The Two Load Board Giants
DAT and Truckstop (now rebranded as Truckstop.com) are the two dominant load boards in North America, together accounting for the vast majority of broker-posted freight. Most active carriers subscribe to both — but if you can only afford one, which should it be?
DAT One — Overview
DAT (originally Dial-A-Truck) is the largest load board by volume, with over 500 million loads posted annually and more than 1.7 million daily load and truck posts. DAT has been the industry standard for decades and has the deepest rate intelligence data in the industry.
DAT Plans and Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| DAT One Basic | ~$45/month | Load search, limited searches/day |
| DAT One Advanced | ~$150/month | Unlimited search, rate analytics, broker credit |
| DAT One Pro | ~$250/month | Everything + rate forecasting, shipper data |
DAT Strengths
- Largest load volume — more loads posted than any competitor
- Best rate data — DAT RateView is the industry standard for lane rate benchmarking
- Broker credit scores — detailed payment history scores for every broker
- Load-to-truck ratio — real-time supply and demand data per lane
- Shipper directory — find direct shippers by commodity and location (Advanced+)
- Industry-wide acceptance — most brokers post on DAT first
Truckstop.com — Overview
Truckstop.com has been competing with DAT for decades and has significantly closed the load volume gap in recent years. It differentiates itself with carrier-focused features and strong integration capabilities.
Truckstop Plans and Pricing
| Plan | Price | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | ~$39/month | Load search, basic posting |
| Standard | ~$129/month | Rate data, broker scores, alerts |
| Pro | ~$199/month | Full features, API access |
Truckstop Strengths
- Carrier-friendly interface — many carriers find it more intuitive than DAT
- Rate intelligence — competitive rate data, catching up to DAT
- Broker payment scores — Days-to-Pay data showing actual payment speed
- Fraud alerts — stronger broker verification and fraud monitoring
- API access — better for integrating with TMS software
- Customer service — generally rated higher than DAT for support quality
Head-to-Head Comparison
| Factor | DAT One | Truckstop |
|---|---|---|
| Daily load posts | 1.7M+ | ~800K |
| Rate data quality | Industry best | Strong |
| Broker credit scores | ✅ Comprehensive | ✅ Good |
| Fraud protection | Good | ✅ Stronger |
| Mobile app | Good | ✅ Better rated |
| API/TMS integration | Good | ✅ Better |
| Starting price | ~$45/mo | ~$39/mo |
| Customer support | Average | ✅ Better |
Which Should You Choose?
Choose DAT if rate intelligence is your priority. DAT RateView is unmatched for understanding what a lane actually pays and negotiating from a position of knowledge. If you are focused on maximizing your rate per mile, DAT's data is worth the premium.
Choose Truckstop if you value interface, support, and fraud protection. Truckstop's cleaner interface and stronger customer service make daily use more pleasant, and their fraud monitoring has caught more double-brokering incidents than DAT.
Use both if volume is your priority. Many active carriers subscribe to both at around $200-$300/month total. The load volume overlap means you are mostly paying for the unique loads and rate data each offers.
Load Board Integration With TruxlyOS
TruxlyOS integrates with both DAT and Truckstop, displaying loads from both boards in a single view with AI scoring. Each load is automatically scored 0-100 based on rate vs market average, deadhead miles, equipment match, and destination efficiency. You see the best loads first — regardless of which board they came from — and can import load details into TruxlyOS in one click without manual data entry.
