The truck dispatch fee, in four lines and no fine print
One percent of gross, only on loads you haul. No setup fee, no monthly minimum, no long contract. You confirm every load before it's booked, so you never pay a fee on a load you didn't want.
THE WHOLE PRICE LIST · FIRST MATCH APPLIES
- 01Authority under 6 monthsAny truck, any fleet size7%
- 0226 ft box truck or hotshotAny authority age, any fleet size7%
- 032 or more trucks, 6+ monthsLimited-time fleet rate4%
- 041 truck, 6+ monthsStandard rate5%
CH 02
Your fee on a real week
Pick your truck, your authority age and how many trucks you run, then slide to a normal week's gross. The nameplate uses the same rules our invoices do, so the number you see is the number you'd pay.
The rules apply in order and the first one that matches sets your fee. A brand-new MC pays 7% whatever it runs. A 26 ft box truck or hotshot pays 7% at any age. After that, two or more trucks get the 4% fleet rate, and a single truck pays 5%.
For example, a reefer carrier with a two-year-old authority and three trucks pays 4%. A hotshot carrier with three trucks pays 7%, because the box truck and hotshot rule comes before the fleet rule.
CH 03
Compare us with another quote, or with doing it yourself
Got a quote from another dispatcher? Put it in. Weekly flat fee, per-load fee or a different percent, the calculator lines it up against ours for the same week. The third column puts a price on your own time, because self-dispatching isn't free just because nobody sends you an invoice.
Be honest with the hours. Searching boards, calling brokers, sending packets, chasing check calls and fighting for detention adds up fast, and most of it happens when you should be resting.
Want a standalone version you can bookmark? Use the dispatcher fee calculator. For the bigger question of whether dispatch beats a load board for you, read dispatcher vs load board.
CH 04
What the fee includes, and what we never charge for
Included in the percent
- Load searching on the major boards and with direct broker and shipper contacts
- Rate negotiation on every load you take
- Broker setup packets with your insurance certificate and W-9
- Check calls, ETA updates and delivery confirmations
- Deadhead and backhaul planning around your home time
- Detention and layover claims
- A weekly earnings report
- Dispatchers on nights and weekends
Never charged
- Setup or onboarding fees
- Monthly minimums or weekly retainers
- Loads you turn down
- Loads that cancel before pickup
- Weeks you take off
- Early termination penalties
- Technology, app or admin fees
What sits outside dispatch altogether
Some jobs belong to you as the carrier, and no dispatch fee covers them: your insurance policy, IFTA fuel tax filings, IRP plates, your drug and alcohol program, driver qualification files and taxes. We'll point you in the right direction when you ask, and we keep your broker paperwork organized, but we don't file or pay those for you. If a dispatcher says they handle all of it for one percent, ask exactly what they file, in whose name, and what happens when something is late.
Factoring is separate too. If you want to be paid on invoices faster, we refer carriers to our factoring partner, RTS Financial, and may be paid for the referral. Their fees are theirs, not ours.
CH 05
How billing works, start to finish
- STEP 1
You accept a load
We bring an offer; you say yes. The broker sends the rate con to you and you sign it.
- STEP 2
You haul and deliver
You send the signed bill of lading and proof of delivery. Your invoice goes to the broker or your factoring company.
- STEP 3
We log the gross
The fee is based on the rate con total for the loads you delivered. Detention and layover we recovered are shown separately.
- STEP 4
You get one clear invoice
On the schedule in your agreement, with every load, its gross and our fee, so you can check it line by line.
You pay the broker nothing extra and the broker pays us nothing. Our only income from your loads is the fee you can see. If you'd like to stop, send notice and we finish the loads already booked; the agreement ends 30 days later.
CH 06
Hidden fees to ask any dispatcher about
The headline percent is only half the price. Before you sign with anyone, us included, ask for every possible charge in writing, and ask for a sample invoice so you can see how a real week is billed. These are the ones that catch new owner-operators most often:
- Setup, onboarding or “activation” fees before the first load.
- A weekly minimum you pay even when the truck sits.
- Separate charges for paperwork, invoicing or collections.
- App, software or tracking fees.
- A percent of detention and layover pay on top of the load fee.
- Penalties for turning down loads, or for leaving early.
- Contracts that renew automatically for months at a time.
Also ask what the percent is taken from. Some agreements use the line haul only, others the full rate including fuel surcharge, and a few use more than the rate con total. Ours is simple: a percent of the gross on the rate con, nothing more.
Finally, ask who signs the rate con. A cheap percent means little if the dispatcher books loads in your name without asking. With us, every load is an offer you accept or decline, and the broker sends the rate con to you.
Comparing an independent dispatcher with a company that runs a full desk? Our guide on independent vs company dispatchers covers what each one usually includes.
CH 07
Worked examples, and why we charge a percent
Five example carriers, one example week each. The gross numbers are made up to show the math; the fees come straight from our rules.
| Example carrier | Week gross | Fee | Fee in dollars |
|---|---|---|---|
| EXAMPLEDry van, 1 truck, MC 2 years old | $6,200.00 | 5% | $310.00 |
| EXAMPLEFlatbed, 1 truck, MC 3 months old | $5,400.00 | 7% | $378.00 |
| EXAMPLE26 ft box truck, 1 truck, MC 1 year old | $3,600.00 | 7% | $252.00 |
| EXAMPLEReefer, 3 trucks, MC 18 months old (per truck) | $7,000.00 | 4% | $280.00 |
| EXAMPLEHotshot, 2 trucks, MC 2 years old (per truck) | $4,200.00 | 7% | $294.00 |
Notice the hotshot fleet. Two trucks would normally get the fleet rate, but the box truck and hotshot rule comes first in the list, so it stays at 7%. The flatbed carrier pays 7% only because the MC is three months old; in three more months that same week would cost $270.00.
Why a percent, not a flat fee
A percent ties our pay to yours. When your truck earns more, we earn more, and when it sits, we earn nothing. That gives the desk a reason to push for better rates and to keep you moving, instead of booking whatever is easy.
It also protects you in slow weeks. Freight has seasons, trucks break down and drivers take time off. A flat weekly fee doesn't care about any of that. Ours does.
What the fee does not buy
No dispatcher can promise a rate, a number of loads or a weekly income, and you should be careful with anyone who does. Freight markets move, and brokers set their own rates. What the fee buys is a desk that does the searching, negotiating and paperwork well, and a say for you on every single load.
CH 08
Questions about dispatch costs
CH 01How much do truck dispatchers charge?
Most dispatch services charge a percent of each load's gross, and some charge a flat weekly or per-load fee instead. Quotes vary a lot by equipment, experience and what is included. Ours is a percent of gross, charged only on loads you haul. Compare any quote with the calculator on this page, using the real numbers from the offer.
CH 02How much is a 5% dispatch fee per load?
Multiply the load's gross by 0.05. A $2,000 load costs $100.00 in dispatch fees, a $1,200 load costs $60.00, and a $3,500 load costs $175.00. That is the whole fee. There is nothing added for paperwork, check calls or broker setups on that load.
CH 03Do new owner-operators pay more?
Yes, for the first six months of your authority the fee is 7% instead of 5%. New authorities take more work: more broker setups, more brokers saying not yet, and more time building a record. Once your MC passes six months, the rate drops automatically. Box trucks and hotshots stay at 7%.
CH 04Why do some dispatchers charge 10% or more?
Some services price higher for specialized freight, extra back-office work such as billing and collections, or simply because they can. A higher percent is not always worse if more is included, and a lower one can hide extra fees. Ask for every charge in writing and compare the total cost on a real week, not just the headline percent.
CH 05When is the dispatch fee invoiced?
We invoice the fee on the schedule written in your dispatch agreement, based on the loads you delivered in that period. Every invoice lists each load, its gross and the fee, so you can match it to your rate cons and your weekly report. Loads you turned down or that cancelled before pickup never appear.
CH 06Do you charge a setup fee?
No. There is no setup fee, no onboarding fee and no monthly minimum. You can apply, talk to a dispatcher and get your broker packets moving without paying anything. You start paying the percent only when you haul a load, and you can stop with 30 days notice.
CH 07Is a percentage fee better than a flat weekly fee?
It depends on how steady your weeks are. A percent costs nothing in a week you don't haul and costs more in a big week. A flat weekly fee costs the same either way. If you take weeks off or run part time, a percent usually works out better. Run both through the calculator with your own numbers.
CH 08Is the dispatch fee on gross or net?
Gross. The fee is a percent of the total the broker pays for the load as shown on the rate confirmation, including any fuel surcharge built into that rate. It is not taken from your net after fuel and costs. Detention and layover pay we collect for you are listed separately on your report.
18 wheels · 1 dispatcher · your call on every load
See your exact rate on a call
Tell us what you run and how long you've had your authority. We'll confirm your fee before you send a single document.