How much do truck dispatchers charge?
Across the industry, dispatch services charge about 5–10% of revenue, or a flat weekly fee per truck. Where you sit in that range depends mostly on your trailer and how much work each load takes.
Here is what the market charges in 2026. These are not our rates. They are here so you can tell if a price you are quoted is fair.
We do reefer and dry van only, so the first two rows are the ones that apply to you. Flatbed is shown for comparison, because it is where the high end of every published range comes from.
How our fee is structured
A percentage of linehaul. Not gross.
Your fuel surcharge is yours. We don't take a cut of it. If a dispatch service quotes you a percentage of gross, ask them specifically whether that includes FSC — and watch what happens.
We only get paid when you get paid.
If the load doesn't pay, neither do we. And we never take money from a broker, a 3PL, or your factoring company. You get paid, then you pay us. We're your vendor and nobody else's.
What we never charge for
Five questions to ask any dispatch service about their fee
Ask us these, and ask everyone else you talk to. The percentage on its own tells you almost nothing. Two services both quoting 7% can differ by thousands of dollars a year.
Is the percentage on gross or on linehaul?
This is the biggest hidden cost in dispatch pricing. On a $3,000 load with a $600 fuel surcharge, 8% of gross is $240 and 8% of linehaul is $192. Same load, same work, 25% more money out of your pocket. Ask the question in these exact words and see how long the answer takes.
Do you take a cut of detention, TONU, or lumper money?
That is money you already earned by sitting, by being cancelled on, or by paying a lumper out of your own pocket. A dispatcher taking a percentage of your detention is charging you for being made to wait.
Are there other fees on top?
A 5% quote with a $50 fee per load and a $300 setup charge is not a 5% service. Stacked fees are how a low headline percentage gets made back.
Do you get paid if the load does not pay, or if I sit all week?
A flat weekly fee gets paid whether you moved or not. A percentage of gross usually gets paid when the invoice goes out, not when the money arrives. Both put the dispatcher on a different side from you at the moment it matters most.
Does anyone other than me pay you?
If a dispatch service takes money from brokers, 3PLs, or a factoring company, they are negotiating your rate while being paid by the other side. It is legal to tell you. It is common not to.
Check the numbers before you call us.
A dispatch fee only makes sense if it raises your average load by more than it costs. Start with your own number: run your cost per mile, then bring it to the call.
Get your number on a 30-minute call →New authority? Why we charge new carriers more. Still comparing services? The full FAQ.