TMS pricing: why per-seat billing punishes growing carriers

Transportation management software is priced in four common ways, and the difference between them is not small. At 30 trucks the same feature set can cost $150 a month or $1,800 a month depending purely on the billing model.

The four models

Per user, per month. Typically $20 to $120 per seat. Sounds reasonable with three dispatchers. Becomes expensive the moment safety, maintenance and accounting want logins — which is exactly when a TMS starts being useful.

Per truck, per month. Usually $10 to $30 per truck. Scales with the fleet, which feels fair, until you have a slow quarter with trucks parked and the bill doesn't move.

Tiered plans. $150 / $350 / $500 a month, with features locked behind the tiers. The feature you need is almost always one tier up. IFTA reporting in particular is often a paid add-on at around $5 per truck.

Flat plus usage. A fixed base with a small per-load charge. The bill tracks activity rather than headcount or asset count.

What per-seat pricing does to behavior

This is the part that doesn't show up in a pricing comparison, and it matters more than the money.

When logins cost $50 each, carriers ration logins. The maintenance manager shares the dispatcher's account. Safety gets a read-only seat "for now." The owner checks numbers by asking someone to send a screenshot.

The result is that the data stops being trustworthy. If the person who knows a truck is down doesn't have a login, the board shows it as available. If the person who paid the lumper can't attach the receipt, the receipt lives in a text message. The software ends up describing a version of the operation that stopped being true on Tuesday.

A TMS is only as good as the completeness of what goes into it, and per-seat pricing is a direct financial incentive to put less in.

Running the numbers

A carrier with 30 trucks, 8 office staff, running about 120 loads a month:

• Per user at $50: $400/month. Add the owner and a second safety person and it's $500.
• Per truck at $20: $600/month, whether you run 120 loads or 40.
• Mid-tier plan at $350 plus IFTA at $5/truck: $500/month.
• Flat $100 + $1/load: $220/month, with every person in the company having their own login.

At 80 trucks with 15 staff and 340 loads:

• Per user at $50: $750/month
• Per truck at $20: $1,600/month
• Flat $100 + $1/load: $440/month

The gap widens as you grow, which is the opposite of what most pricing pages imply.

The questions to ask any vendor

1. What does a login cost? If the answer is anything but zero, expect your data to be incomplete.
2. What's behind a higher tier? Ask specifically about IFTA, document storage, API access and settlements — these are the usual upsells.
3. Is there a setup or onboarding fee? Four figures is common and often negotiable.
4. What's the contract term? Annual lock-ins are standard. Month-to-month is worth real money in flexibility.
5. Can I export everything, free, whenever? If the answer is vague, your data is a hostage.
6. What happens in a slow month? Asset- and seat-based pricing doesn't flex. Usage-based does.

What we charge, and why

Roadmark is $100 a month for the whole company up to 100 trucks, plus $1 per load. Unlimited users, every department, every feature, month-to-month.

The reasoning is simple: we would rather your maintenance manager, your safety director and your night dispatcher all have their own logins and put real data in, than sell you five seats and watch the system slowly drift out of sync with your operation.

The per-load charge means a slow month costs less. That is not generosity — it just aligns our bill with your activity instead of with your asset list.