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Fleet Management · head to head

Motive vs Trailforks

Motive logo

Motive

Fleet Management

ELD compliance, AI dashcams and spend management for North American commercial fleets

From
On request
Free plan
No
Full reviewWebsite
Trailforks logo

Trailforks

Maps

Mountain-bike-specific trail database and navigation app owned by Outside Inc

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Trailforks has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Motive contracts are multi-year and per vehicle with hardware embedded, so a fleet that shrinks keeps paying for units that are sitting in a yard.; Trailforks the free tier only allows one offline region downloaded at a time, which is limiting for a rider visiting multiple trail areas.
  • They diverge on capability: Motive covers ELD compliance, Trailforks covers Mountain bike trail database.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Motive and Trailforks actually diverge.

Attributes where Motive and Trailforks differ
AttributeMotiveTrailforks
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelquoteFreemium, standalone Pro or bundled with Outside+
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidiOS, Android, Web
CategoryFleet ManagementMaps

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Motive

  • ELD compliance
  • AI dashcams
  • GPS tracking
  • Driver safety scoring
  • Vehicle diagnostics
  • Spend management

Only in Trailforks

  • Mountain bike trail database
  • Community trail reports
  • Offline maps
  • Premium basemaps
  • Heatmap overlay
  • Weather and fire overlays

What people use each for

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

Motive

  • A trucking fleet that must run FMCSA compliant electronic logs and wants cameras from the same vendornot Trailforks
  • An operator facing an insurance renewal that requires evidence of a driver coaching programmenot Trailforks
  • A construction fleet tracking both vehicles and unpowered assets such as trailers and generatorsnot Trailforks
  • A fleet suspecting fuel card misuse and wanting transactions matched against vehicle locationnot Trailforks

Trailforks

  • A mountain biker planning a ride on unfamiliar singletrack who needs direction-of-travel and difficulty datanot Motive
  • Someone riding in an area with no signal who needs an offline downloaded trail mapnot Motive
  • A rider checking recent community trail condition reports before heading outnot Motive
  • Someone comparing several mountain bike regions using the usage heatmap before choosing where to ridenot Motive

Where each one falls short

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

Motive

  • Contracts are multi-year and per vehicle with hardware embedded, so a fleet that shrinks keeps paying for units that are sitting in a yard.
  • Driver facing cameras generate real workforce resistance, and fleets in tight labour markets have lost drivers over the rollout rather than the technology.
  • Installation and calibration across a distributed fleet takes weeks of vehicle downtime, which is rarely costed into the comparison at the point of purchase.
  • The rebrand from KeepTruckin means older documentation, integration guides and third-party references are inconsistent, which slows technical work on connections.
  • Coverage depends on cellular networks, so remote route segments produce gaps in tracking and delayed log uploads that drivers then have to reconcile.

Trailforks

  • The free tier only allows one offline region downloaded at a time, which is limiting for a rider visiting multiple trail areas.
  • Pro pricing appears to be shifting toward bundling with the wider Outside+ media subscription, making the standalone price less stable and worth checking directly before buying.
  • Its focus on mountain biking means it is a weaker choice than Ride with GPS for road or gravel route planning.
  • Trail data quality depends on community contribution, so newer or less-ridden regions can have sparse or outdated information.
  • Being owned by a media company with a broader outdoor content bundle strategy introduces some uncertainty about how the standalone app product is prioritised long term.

Pricing, plan by plan

Motive

On request
  • Motive$undefined/year
    • Per-vehicle subscription over a multi-year term
    • Hardware supplied within the agreement rather than purchased outright
    • Dashcams, asset trackers and spend management priced as separate lines

Trailforks

Free
  • Trailforks FreeFree
    • Trail database access
    • Basic basemaps
    • One offline region at a time
  • Trailforks Pro$undefined/year
    • Unlimited offline regions
    • Premium basemaps including Gaia and ArcGIS satellite
    • Heatmap, weather and fire overlays

Which should you pick?

Choose Motive if

  • You need eld compliance.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want ai dashcams.
Motive review

Choose Trailforks if

  • You need mountain bike trail database.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want community trail reports.
Trailforks review

Questions people ask

Is Motive or Trailforks better?
Neither clearly leads. Motive starts at On request and Trailforks at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Motive or Trailforks?
Trailforks has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Motive and Free for Trailforks.
Does Motive or Trailforks run on more platforms?
Motive runs on Web, iOS, Android. Trailforks runs on iOS, Android, Web.
Can I use Trailforks for free?
Yes. Trailforks has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Motive starts at On request.
What is Motive best used for?
Motive is most often used for a trucking fleet that must run fmcsa compliant electronic logs and wants cameras from the same vendor, an operator facing an insurance renewal that requires evidence of a driver coaching programme, a construction fleet tracking both vehicles and unpowered assets such as trailers and generators, a fleet suspecting fuel card misuse and wanting transactions matched against vehicle location. Of those, a trucking fleet that must run fmcsa compliant electronic logs and wants cameras from the same vendor and an operator facing an insurance renewal that requires evidence of a driver coaching programme are not what Trailforks is typically brought in for.
What can Motive do that Trailforks cannot?
Motive covers ELD compliance, AI dashcams, GPS tracking, Driver safety scoring. Trailforks covers Mountain bike trail database, Community trail reports, Offline maps, Premium basemaps.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Motive: Is Motive the same company as KeepTruckin?

Yes. KeepTruckin renamed to Motive in 2022. The products and account relationships carried over.

Trailforks: Is Trailforks free?

A free tier exists with trail data and one offline region at a time; Pro removes that limit and adds premium map layers.

Motive: Can hardware be bought outright?

It is normally supplied inside a multi-year subscription rather than sold, which is why the exit cost of a shrinking fleet is high.

Trailforks: Who owns Trailforks?

Outside Inc, which also owns Pinkbike and CyclingTips, acquired it in 2021.

Motive: Does it work outside the United States?

Canada and Mexico are supported, including Canadian electronic logging requirements. Coverage elsewhere is limited.

Trailforks: Is it only for mountain biking?

Mountain biking is the core focus, though it has secondary support for hiking, gravel and motorised trail use.

Motive: Are the driver facing cameras optional?

Yes, road facing only configurations are available, and fleets worried about driver retention often start there.

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