How much does the DAT load board cost?

DAT's published carrier plans run from $59 to $339 per month on the vendor's own pricing page, tiered mainly by search capacity and how fresh the lane-rate averages are. Every figure is a list price the vendor can change without notice.

Is there a free version of DAT or Truckstop?

Neither pricing page listed a free carrier plan on the date we accessed it; both boards sell monthly subscriptions. If the subscription is the obstacle, the wider load-sourcing playbook covers lower-cost boards and channels that cost time instead of money.

Which is better for a new authority, DAT or Truckstop?

Neither board publishes anything that makes it the answer for every new carrier, and we do not rank vendors. Compare the published facts against your operation: how each plan bills, what the up-front cost is, which tiers carry the rate data you need, and which brokers you plan to work with post their freight where.

Can I run both boards at once?

Check each subscription agreement before paying for both. Add the cost of the exact plans and seats you need, including fees and taxes, and confirm each cancellation deadline. Compare usable loads in your lanes before keeping two subscriptions.

Post-grant operations

DAT vs Truckstop

Q: How much does the Truckstop load board cost?

The Truckstop plans shown here run from $42 to $299, with most tiers billed per user. The Truckstop plans shown here are from its ALL carrier view. Check its VAN or REEFER view for equipment-specific plans. Listed amounts exclude applicable fees and taxes. The ALL view lists a non-refundable application fee, credited toward the first month if approved; the credit may expire and cannot be transferred or exchanged for cash.

DAT and Truckstop are the two load boards most new carriers compare first, and both publish their plans and list prices. This page puts those published facts side by side: what each plan costs, how each board bills, and which criteria actually separate them. We rank neither, and nobody pays to appear here.

By Haul Handbook editorial team· Updated Sep 27, 2026

The published numbers, side by side

Every figure below is the vendor's own list price from its pricing page on the accessed date. Vendors change list prices and plan names without notice, which is why each cell carries its source.

Published fact	DAT One	Truckstop Load Board
Entry plan shown	Standard: $59 per month	Basic: $42 per user per month
Top plan shown	Office: $339 per month	Heavy Haul Pro: $299 per month, up to 3 users
Plans shown here	5	4
Application fee	None listed	$42

Plan by plan, from each vendor

DAT One

DAT's published figure claims more than 291 million loads and trucks posted annually across its network. That is the vendor's claim, not ours.

Standard: $59 per month (dat one mobile app; up to 500 load searches and truck posts per month)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.
Enhanced: $149 per month (two search tabs on the web; spot market rates averaged over the trailing 15 days)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.
Pro: $169 per month (three search tabs on the web; spot market rates averaged over the trailing 7 days)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.
Select: $259 per month (ten search tabs on the web; best-available average lane rates)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.
Office: $339 per month (ten search tabs on the web; best-available average lane rates; premium lanemakers access)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.

Truckstop Load Board

Basic: $42 per user per month (unlimited load search; post trucks and lanes; private loads from approved brokers; backhaul search)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.
Advanced: $135 per user per month (everything in basic; broker ratings; fuel tools and routing)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.
Pro: $159 per user per month (everything in advanced; rate insights; live loads; lane planning tools)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.
Heavy Haul Pro: $299 per month, up to 3 users (heavy-haul focused load search; expanded search radius; permit quotes with escort details)Plan checked Oct 9, 2026.

The Truckstop plans shown here are from its ALL carrier view. Check its VAN or REEFER view for equipment-specific plans. Listed amounts exclude applicable fees and taxes. The ALL view lists a non-refundable application fee, credited toward the first month if approved; the credit may expire and cannot be transferred or exchanged for cash.

The criteria that actually separate them

Feature lists converge; the structural differences in the published pricing are what hold up over time:

Billing unit. DAT lists its plans per month while most Truckstop tiers are listed per user per month. For a one-truck operation the difference is cosmetic; the moment a second person needs a login, per-user billing changes the math, so price the seats you will actually run.
Up-front cost. One board lists an application fee and the other does not, per the table above. That changes what the first month costs even when the monthly prices look close.
What the upper tiers buy. Both vendors tier on rate intelligence: DAT's published plan highlights track how fresh the rate averages are, and Truckstop's track rate insights and broker vetting tools. Decide which of those you will use weekly before paying for a top tier.
Broker vetting. Check the broker information and company filters included in the exact plan you are considering. Ask what you can review before accepting a load, and pair that check with a plan for getting invoices paid while broker terms run their course.
Where your freight lives. No published spec answers the question that matters most: which board carries more of the freight in your lanes and equipment. Both vendors publish network-size claims, and a network-wide total says nothing about reefer loads out of your home market on a Tuesday.

Where boards fit in the bigger picture

Whichever board wins your subscription, most of what it shows you is broker-posted freight, so the board decision is really the first half of a channel decision. How boards, brokers, and direct shippers compare as places to find revenue is covered in load boards vs brokers vs direct shippers, and the wider launch sequence lives in your first 30 days with new authority.