Top 10 Load Boards Every Trucker must Know
Finding loads can be difficult especially if you’re new to the industry. Many small companies shut shop because they don’t find enough loads. So what is the best way to find loads and grow your business?
Load Boards. Yes, load boards are a great way to headstart your business and even make some money. They connect you directly with shippers through a vast comprehensive list with detailed tasks. That said, ample research needs to be done before you take the plunge.
And we know, you don’t have that kinda time. So here’s a comprehensive list of the best load boards you must know if you’re a part of the trucking industry.
5 Top Paid Load Boards
1.DAT ONE
DAT ONE is currently the leading load board in the market. It operates online and has an app that boasts of 623,117 loads every day. The app (Android & iOS compatible) provides you clear info on the freight market trends.
They offer TruckersEdge and DAT Power with varying plans under each model. TruckersEdge offers 3 subscription plans:
- Standard priced at $39.95/month - You can post unlimited trucks, have unlimited load searches, use their mapping services, and see inbound & outbound loads for each state
- Enhanced priced at $49.95/month - Apart from standard package offerings, it includes broker days-to-pay scores, broker credit profiles, broker spot market lane rates, and mobile access
- Pro priced at $99.95/month - All features of Standard and Enhanced. Additionally, you get 15-day lane rates, automatic triangle haul routing suggestions, and access to the entire North American database
Moving to the DAT Power model, it is a live board that gives you actual load rates based on real-time transactions happening over 65,000 lanes. With close to 993,00 loads posted every day, you can view live market rates instead of bids. They offer two subscription packages:
- Standard priced at $149/month - You can find brokers who post regularly in lanes, access DAT’s guarantee payment covering payments up to $1,000 per load and access their search console
- Pro priced at $249/month - Includes standard packages features. Additionally, you can create a preferred customer list, block and choose companies you want to see loads from, compare spot and contract rates, and view leading loads in every lane
What’s best, you can create a free demo account and get a feel of the app before subscribing to any of the plans.
2.123Loadboard
123Loadboard is a market leader with more than 50,000,000 loads posted annually. It has a database of over 350,000 users and has partnered with close to 30 companies in the transportation industry.
With a smooth and easy-to-use app (Android & iOS compatible) in place, it offers 2 subscription plans. You can also take a 10-day trial before opting for any plan. The 2 subscription plans and features are:
- Standard, priced at $35/month - Offers 24/7 access to loads, real-time load alerts, app & mobile access to one user
- Premium, priced at $45/month - Offers all standard features for two users. You also get additional Mileage and maps features, document capturing & storage, credit scores, days-to-pay data, load planners. And a free fuel card that can save you 10-40 cents per gallon.
Sounds too good to be true right? 123Loadboard is one of the cheapest options in the market that you can come across.
3. Truckstop.com
Truckstop.com has more than 200,000 brokers, shippers, and carriers on its site. They offer both web and app (Android & iOS compatible) versions to all users who sign up irrespective of what plan you choose. The diversity Truckerstop.com offers makes it one of the most accessible resources.
Truckerstop.com offers 3 subscription plans starting at a basic price of $39/month
- Basic, priced at $39/month - Unlimited load searching & lane posting, gauge negotiation strength on loads, and instant Book It Now for loads
- Advanced, priced at $125/month - Basic plans features plus fuel desk which helps you optimize your fuel efficiency during trips, view shipper/broker days-to-pay, credit score, and risk level
- Pro, priced at $149/month - Basic and advanced features. Additionally, you can access a live board with real-time data, search for best-paying loads, and rate & heat map.
If you’re still unsure of which plan to take or the functionality, you can fill a form here and get a free demo.
4. ComFreight
ComFreight is another leading load board in the market offering a 15-day trial period. Priced at $19/month, it offers all the usual services and also a beta version of their truckload rate index tool. They have both web and app (Android & iOS compatible) versions.
The app allows you to post trucks, search & bid on loads, view market rate data trends for loads, and guarantees same or 1 day risk free HaulPay.
5. Direct Freight
Direct Freight allows you to create a free account and also has the option of premium account. They have both web and mobile (Android & iOS compatible) versions which are fairly easy-to-use. With more than 300K load posting everyday, Direct Freight is quite the place to pick a load.
They offer a 15-day trial period in case you want to take up the premium account. Premium account costs $35 and offers competitive features like document storage, text alerts, and filtering options. You can easily post your trucks for brokers to view and contact you.
5 Free Load Boards to Save your Bucks
These are some of the best paid load boards in the market providing a free trial. However, you don’t necessarily have to spend bucks to get loads. There are several load boards you can join free of cost. Here are the top 5 free load boards:
1.TruckerPath
TruckerPath app can be used both on the web and mobile (Android &iOS). With over 150,000 daily loads, you can be sure to find a load on this app. Apart from regular load updates, you can also check a broker’s credit score, save your searches, and receive notifications to stay on top of the game always.
You can watch their demo or just download the app and give it a try. After all, you don’t have to pay anything.
2.Trulos.com
Trulos.com is a free of cost load board with multiple options making it very resourceful. You can search for partial truckloads, truck loads with rates, view loads by state, city, and zip code. Furthermore, you can also view loads based on your truck type and radius.
All this absolutely free of cost. Trulos.com offers users both web and mobile app versions (iOS & Android compatible). They boast of more than 900 direct shippers and brokers for you to choose from.
3.Free Freight Search
FreeFreightSearch is one of the largest load boards in the trucking industry. They have over 101,000 members and offer fuel advance, quick pay, and a payment guarantee too.
It is a steal deal offering support hotline and email alerts along with regular features for literally zero penny. They have also integrated with a freight bill factoring company that allows you to access upfront funds.
4.FR8 Connect
FR8 Connect offers free membership to users and has a fully responsive app you can use. The free membership allows 1 user. Features in free membership include equipment posting, saving favourite postings, map & routing directions, and map mileage.
While this sounds like a pretty good deal, if you want more, you can always upgrade to any of their 3 membership plans.
5.Freight Finder
Freight Finder is a basic search engine that showcases loads from every American state and also Canadian province. They don’t have an app unlike most of the load boards on this list. But don’t let that stop you from checking them out.
Established in 1998, they offer high paying loads for your trucks. The site consists of hundreds of thousands of real-time load postings.
Load Boards are an integral part of finding loads for your trucking business. If you’re a new truck driver, load boards are your best bet to find loads and build your career. We suggest you initially try out the free load boards until you get a hang of the process.
Then you can move to paid memberships based on your business requirements. Here’s another tip for you, new-comers and a reminder to all you legendary truckers - file your form 2290 for the tax year 2020-21 and avoid paying penalties.