Softwr

Logistics · head to head

Cargoson vs Loadsmart

Cargoson logo

Cargoson

Logistics

Transport management system for manufacturers shipping across road, air, sea and rail

From
$199/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Loadsmart logo

Loadsmart

Logistics

Digital freight brokerage sold together with the TMS, dock scheduling and gate tools that book the loads

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Cargoson monthly billing costs 25% more than annual billing; Loadsmart the brokerage and the software share a parent, so quotes shown inside ShipperGuide are Loadsmart capacity offers rather than a neutral market view, and a shipper wanting a benchmark has to source rates elsewhere.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Cargoson and Loadsmart actually diverge.

Attributes where Cargoson and Loadsmart differ
AttributeCargosonLoadsmart
Starting price$199/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWebWeb, iOS, Android, API

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Logistics).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Cargoson

Nothing recorded that Loadsmart does not also cover.

Only in Loadsmart

  • ShipperGuide TMS
  • Instant committed quotes
  • Opendock scheduling
  • NavTrac gate automation
  • Managed transportation
  • Carrier app and load board

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Cargoson

  • freight and shipment managementnot Loadsmart
  • logistics optimizationnot Loadsmart
  • carbon emissions reportingnot Loadsmart

Loadsmart

  • A mid market shipper with no TMS that wants tendering, tracking and reporting without funding a licence and an integration project separatelynot Cargoson
  • A warehouse operator that needs to stop scheduling inbound appointments by phone and email across a fragmented carrier basenot Cargoson
  • A shipper that wants instant committed truckload capacity on lanes where it does not hold contract ratesnot Cargoson
  • A distribution centre trying to measure and reduce driver dwell time with automated gate capture rather than clipboard logsnot Cargoson

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Cargoson

  • monthly billing costs 25% more than annual billing
  • one-time setup fee applies to all tiers
  • per-user limits prevent flexible team scaling

Loadsmart

  • The brokerage and the software share a parent, so quotes shown inside ShipperGuide are Loadsmart capacity offers rather than a neutral market view, and a shipper wanting a benchmark has to source rates elsewhere.
  • Instant quoting only works where Loadsmart has carrier depth, so a shipper running thin regional or rural lanes finds committed pricing unavailable in exactly the conditions where it would have been most valuable.
  • Opendock depends on carriers and drivers creating accounts and booking their own slots, so a facility with hundreds of small carriers spends months chasing adoption before the appointment data is complete enough to act on.
  • Pricing is not published and is negotiated per shipper, frequently alongside a freight volume expectation, which makes it hard to compare against an independent TMS licence and awkward to unwind if you later move the freight to another provider.
  • The portfolio was assembled by acquisition, with Opendock and NavTrac bought in separately, and the modules still behave as separate applications with their own logins and reporting rather than a single system.

Pricing, plan by plan

Cargoson

$199/month
  • Basic$199/month
    • 2 users
    • 100 shipments/month
  • Standard$399/month
    • 5 users
    • 1,000 shipments/month
  • Advanced$599/month
    • 10 users
    • 3,000 shipments/month
  • Enterprise$1000/month
    • unlimited users
    • custom shipment volume

Loadsmart

On request
  • ShipperGuide$undefined/year
    • Transportation management for shippers
    • Quoting, tendering and execution
    • Reporting and rate benchmarking
  • Opendock$undefined/year
    • Dock appointment scheduling by facility
    • Carrier self service booking
    • Door and dwell reporting

Which should you pick?

Choose Cargoson if

Nothing in the data separates Cargoson from Loadsmart on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.

Cargoson review

Choose Loadsmart if

  • You need shipperguide tms.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want instant committed quotes.
Loadsmart review

Questions people ask

Is Cargoson or Loadsmart better?
Neither clearly leads. Cargoson starts at $199/month and Loadsmart at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Cargoson or Loadsmart?
Cargoson starts at $199/month and Loadsmart at On request.
Does Cargoson or Loadsmart run on more platforms?
Cargoson runs on Web. Loadsmart runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
What is Cargoson best used for?
Cargoson is most often used for freight and shipment management, logistics optimization, carbon emissions reporting. Of those, freight and shipment management and logistics optimization are not what Loadsmart is typically brought in for.
What can Cargoson do that Loadsmart cannot?
Loadsmart covers ShipperGuide TMS, Instant committed quotes, Opendock scheduling, NavTrac gate automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Cargoson: How much does Cargoson cost?

Cargoson plans start at USD 199/month for Basic (annual billing) or USD 249/month on monthly billing, scaling to USD 1,000+/month for Enterprise with unlimited users.

Source
Loadsmart: Can I use ShipperGuide with my own contracted carriers and not Loadsmart capacity?

Yes, it will tender to your carrier panel, but the instant quoting and the managed service are where the product invests and where the commercial relationship sits.

Cargoson: Are there per-shipment fees on Cargoson?

No, Cargoson charges flat monthly subscription only; there are no per-shipment fees, providing transparent pricing regardless of volume.

Source
Loadsmart: Is Opendock sold separately from the brokerage?

Yes. It is the most commonly standalone purchase, and warehouses buy it without ever tendering freight to Loadsmart.

Cargoson: Does Cargoson offer discounts for annual billing?

Yes, annual billing plans cost approximately 20-25% less than equivalent monthly plans; prorated billing applies when upgrading.

Source
Loadsmart: Does it publish pricing?

No. Every deal is quoted, and software cost is often discussed together with freight volume.

Cargoson: How many users are included in each Cargoson plan?

Basic includes 2 users, Standard includes 5 users, Advanced includes 10 users, and Enterprise includes unlimited users.

Source
Loadsmart: How does it compare to a visibility platform like project44?

It is not a visibility network. Tracking covers freight moving through Loadsmart and connected carriers, not your whole carrier base across every mode.

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