Dispatcher fee calculator: percentage vs flat fee, side by side

Enter any dispatcher's quote and your weekly numbers. The dispatcher fee calculator shows the fee, what you keep and your rate per mile after the fee, next to our rate.

By Rafael Fox · Updated October 2026

How the other dispatcher charges

Their fee%

Weekly gross per truck

Rate con totals for the week, lumper reimbursements left out.

Loaded miles per weekmi

Trucks

MC agemo

Weeks a year the truck sitswk

Repairs, home time, slow weeks.

Per truck, per running week

Your quote
$480.00
8% of gross · 8% of gross · you keep $5,520 · $2.30/mi after fee
TraceDispatch
$300.00
5%: MC 6+ months, 1 truck · 5% of gross · you keep $5,700 · $2.38/mi after fee

Rate per loaded mile, before fee: $2.50
Your quote, per year: $23,040
TraceDispatch, per year: $14,400
Your quote minus ours, per year: $8,640

Year = 48 running weeks. At today's tier.

At your numbers our fee would be $300.00 a week on the MC 6+ months, 1 truck tier. No haul, no pay. You still approve every load. Send my application

month-to-month, 30 days notice, no setup fee.

How it's calculated

Everything is per truck. The calculator uses the numbers you enter and our published tiers; it doesn't guess your rates.

Percentage fee per week = weekly gross × fee %.
Flat fee per week = the weekly amount quoted.
You keep = weekly gross − fee.
Rate per mile after fee = (weekly gross − fee) ÷ loaded miles.
Per year = weekly fee × running weeks, plus the flat fee in idle weeks if it's still billed.
Break-even = flat fee ÷ our fee %, the weekly gross where both cost the same.

Our side comes from the same rules as our agreement: 7% while your MC is under 6 months, 5% after that with one truck, 4% per truck with two or more. The fee is taken from the gross rate on the rate confirmation, lumper reimbursements excluded. A week with no delivered loads costs nothing.

Your numbers stay in your browser. Once you change an input, the page address updates with your numbers, so you can copy the link and send the same comparison to a partner, a spouse or the other dispatcher. Nothing is sent to us unless you apply.

A worked example

EXAMPLE: one truck, MC a year old, $6,000 weekly gross on 2,400 loaded miles, so $2.50 a mile. The truck sits 4 weeks a year. Here are two quotes against our 5%:

EXAMPLE: two dispatcher quotes against our tier, per truck
Quote	Per running week	Per mile after fee	Per year
Other dispatcher, 8%	$480	$2.30	$23,040
Other dispatcher, $250 flat, billed every week	$250	$2.40	$13,000
TraceDispatch, 5%	$300	$2.38	$14,400

Against the 8% quote, our rate leaves $8,640 more with the carrier over the year. The flat quote is the honest surprise: at this gross it costs less than our 5%, about 4.2% of a running week. It only flips in weeks under $5,000 gross, and in the 4 weeks the truck sits, when the flat fee is still billed and ours is zero. If your weeks are steady and strong, a flat fee can be the better deal. That's what the calculator is for.

Reading the result

Look at the year, not the week

One strong week makes any fee look small. Set the idle weeks to what really happened last year: shop time, home time, the slow stretch after the holidays. That's where flat fees and percentages split apart.

Rate per mile after the fee

This is the number to hold against your cost per mile. A dispatcher who books higher-paying freight can be worth a higher fee; one who books the same loads you would have found isn't worth any fee. If your rate per mile after the fee is below what the truck costs to run, the problem is the freight, not the fee.

What the fee buys

Two quotes with the same percentage can cover very different work. Ask whether the fee includes broker setups, negotiation on every load, check calls, detention and TONU requests, and payment follow-up, or whether those cost extra. The clauses to read are in dispatch contract clauses, and our full terms are on what we charge.

Percentage or flat: which fits your truck

When each fee model tends to cost less
Your situation	Usually cheaper	Why
High, steady weekly gross	Flat	The fee stays put while the gross climbs
Seasonal or uneven weeks	Percentage	Slow weeks cost less, idle weeks cost nothing
New MC, still building broker setups	Percentage	Early weeks are often thin; a flat fee doesn't shrink with them
Frequent home time or shop time	Percentage	Flat fees are often billed whether the truck runs or not
Short local loads, many per week	Depends	Check whether the flat fee has a load cap

The table is a starting point, not a rule. Your own year decides it, which is why the calculator asks for idle weeks instead of assuming every week is a good one.

Costs that don't show in the quote

The fee line is rarely the whole price. Before you compare two dispatchers, ask about each of these in writing:

Setup or onboarding fees charged before the first load. We charge none.
Weekly minimums that turn a percentage into a flat fee in slow weeks. We have none.
Long contracts or cancellation charges. Ours is month-to-month with 30 days notice.
What the percentage applies to: the whole rate con, or the linehaul only. Ours excludes lumper reimbursements.
Extra charges for invoicing, detention requests or broker setups.
Forced loads: whether you can turn down a load without a penalty. With us you can, every time.

More than one truck

Every number in the calculator is per truck. With two or more trucks on an MC that's at least 6 months old, our rate drops to 4% on each one; set the trucks counter to see it. A flat-fee quote for a fleet is usually the weekly amount times the number of trucks, so the gap between the two models grows or shrinks with every truck you add.

Next steps

To see whether a dispatcher pays for itself on your hours and rates, use the dispatch ROI calculator. To check single loads before you confirm them, the load profitability calculator does the math per trip. Browse all trucking tools, or apply for dispatch and we'll show you the fee on real loads first.

Questions carriers ask

How much do dispatchers charge?

Most truck dispatchers charge either a percentage of the gross on each load or a flat fee per truck per week, and quotes vary widely, so compare written terms rather than headline numbers. Ours is 7% while your MC is under 6 months, then 5% for one truck or 4% per truck for two or more, with no setup fee and no minimums.

Is a percentage or flat dispatch fee better?

Neither wins every week. A flat fee costs less in strong weeks and more in slow ones, and it's often billed when the truck sits. A percentage moves with your gross, so the dispatcher earns more only when you do. Put both quotes into the calculator with your real weekly gross and idle weeks and compare the yearly total, not one good week.

Is the dispatch fee on gross or net?

It depends on the agreement, so read the fee clause. Ours is a percentage of the gross rate on the rate confirmation, with lumper reimbursements left out, billed weekly, on delivered loads. Some dispatchers count every line on the rate con, and some add extra charges for paperwork or detention requests. Ask for the basis in writing before you sign anything.

Do dispatchers charge when the truck sits?

Percentage dispatchers usually don't, since there's no load to take a percentage of. Flat-fee agreements often bill every week whether the truck runs or not, unless the agreement says otherwise. We charge nothing in a week with no delivered loads: no haul, no pay. Check the clause on idle weeks, home time and breakdowns before you compare quotes.

See the fee on a real load before you commit

No setup fee, no minimums, month to month. You confirm every load and the broker pays you directly.

Get my load plan

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