Broker margin calculator: see the split between shipper and carrier rate

Enter the shipper rate, if you know it, and your rate. The broker margin calculator shows the split in dollars and percent, and how much room you have to counter at the margin you think is fair.

By Rafael Fox · Updated October 2026

Do you know what the shipper pays?

Shipper rate

From the broker's transaction record, the shipper, or a posted shipper rate you trust.

Your rate (carrier rate)

Your assumption

Broker margin you'd call fair%

Your own view, not an industry figure. Margins vary by lane, load and broker.

Where the shipper's money goes

Carrier

Broker

Green line: your rate at a 15% broker margin.

Shipper pays: $2,600
You're offered: $2,150
Broker margin: $450 (17.3%)
Markup over your rate: 20.9%
Your rate at a 15% margin: $2,210
Room to counter: $60

The broker keeps 17.3% here. Knowing the split is how we negotiate; you still decide. Talk to a dispatcher

How it's calculated

Broker margin = shipper rate − carrier rate.
Margin % = margin ÷ shipper rate. This is the share of the shipper's money the broker keeps.
Markup % = margin ÷ carrier rate. Same dollars, bigger percentage, so check which one anyone is quoting.
Your rate at a fair margin = shipper rate × (1 − the margin you'd call fair).
Room to counter = your rate at a fair margin − the rate you're offered.

If you don't know the shipper rate, estimate mode works backward: it shows what the shipper would pay if the broker kept exactly the margin you assume. That's a what-if, labeled as one, not a discovery of the real number. The tool works as a simple freight broker rate calculator from either side, and nothing you type leaves your browser.

A worked example

EXAMPLE: Broker A offers you $2,150 on a load. From a transaction record on a similar load, you know the shipper pays about $2,600. You think a 15% broker margin is fair on this lane.

EXAMPLE: one load, split
Figure	Amount
Shipper rate	$2,600
Your offer	$2,150
Broker margin	$450 (17.3% of shipper rate)
Markup over your rate	20.9%
Your rate at a 15% margin	$2,210
Room to counter	$60

The broker keeps 17.3% here, a bit above your fair line, which gives you about $60 of room. That's a modest counter with a real basis. Without the shipper rate, estimate mode at the same 15% would put the shipper at about $2,529, which only tells you what your assumption implies.

What the margin pays for

A broker's margin isn't all profit. It covers the people who find and keep shippers, credit risk when a shipper pays late or not at all, the $75,000 bond or trust a broker must keep on file , insurance, software, and the cash to pay carriers before shippers pay the broker. On some loads the margin is thin or negative; on others it's wide. Judging one load in isolation is fair only if you remember that.

It also explains why a broker won't always move. If the split is already close to what you think is fair, push on terms such as detention or quick pay instead of rate.

Your right to see the numbers

Brokers must keep a record of each transaction for three years, including what they were paid and what they paid the carrier, and each party to the transaction may review it . Many broker-carrier agreements include a clause where the carrier waives that review right, so read your agreement before you sign. A rule that would make brokers provide those records on request has been proposed and is still pending . Until it's final, the current rule and your contract decide. Our guide to the broker transparency rule tracks where it stands.

How to ask for a transaction record

Check your broker-carrier agreement for a waiver of the review right. If there is one, the request may be refused.
Put the request in writing, by email, naming the load number, pickup date and your MC number.
Ask for the record of that transaction as kept under the federal broker records rule.
Keep a copy of the request and the reply with the load's rate con and invoice.

This is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute over a specific load, talk to a transportation attorney.

Margin and markup are not the same number

The same dollars give two different percentages, depending on what you divide by:

EXAMPLE: margin % vs markup % on the same loads
Shipper rate	Carrier rate	Margin %	Markup %
$2,000	$1,800	10%	11.1%
$2,600	$2,150	17.3%	20.9%
$3,000	$2,400	20%	25%

When someone quotes a margin, ask which one they mean. This calculator shows both so the comparison is fair.

Reading the result

Margin at or below your fair line

The split looks reasonable. Negotiate on terms, not rate, and keep the broker if they pay on time. A broker who leaves a fair share on the table load after load is worth more to a small carrier than one who pays a little more once and then disappears. Track how they pay, not just what they offer.

Margin well above your fair line

You have room, and a reason. Counter with a number between your offer and your fair-margin rate, and keep the reason about the load: deadhead, timing, equipment. Use the counter-offer calculator to set the figure.

Margin you can't know

Most of the time you won't have the shipper rate. Then the honest move is to negotiate from your own floor and target, and treat this tool as a way to sanity-check what you hear, not as proof.

Margin, rate con and getting paid

Whatever you agree, the rate con is what you'll be paid on. Run it through our rate confirmation checker, which also gives you a clean freight broker rate confirmation template to compare against. For the business side of brokerage, see freight broker profit margin, explained fairly from both sides.

Our desk negotiates every load with the split in mind and starts from your floor. We're a dispatcher, not a broker: we never see the shipper's money and never set shipper rates. See how we work on better rates, browse all tools, or apply.

Questions carriers ask

How do I calculate a broker's margin?

Subtract what the carrier is paid from what the shipper pays the broker. That's the margin in dollars. Divide it by the shipper rate for the margin percentage. On a $2,600 shipper rate with $2,150 paid to the carrier, the broker keeps $450, about 17.3%. Divide by the carrier rate instead and you get the markup, a different and larger number.

What is a normal freight broker margin?

It varies by lane, load, season and broker, and a single load can be far from any average in either direction. Publicly traded brokerages report their margins in annual filings, but those are company-wide figures, not what any one load earns. That's why this calculator asks for your own view of a fair margin rather than giving you one.

Can I find out what the shipper paid?

Federal rules give each party to a brokered transaction the right to review the broker's record of it, which includes the broker's compensation. Many broker-carrier agreements ask carriers to waive that right, so check yours. A proposed rule on broker transparency is pending. Some shippers also post their own rates, which can give you a reference point.

Should I ask a broker about their margin?

You can, and some brokers will tell you roughly, but it rarely helps on the phone. A better approach is to counter from your own floor and target, with a reason tied to the load. Use the margin when you have real data, such as a transaction record, or when a broker repeatedly pays well below what similar loads pay on that lane.

We negotiate with the split in mind

Your floor first, the broker's side understood. You confirm every load, and the broker pays you directly.

Talk to a dispatcher

ONE LOAD, START TO PAYDAYEXAMPLE

Rate con, sent to you$2,150
Pickup, delivery, POD
Broker pays you$2,150
Our fee (5%)-$107.50
You keep$2,042.50