-scanning service collects your mail from a registered address, scans it daily, and emails you the letters as PDF files. Many providers charge extra for this service. With Teeberg, daily scanning is included free of charge in the Virtual Office package, starting at €63/month.
What you'll learn in this article
If you work remotely, travel frequently, or don’t have a fixed office location, you need a solution for handling physical mail. A mail-scanning service digitizes every incoming letter and sends it directly to your email inbox. This article explains how it works, how much it costs, and which providers are recommended in 2026.
A mail-scanning service is a service that involves receiving, opening, scanning, and digitally transmitting incoming mail at a registered address. The physical letters are then stored or forwarded upon request.
It’s the heart of a virtual office: you have a professional business address without ever having to be there in person. Your mail still arrives daily—as a PDF, straight to your inbox.
Mail is delivered to the address
Letters, packages, and official mail will be accepted at your registered business address. Your name is on the mailbox.
The provider opens and scans
The letters are opened, scanned as high-resolution PDFs, and securely stored. Reputable providers scan daily, not weekly.
You will receive the scans via email
The PDFs are delivered straight to your inbox. You can read your mail from anywhere—on your phone, while working from home, or on the go.
Originals are stored or forwarded
The physical letters are stored securely. Upon request, the provider forwards them in batches once a month.
A mail-scanning service is ideal for any situation where mail arrives regularly and on a time-sensitive basis, but there is no one permanently on site:
Those who do not want to disclose their home address in the legal notice or the commercial register often use a combination of a virtual office and a scanning service. Why this makes sense: Using your home address as your business address.
The market for post-scan services has grown. The offerings vary significantly in terms of scanning frequency, quality, and whether the scanning is included in the package price or charged separately:
| Provider | Does it include scanning? | Scan frequency | Price starting at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tea Mountain | ✓ Free | daily | €63/month |
| Clevver | surcharge | upon request | starting at ~$30/month |
| Regus / IWG | surcharge | varies | starting at ~€80/month |
| Pure scanning services | ✓ included | weekly | €15 to €30 per month |
| Mailbox provider | ✗ No scan | – | starting at ~$10/month |
* Prices are subject to change; as of 2026. Provider prices are subject to change.
The cost depends on whether the scan is included in the package price or must be booked separately. There are two options:
Scan as an add-on
Many providers charge an additional €10 to €30 per month for the scanning service, on top of the basic fee for the address. Hidden cost: Fees per scanned letter are often added on top of that.
Scan included (as with Teeberg)
The daily scanning service is included in the package price—with no limits and no extra charge per letter. Teeberg’s Virtual Office package starts at €63 and includes the scanning service completely free of charge.
Not all scanning services are the same. These points are crucial:
Scan frequency
Daily scanning is standard. Weekly scans mean that mail from the tax office or the court sits unread for days.
Archival quality
Scans should be of archival quality—high-resolution and legally admissible, e.g., for tax records.
Data Security
Mail often contains sensitive information. GDPR-compliant processing and encrypted transmission are mandatory.
Address for service of process
The address is only truly valid for service of process if the provider also accepts legal service (from government agencies, courts).
Storage and Forwarding
The originals should be stored free of charge for at least 30 days. Forwarding should be possible upon request.
Receive mail digitally — at no extra charge
With Teeberg, the daily scanning service is included free of charge in the Virtual Office package. No add-on fees, no limits per letter. You’ll receive your mail as a PDF, every day, straight to your inbox.
Teeberg scans your mail daily and securely sends the documents via email. Scanning is not available as an optional extra; it is included as standard in the Virtual Office package for every customer.
Virtual Office
Starting at €63/month
Free daily scanning service, office space on demand, a business address suitable for registration in the commercial register for GmbHs and UGs. All at no extra charge.
Postal address
Starting at €28/month
Business address with physical mail forwarding. No scanning service included. For sole proprietors and freelancers who do not need to be registered with the commercial register.
"I travel a lot and needed a solution for my mail. Teeberg's scanning service has made my life much easier. Every morning, the PDFs arrive in my inbox, so I no longer have to drive to Berlin just to pick up letters."
Margarete H., businesswoman
Related articles
A mail-scanning service collects your mail from a registered address, opens the letters, scans them as PDFs, and emails the documents to you. The originals are then stored or forwarded upon request.
Prices vary widely. Standalone scanning services cost between 15 and 30 euros per month, and many virtual office providers charge extra for scanning. With Teeberg, daily scanning is included at no additional cost in the Virtual Office package (starting at 63 euros/month).
That depends on the provider. Budget services often only scan once a week. With Teeberg, scanning is done daily—which means you’ll receive your mail digitally by the next business day at the latest.
Yes. It is legal for the contracted service provider to open and scan your mail, since you, as the addressee, grant the provider this authority under the terms of the contract. GDPR-compliant providers process the data securely and delete it after the agreed-upon period.
Yes. Most providers store the originals and forward them upon request. At Teeberg, the originals are stored free of charge. Physical forwarding is available for a shipping fee.
It depends on your needs. If you also need an address that can be used for the commercial register, you’re better off with a virtual office provider like Teeberg than with a basic scanning service. Teeberg offers free daily scanning, including a Berlin address that can be used for legal documents and is suitable for the commercial register, starting at 63 euros per month.
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