Softwr

Logistics · head to head

Loadsmart vs Shippabo

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
Shippabo logo

Shippabo

Logistics

Freight forwarder with its own import management platform, priced on container volume

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • 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.; Shippabo the software is priced on container volume under an annual service agreement, so the fee moves with freight rather than usage and a soft import season still carries a committed cost.
  • They diverge on capability: Loadsmart covers ShipperGuide TMS, Shippabo covers Purchase order tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Loadsmart and Shippabo actually diverge.

Attributes where Loadsmart and Shippabo differ
AttributeLoadsmartShippabo
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, APIWeb

Identical on both: starting price (On request), pricing model (quote), 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 Loadsmart

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

Only in Shippabo

  • Purchase order tracking
  • Shipment visibility
  • Customs brokerage
  • Supplier collaboration
  • Landed cost
  • System integrations

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 Shippabo
  • A warehouse operator that needs to stop scheduling inbound appointments by phone and email across a fragmented carrier basenot Shippabo
  • A shipper that wants instant committed truckload capacity on lanes where it does not hold contract ratesnot Shippabo
  • A distribution centre trying to measure and reduce driver dwell time with automated gate capture rather than clipboard logsnot Shippabo

Shippabo

  • A mid-sized importer bringing containers from China that needs PO-level visibility without building it in-housenot Loadsmart
  • A wholesaler that wants factories updating purchase order status directly instead of by emailnot Loadsmart
  • A retailer needing landed cost per shipment to price goods before they arrivenot Loadsmart
  • An importer consolidating forwarding, customs brokerage and tracking with one providernot 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.

Shippabo

  • The software is priced on container volume under an annual service agreement, so the fee moves with freight rather than usage and a soft import season still carries a committed cost.
  • Platform and forwarding are bought together, which makes tendering freight to a cheaper carrier expensive because you risk losing the visibility layer your team uses.
  • As a small forwarder it has less network depth and weaker space allocation than the global incumbents, which bites hardest in a tight ocean market when capacity is rationed to large accounts.
  • Nothing is published about price, so importers cannot benchmark the software fee against independent visibility vendors without a sales process.
  • Coverage is concentrated on the trans-Pacific import lane, so companies with significant intra-Europe, Latin American or export flows need a second provider anyway.

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

Shippabo

On request
  • Shippabo Platform$undefined/year
    • Annual software service agreement
    • Priced on container volume and partner count
    • Purchase order and container visibility

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 Shippabo if

  • You need purchase order tracking.
  • You also want shipment visibility.
Shippabo review

Questions people ask

Is Loadsmart or Shippabo better?
Neither clearly leads. Loadsmart starts at On request and Shippabo at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Loadsmart or Shippabo?
Loadsmart starts at On request and Shippabo at On request.
Does Loadsmart or Shippabo run on more platforms?
Loadsmart runs on Web, iOS, Android, API. Shippabo runs on Web.
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 Shippabo is typically brought in for.
What can Loadsmart do that Shippabo cannot?
Loadsmart covers ShipperGuide TMS, Instant committed quotes, Opendock scheduling, NavTrac gate automation. Shippabo covers Purchase order tracking, Shipment visibility, Customs brokerage, Supplier collaboration.

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.

Shippabo: Is Shippabo still trading?

Yes. The platform and freight services are active, operated by Galleon Technology with United States and China operations.

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.

Shippabo: Can I buy the software without using Shippabo as my forwarder?

The visibility product is sold as an annual agreement priced on container volume and partners, so it is structured around the freight relationship rather than as a standalone subscription.

Loadsmart: Does it publish pricing?

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

Shippabo: How is it priced?

On container volume and partner count under an annual software service agreement. No figures are published.

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.

Shippabo: Is it a neutral multi-carrier platform?

No. It is a forwarder's own platform, so it will not give you a genuinely carrier-agnostic view of freight you tender elsewhere.

Share

Related pages

More on Loadsmart

More on Shippabo

Keep looking

Other head to heads