Pricing, in plain numbers
Truck dispatch fee: 5% of gross, nothing when you don't haul
One percentage on the loads you approve and haul. No setup fee, no minimums, no long contract. Below: the three rates, who pays which, the math on every rig we dispatch and what the fee covers.
Standard
5%
1 truck, MC 6+ months
New MC, 26 ft box, hotshot
7%
MC under 6 months at any fleet size
Fleet
4%
2+ trucks, MC 6+ months, limited-time
The fee on every rig we dispatch
Pricing pages love a single sample load. Real carriers run different freight, so here are fourteen. Pick your situation, then flip any card to see an example load for that rig, the fee at your tier and what stays in your pocket.
The loads are examples to show the arithmetic. They are not quotes, and they are not a promise of what the market will pay you next week. Rates move with the season, the lane and the freight.
Loads and amounts are examples to show the math, not quotes or rate data. Your fee: 1 truck, mc 6+ months = see each card.
The three rates and who pays which
5%: the standard rate
One truck on an authority older than 6 months pays 5% of the gross on each load. That covers most owner-operators running a dry van, reefer, flatbed, step deck, power unit, car hauler, tanker, hopper, cattle pot, dump truck or heavy haul rig.
7%: new MCs, 26 ft boxes and hotshots
A new authority pays 7% until it is 6 months old, at any fleet size. Fewer brokers will book a young MC, so each load takes more calls and more setup. 26 ft box trucks and hotshots pay 7% at any age, because their loads are smaller and booking them well takes more work per dollar.
4%: fleets of 2 or more
Once the MC is past 6 months, a fleet with 2 or more trucks pays 4% on every truck while this limited-time rate runs. One dispatcher plans the whole fleet, so trucks stop competing for the same lanes. Box trucks and hotshots in a fleet stay at 7%.
The rule in one line
MC under 6 months, or a 26 ft box truck or hotshot: 7%. Otherwise 2 or more trucks: 4%. Otherwise: 5%. The rate moves down automatically the week your authority turns 6 months old.
How your rate changes as you grow
Picture one carrier over its first year. Month one, a new MC with a single reefer pays 7%. In month seven the authority passes 6 months, and the same reefer drops to 5% with no paperwork and no request needed. In month ten the owner adds a second reefer and a driver, so both trucks move to the 4% fleet rate while it lasts.
Now picture the same story with a 26 ft box truck. It starts at 7% and stays there, even after the MC turns 6 months and even with a second box in the fleet. If that carrier later adds a tractor and a dry van, the tractor is billed at the standard or fleet rate, and the box keeps its own rate. Every truck is priced by the rule, never by negotiation.
A month on the standard rate EXAMPLE
Here is a month for a single flatbed on a two-year-old MC. Week three the truck went in for brakes and a tire, so it didn't haul. That week the dispatch fee is zero, because there were no loads to charge it on.
Notice what a percentage does in a slow stretch. A flat weekly fee would have charged the same amount in week three as in week one. The percentage moves with your revenue, so the fee falls when the truck isn't earning.
The numbers are an example built to show the arithmetic. Your gross depends on your lanes, your equipment and the market that month.
| Week | Loads | Gross | Fee at 5% | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 3 | $6,200 | $310 | $5,890 |
| Week 2 | 4 | $7,100 | $355 | $6,745 |
| Week 3 | 0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Week 4 | 3 | $5,900 | $295 | $5,605 |
| Month | 10 | $19,200 | $960 | $18,240 |
Why 26 ft boxes and hotshots pay 7%
A 26 ft box load or a hotshot partial often grosses a few hundred dollars, against a dry van load worth well over a thousand. The work to book it is about the same: find it, check the broker, negotiate, call you, set up the packet, run the check calls. The higher percentage keeps a small load worth booking properly instead of just grabbing the first one posted.
A dispatch fee is not a broker margin
A freight broker keeps the difference between what the shipper pays and what your truck gets, and you usually never see that number. Our fee is the opposite: a fixed percentage of your gross, written on your weekly report. We take nothing from the broker's side, so when your rate goes up, nobody on our desk loses.
Is the fee worth it?
Do the break-even math. On a $6,000 week EXAMPLE, the standard fee is $300. If better negotiation adds 12 cents a mile across 2,500 loaded miles, that alone is $300, before counting the hours you no longer spend on load boards and broker calls. If it doesn't pay for itself, stop with 30 days notice.
What the fee covers, and what we never charge for
Included in the percentage
- Searching the major load boards plus direct broker and shipper contacts
- Negotiating the rate on every load before you hear about it
- Carrier packets and broker setup, sent to you to sign
- Check calls, ETAs and delivery confirmations
- Detention, layover and truck order not used claims with times logged
- Deadhead and backhaul planning around your home time
- A weekly report with loads, gross, miles and rate per mile
- A dispatch desk you can reach 24/7, nights and weekends
Never charged
- A setup or onboarding fee
- A monthly minimum or retainer
- A cancellation fee when you leave
- Any fee on a load you turned down
- Any fee in a week you don't haul
You also keep control of what you pay for. Every load is offered to you first, the broker sends the rate confirmation to you, and you can say no. The fee only exists on loads you chose.
How much do dispatchers charge elsewhere?
FreightWaves reported in March 2022 that dispatcher fees in the industry ran between 4% and 15% per load, depending on the services provided. FreightWaves, Mar 24, 2022Checked October 2026 That is a wide range, and the low number isn't always the cheaper deal once you look at what is included.
Some dispatchers charge a flat amount instead: a set fee per load, or a weekly or monthly fee whether the truck moves or not. A flat weekly fee can look cheap on a good week and expensive on a week you spend in the shop.
Compare dispatch service cost the fair way
Take one real week of your loads and run every offer against it. Ask each dispatcher four questions:
- Is the percentage on gross revenue or on linehaul only?
- Are there setup, software or cancellation fees on top?
- Do I pay anything in a week I don't haul?
- Who signs the rate confirmation, and can I refuse a load?
Our answers: gross load revenue, no extra fees, nothing in an empty week, and you sign every rate con yourself. Want the numbers on your own lanes? Try the dispatcher fee calculator or see whether dispatch pays for itself with the dispatch ROI calculator.
When and how the fee is invoiced
The fee is billed after loads are hauled, based on the gross revenue of those loads. Your Friday report lists each load with its gross and the fee beside it, so you can match every dollar against your rate confirmations and your bank deposits.
If you factor, nothing about the fee changes: the broker pays your factoring company, the factor pays you, and the dispatch fee is still worked out on the gross of the loads you hauled. If waiting on broker payment terms is the real problem, see how freight factoring works with RTS Financial.
Ready to see the onboarding side? Here's how dispatch starts, step by step, from the application to your first rate con.
Dispatch fee questions
01How much do truck dispatchers charge?
Most dispatch services charge a percentage of each load, and FreightWaves reported in March 2022 that fees ran between 4% and 15% depending on the services included. Some charge a flat weekly or per-load fee instead. Ours is 5% standard, 7% for new authorities, 26 ft box trucks and hotshots, and 4% for fleets of 2 or more trucks.
02Does a fleet with a new MC get the fleet rate?
Not at first. While the MC is under 6 months old, every truck on it pays 7%, whatever the fleet size. Once the authority passes 6 months, a fleet of 2 or more trucks moves to 4% while that limited-time rate runs. Box trucks and hotshots stay at 7% in either case.
03Is the fee different for car haulers or tankers?
No. Specialty rigs pay the same tiers as everyone else: 5% for one truck on an MC older than 6 months, 7% on a new MC and 4% for fleets of 2 or more. Only 26 ft box trucks and hotshots sit at 7% at any age, because those loads take more calls to book well.
04Is the fee charged on permit or escort reimbursements?
The fee applies to gross load revenue. When a broker or shipper reimburses permits or escorts as separate pass-through amounts, tell us on the first call. How pass-through costs are treated is written into your dispatch agreement before you start, so there is never a surprise on the weekly invoice.
05Do you charge a setup fee?
No. There is no setup fee, no onboarding fee, no monthly minimum and no cancellation fee. Preparing your carrier packets and getting you approved with brokers is part of the dispatch service. The only charge is the percentage on loads you choose to haul, invoiced after they are hauled.
06Is a percentage fee better than a flat weekly fee?
A flat fee costs the same in a slow week as in a busy one, so it can hurt when the truck sits. A percentage only costs you when you earn, and it gives your dispatcher a reason to push the rate higher. Compare both on the same real week of loads before you decide.
07What does the dispatch fee include?
Load searching on the major boards and with direct broker and shipper contacts, rate negotiation on every load, carrier packet setup, broker calls, check calls and delivery updates, detention and layover claims, deadhead and backhaul planning, a weekly earnings report and a desk you can reach any hour.
08What if I don't haul for a week?
Then you owe nothing for that week. Home time, repairs, a slow market or a week you simply take off all cost the same: zero. There is no minimum and no retainer, so the fee only exists when a load you approved has been hauled.