Truck dispatch fees: 5% of gross, nothing when you don't haul
A truck dispatch fee should be easy to read on a phone at a fuel island. Ours is one percentage of the gross on the loads you haul, the same for every truck we run, with no setup fee and no contract to sign your way out of.
The fee next to what a night costs you
Most drivers already know what a night on the road costs them: the paid spot when the free ones are gone, the shower, the meals. Put the dispatch fee next to those numbers and you can judge it the way you judge everything else on the trip.
Type in what your nights actually cost. The fee side uses your gross and your tier, so the sign reads in the same dollars you spend at the counter.
Fee shown at 5% (one truck, MC older than 6 months). EXAMPLE math; we never store what you type.
How much dispatchers charge here, by tier
There are three tiers, and the truck you drive does not change which one you land in. A 26 ft box truck, a hotshot and a 53 ft reefer pay the same percentage on the same terms. Your tier is set by two facts on paper: how old your MC is and how many trucks run on it.
New authority
7% of gross while your MC is under 6 months old. The first months take the most broker setup work, which is what this tier covers.
Standard
5% of gross for one truck once your MC is 6 months or older.
Fleet
4% of gross per truck for two or more trucks with an MC that is 6 months or older.
A new MC does not have to call anyone to get the lower rate. At month 6 the fee drops to the standard or fleet tier on its own, and your weekly report shows the change.
YOUR TIER
New authority (MC under 6 months)
7%of gross
- Weekly gross (1 truck)
- $6,000
- Dispatch fee
- $420
- You keep (before costs)
- $5,580
Steps down to 5% automatically at month 6, in 4 months. No paperwork.
Month-by-month table
| MC month | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2 | 7% |
| 3 | 7% |
| 4 | 7% |
| 5 | 7% |
| 6 | 5% |
| 7 | 5% |
| 8 | 5% |
| 9 | 5% |
| 10 | 5% |
| 11 | 5% |
| 12 | 5% |
| 13 | 5% |
Same tiers for every equipment type. No setup fee, no minimums, month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice. EXAMPLE math, not a promise of revenue.
How much do dispatchers charge? Three ways to price it
If you are asking how much dispatchers charge, the honest answer is that it depends on how they charge. Most dispatch services use one of three models, and each one rewards the dispatcher for something different.
Percentage of gross
The dispatcher takes a share of what each load pays. Their income rises when your rates rise and stops when your truck stops. This is how we charge.
Flat weekly fee
You pay the same amount every week, whether the truck ran five loads or none. Easy to budget in a strong week, painful in a week at home or in the shop.
Per load
A set amount for each load booked. It can look cheap on long, high-paying runs and expensive on short ones, and it can reward booking more loads rather than better ones.
Whatever the model, read what is included. A low number that leaves you doing the broker calls, the packets and the detention claims is not the same service as a higher number that covers them.
EXAMPLE WEEK
The percentage is only half of the math. What moves your week more is the rate on each load and how many miles you run empty to get it. Here is an EXAMPLE to show why.
Say your truck grosses $5,500 in a week of load board freight you booked yourself, with a lot of deadhead between loads. A dispatcher who pulls an extra 20 cents a mile on 2,500 loaded miles and trims the empty miles adds about $500 in gross before any fee. The fee on the new gross is still less than the extra money, and you got back the hours you would have spent on the phone.
That is not a promise. Some weeks the market is soft and nobody finds better freight. But it is the right way to judge any dispatcher: compare what you keep after the fee, not the fee on its own.
Questions worth asking any dispatcher before you sign:
- Is the fee on gross, on line haul only, or on something else?
- Is there a setup fee, a monthly minimum, or a charge for slow weeks?
- How long is the contract, and what does it take to leave?
- Do I see and approve every load, and does the rate con come to me?
- Are detention, layover and TONU claims included, or extra?
- Who answers the phone at night and on weekends?
Dispatch service cost against doing it yourself
Running your own dispatch can make sense. Here is an honest look at who does what, so you can decide if the fee buys back enough of your week.
| Job | With HaulStop | On your own |
|---|---|---|
| Finding loads | We work the boards and our broker and shipper contacts while you drive | You search between stops, on breaks or late at night |
| Rate negotiation | Every load is negotiated before it reaches you | You negotiate, often from the cab |
| Saying yes | You confirm every load; the rate con comes straight to you | You confirm every load |
| Carrier packets | Set up with brokers for you | You fill out each broker's packet |
| Check calls and updates | We take the broker calls | Your phone rings while you drive |
| Detention and layover | We file the claims and follow up | You track the hours and chase the money |
| Planning the night | Loads checked against your hours and preferred stops | You do the clock math yourself |
| Cost | A percentage of gross, only on loads you haul | No fee, paid in your own hours |
Doing it yourself usually wins when you already have steady direct customers who call you first, or when you enjoy the phone work and have the hours for it. If most of your week runs through load boards, the time on the phone is where a dispatcher earns the fee. Plenty of carriers try dispatch for a month and let the weekly reports decide whether it stays.
The terms in plain words
- No setup fee
- You do not pay anything to get started, and there is nothing to pay back if you leave.
- No minimums
- No monthly minimum and no load quota. A slow week costs you nothing extra.
- Month-to-month
- Month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice.
- On gross, on loads hauled
- The fee is figured on the gross revenue of loads hauled. No haul, no pay.
- You confirm every load
- You confirm every load before it is booked. The rate confirmation is sent directly to you.
- No is always an answer
- You can say no to any load. No penalty, no pressure.
If you are comparing dispatchers, ask each one for these same terms in writing. Our guide to choosing a dispatcher lists the questions worth asking before you sign anything. Read how to choose a dispatcher, see how our dispatch works from the first call, or check freight factoring if slow broker pay is the bigger problem.
Questions about the dispatch fee
How much is a 5% dispatch fee per mile?
It depends on the rate. On an EXAMPLE load paying $2.50 a mile, 5% works out to about $0.130 a mile. On a $3.00 load it is about $0.15. Because the fee is a percentage of gross, a better rate raises your take-home more than it raises the fee.
Do box trucks or hotshots pay a higher fee?
No. Every equipment type pays the same tiers, from a 26 ft box truck or a hotshot to a dry van, flatbed or tanker. What sets your tier is how old your MC is and how many trucks you run, never the kind of truck.
When does the new-authority rate drop?
At month 6 of your MC. From then on you pay 5% for one truck or 4% per truck for two or more. It happens automatically: there is no form to send and no call to make, and your weekly report shows the new rate.
What if I take a week of home time?
Then you owe nothing for that week. The fee is only charged on loads you actually haul, so home time, a breakdown or a slow week never turns into a bill. Tell us the dates ahead of time and we plan the loads before and after around them.
Is there a contract, and how do I cancel?
There is no long contract. Service is month-to-month, cancel with 30 days notice. There is no setup fee to lose and no monthly minimum, so stopping is simply a matter of giving notice. If the service is not paying for itself, you should not keep it.
What does the dispatch fee include?
Load sourcing on the boards and through our broker and shipper contacts, rate negotiation on every load, carrier packet setup, broker and check calls, deadhead and reload planning, detention and layover claims, and a weekly earnings report. Each load still comes to you to accept or decline.
Are there extra fees for detention or layover claims?
No. Filing and following up on detention and layover claims is part of the service, with no add-on charge. We track the hours, send the claim to the broker with the times from your check calls, and keep after it until it is paid or settled.
Do fleet rates apply to every truck?
Yes. With two or more trucks on an MC that is 6 months or older, every truck pays 4%. A fleet on a newer MC pays 7% until month 6, then the fleet rate applies to all of its trucks.
Lock in one simple fee
5% of gross for one truck, 4% for 2+, 7% while your MC is under 6 months. No haul, no pay.
Ready now? Apply for dispatch.