Dispatcher fee calculator

How the calculator works

The tool does three things with your numbers. It turns the fee into dollars, subtracts it from the gross, and divides both figures by every mile the truck ran, loaded and empty.

• Percent fee: fee = gross x fee percent.
• Flat fee: fee = flat amount x number of loads. The calculator also shows what that flat fee works out to as a percent of your gross, so both models can sit side by side.
• Net after dispatch: gross minus the fee. This is still before fuel, insurance, the truck payment and everything else. It is not profit.
• Rate per mile: dollars divided by all miles, empty miles included. Leaving out empty miles makes every rate look better than it really is.

Open "Compare with our fee" to see what our dispatch fee would be on the same gross. That number comes straight from our published rates, which depend on your truck and the age of your authority. Every line of it is on our dispatch costs page.

A worked example

A one-truck carrier grosses $6,000 in a week over 2,500 total miles. Their dispatcher charges 8% of gross.

The gap between those two numbers is $30 that week. On a cheaper week with the same three loads, the flat fee would cost more than the percent fee. Run your slow weeks as well as your good ones before you pick a model.

What a good or bad result means

A fee is worth paying when the loads it brings in pay more than you would book on your own, after the fee. A lower fee that brings weaker rates or longer empty runs can cost you more than a higher fee that brings better freight.

So look at the rate per mile after the fee, not the fee alone. If your after-fee rate per mile is higher with a dispatcher than what you were booking yourself, the fee is paying for itself. If it is lower, ask what you're getting for it: time back, broker setups, paperwork handled, or fewer empty miles.

Also watch for charges outside the fee itself: setup fees, monthly minimums, long cancellation periods and fees on loads you didn't haul. Our guide to truck driver contracts covers the clauses worth reading twice.

Charges that change the real cost

The headline fee is only part of what dispatch costs. Before you compare offers, ask each dispatcher the same questions and put the answers in the calculator as dollars per week.

• Setup or onboarding fees. A one-time charge to start. Spread it over the weeks you expect to stay and add it to the weekly fee.
• Weekly or monthly minimums. If you take a week off or run light, a minimum turns a percent fee into a fixed bill.
• Fees on extras. Some agreements charge the percent on detention, layover or lumper money too. On a week with long waits, that adds up.
• Cancellation terms. A long notice period or an early exit fee is a cost even if you never use it, because it limits your options.
• Fees on loads you didn't take. You should never pay for a load you turned down or a week you didn't run.

When a higher fee can still cost less

Picture two offers on the same truck. One dispatcher charges a lower percent but mostly books cheap loads with long empty runs back. The other charges more but keeps the truck on stronger lanes and plans the reload before you deliver. Put both weeks into the calculator, using the gross and the total miles each one actually produced. The second week often leaves more money after the fee, because rate per mile and empty miles move the result more than a point or two of fee.

That's why the most useful number on the result card is the rate per mile after the fee. Track it for a few weeks with any dispatcher, and compare it with what you booked on your own before.

Comparing your options

Booking loads yourself is free in dollars but not in hours. The load board vs dispatcher cost comparison puts a value on your time spent searching and calling. To check single loads, the rate per mile calculator works out the all-in rate on any offer.

Choosing between a solo dispatcher and a dispatch company? We compare them in independent dispatcher vs dispatch company. For more free calculators, see all our trucking tools.