Is Loadsmart or Shippo better?

Neither clearly leads. Loadsmart starts at On request and Shippo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Loadsmart or Shippo?

Shippo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Loadsmart and Free for Shippo.

Does Loadsmart or Shippo run on more platforms?

Loadsmart runs on Web, iOS, Android, API. Shippo runs on Web.

Can I use Shippo for free?

Yes. Shippo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Loadsmart starts at On request.

What is Loadsmart best used for?

Loadsmart is most often used for a mid market shipper with no tms that wants tendering, tracking and reporting without funding a licence and an integration project separately, a warehouse operator that needs to stop scheduling inbound appointments by phone and email across a fragmented carrier base, a shipper that wants instant committed truckload capacity on lanes where it does not hold contract rates, a distribution centre trying to measure and reduce driver dwell time with automated gate capture rather than clipboard logs. Of those, a mid market shipper with no tms that wants tendering, tracking and reporting without funding a licence and an integration project separately and a warehouse operator that needs to stop scheduling inbound appointments by phone and email across a fragmented carrier base are not what Shippo is typically brought in for.

What can Loadsmart do that Shippo cannot?

Loadsmart covers ShipperGuide TMS, Instant committed quotes, Opendock scheduling, NavTrac gate automation.

Logistics · head to head

Loadsmart vs Shippo

Loadsmart

Logistics

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

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Shippo

Logistics

Shipping software for comparing rates and printing discounted labels

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Shippo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: 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.; Shippo premier tier requires contacting sales for custom pricing
Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Loadsmart and Shippo actually diverge.

Attributes where Loadsmart and Shippo differ
Attribute	Loadsmart	Shippo
Starting price	On request	Free
Pricing model	quote	freemium
Free tier	No	Yes
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android, API	Web

Identical on both: 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 Loadsmart

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

Only in Shippo

Nothing recorded that Loadsmart does not also cover.

What people use each for

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

Loadsmart

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

Shippo

Comparing rates within seconds across 40+ carriersnot Loadsmart
Generating return labels to streamline returns processnot Loadsmart
Handling international shipping with customs forms generationnot Loadsmart
Creating and printing bulk labels via CSV importnot Loadsmart
Tracking shipments with automated customer notificationsnot Loadsmart

Where each one falls short

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

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.

Shippo

Premier tier requires contacting sales for custom pricing
Address validation charges vary by tier ($0.09 Starter, $0.08 Pro, $0.06 Premier per non-US lookup)

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Shippo

Free

StarterFree
- up to 30 labels per month
- 1 user login
- connect own carrier account at $0.05/label
Pro$17/month
- scales from 1-10,000 labels per month
- up to 5 user logins
- free carrier account connections
Premier$null/custom
- unlimited shipments
- 15+ user logins
- dedicated account manager

Which should you pick?

Choose Loadsmart if

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

Loadsmart review

Choose Shippo if

You want to start without paying.

Shippo review

Questions people ask

Is Loadsmart or Shippo better?: Neither clearly leads. Loadsmart starts at On request and Shippo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Loadsmart or Shippo?: Shippo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Loadsmart and Free for Shippo.
Does Loadsmart or Shippo run on more platforms?: Loadsmart runs on Web, iOS, Android, API. Shippo runs on Web.
Can I use Shippo for free?: Yes. Shippo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Loadsmart starts at On request.
What is Loadsmart best used for?: Loadsmart is most often used for a mid market shipper with no tms that wants tendering, tracking and reporting without funding a licence and an integration project separately, a warehouse operator that needs to stop scheduling inbound appointments by phone and email across a fragmented carrier base, a shipper that wants instant committed truckload capacity on lanes where it does not hold contract rates, a distribution centre trying to measure and reduce driver dwell time with automated gate capture rather than clipboard logs. Of those, a mid market shipper with no tms that wants tendering, tracking and reporting without funding a licence and an integration project separately and a warehouse operator that needs to stop scheduling inbound appointments by phone and email across a fragmented carrier base are not what Shippo is typically brought in for.
What can Loadsmart do that Shippo cannot?: Loadsmart covers ShipperGuide TMS, Instant committed quotes, Opendock scheduling, NavTrac gate automation.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

Shippo: How much does Shippo cost?

Shippo's Starter free plan includes 30 labels per month. Pro is $17/month or $205/year with a 10% discount. Premier plan requires contacting sales for custom pricing.

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.

Shippo: What is included in Shippo's free Starter plan?

Shippo Starter free tier includes up to 30 labels per month, 1 user login, and the ability to connect your own carrier account with a charge of $0.05 per label.

Source

Loadsmart: Does it publish pricing?

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

Shippo: What additional costs does Shippo charge beyond the subscription?

Beyond subscription fees, Shippo charges for postage (carrier rates with Shippo discounts), optional insurance, address validation ($0.09 for Starter, $0.08 for Pro, $0.06 for Premier per non-US lookup), and label overages at $0.08 per label beyond 10,000/month on Pro tier.

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.

Loadsmart vs Shippo

Loadsmart

Shippo

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Loadsmart

Only in Shippo

What people use each for

Loadsmart

Shippo

Where each one falls short

Loadsmart

Shippo

Pricing, plan by plan

Loadsmart

Shippo

Which should you pick?

Choose Loadsmart if

Choose Shippo if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Loadsmart

More on Shippo

Keep looking

Other head to heads