Dispatch ROI calculator: is a dispatcher worth it for your truck?

By Edwin Horton · Updated October 2026

How the dispatch ROI calculator works

The calculator compares two things you can measure: the hours you spend dispatching your own truck, valued at your number, and the fee a dispatch desk would charge on the same freight.

• Weekly gross = loaded miles × your current rate per loaded mile
• Dispatch fee = (weekly gross + any change you expect) × your tier. Ours is 7% while your MC is new, 5% for one truck, 4% per truck from two
• Your hours, valued = hours per week × what an hour is worth to you
• Net with dispatch = hours valued + expected change − fee
• Break-even hourly value = the value of an hour at which the fee and your time cost the same

EXAMPLE An owner-operator spends 14 hours a week on boards, calls and paperwork, values an hour at $30, and runs 2,300 loaded miles at $2.35 a mile. Gross is $5,405. At 5%, the fee is about $270. The hours are worth $420. Net with dispatch: about $150 a week ahead, before any change in rates. The break-even is roughly $19 an hour: if your time is worth less than that, doing it yourself wins on these numbers.

When dispatch pays for itself

Positive net: the fee costs less than your time. What you do with the hours decides whether you come out ahead. If they become driving hours, rest, or work on growing the business, the trade is real. If they become more hours on the phone, it isn't.

Negative net: at your numbers, dispatch costs more than your time is worth. That's a legitimate answer. Owners with steady direct freight and few calls often land here, and they should keep dispatching themselves.

The change field is yours. We don't build rate increases or extra loads into the math, because we don't promise them. If you expect your weekly gross to move with a dispatcher, for better or worse, put your own estimate there and see how sensitive the answer is.

To compare what different desks charge on the same gross, use the dispatcher fee calculator. To check whether a single offer is worth taking, use the load profitability calculator.

Before you decide

Running a desk yourself means software too. Our guide to trucking dispatch software covers boards and TMS, and the EDI for trucking guide explains when shipper integrations matter. If you run two or more trucks, the small fleet dispatch page shows how a desk handles several units without forcing loads on any of them.

Track one normal week before you trust any number here: every minute on boards, broker calls, setup packets, check calls and invoices. Most owners guess low.

Then decide what the hours are for. Some owners use them to drive more loaded miles, some to find direct shippers, some to rest and stay safe. Any of those can be worth more than the fee. Hours that disappear into other busywork aren't a gain, and the calculator can't tell the difference; only you can.

Log a real week first

• Log your dispatching hours for one full week
• Price an hour at what you'd earn driving or what you'd pay someone
• Use your real average rate per loaded mile from settlements
• Leave the expected change at zero unless you have a reason