How to Choose a Freight Broker TMS in 2026: 10 Questions to Ask

Updated October 2026. Freight broker TMS prices run from about $70 a month to several thousand. Some you can sign up for tonight. Others take a sales process, a contract and a 90-day rollout. Most comparison lists don't help much, because they rank software without asking what kind of brokerage you are.

So instead of a ranking, here are the questions that actually separate a good fit from an expensive mistake. Ask every TMS you look at, including ours. We make Haulan, and we'll say where it fits and where it doesn't.

The four kinds of freight broker TMS

Type	Typical cost	Fits
Spreadsheets + Word templates	Free	Your first handful of loads, and not much past that
Low-cost, sign up online	Roughly $70 to $150 a month, flat or per user	Brokers who want to start this week with no contract
Mid-market platforms	Hundreds to a few thousand a month, often with setup fees	Teams with steady volume and someone to run the rollout
Enterprise systems	Quote based, yearly contracts	Large brokerages with IT staff and heavy EDI

Most brokers reading this belong in the second row. The questions below are how you tell the options in that row apart.

10 questions to ask before you pick one

1. Does it actually check the carrier, or just store documents?

This is the big one. A real carrier check pulls the carrier's live FMCSA authority, safety record and insurance when you book, and warns you or stops you if something's wrong. Some software only gives you a place to upload the W-9 and insurance certificate you collected yourself. That's a filing cabinet, not vetting. Double brokering is still the fastest way to lose a load's worth of money, so this question matters more than any feature list.

2. Are carrier packets included, or a separate bill?

You need carriers to fill out a setup packet (W-9, insurance, your agreement) from their phone. Some TMS platforms include this. Others connect to a separate packet service you pay for on top. Add both bills together before you compare.

3. Can the carrier e-sign the rate con from a phone?

Not a PDF you email and hope comes back. A link the driver or dispatcher signs in a minute, saved to the load automatically.

4. Are BOLs and invoices built from the load?

If you type the same pickup address into three documents, one of them will be wrong eventually. The load should fill out the rate con, the BOL and the invoice, and the POD should attach to the invoice without hunting for it.

5. What does it really cost with everyone on it?

Per-user pricing looks cheap for one person. At three or four people it can cost more than a flat plan. Ask about setup fees, contract length, and anything billed per load or per check.

6. Is there a contract?

A year-long contract on software you've used for two weeks is a big bet. Month to month lets you leave if it doesn't work out.

7. Can you start today?

Some systems you can use the same afternoon. Others need weeks of setup and training before your first load. If you have freight now, that matters.

8. Does it work on your phone?

Carriers call at 6 AM and drivers text BOL photos at 9 PM. You need to check a carrier, send a packet and send a rate con without opening a laptop. A desktop site squeezed onto a phone screen doesn't count.

9. Will it grow with you?

Ask what happens when you add people: roles and permissions, reports by customer and user, QuickBooks export, EDI when a big shipper asks for it. You don't need all of it on day one, but you shouldn't have to switch systems to get it.

10. Can you run a real load during the trial?

Run one real load start to finish: vet the carrier, send the packet, send the rate con, build the invoice. You'll learn more in that hour than in any sales demo.

Where Haulan fits

Haulan is a freight broker TMS built around those first four questions. Type an MC and it pulls the live FMCSA authority, safety record and insurance, and it stops you from booking a carrier with no active authority. Carrier setup packets, e-signed rate cons, BOLs and invoices all come off the same load, and it works on a phone as well as a computer.

Pricing: Starter is $70 a month for one user, with 25 carrier packets a month included. Lite ($150) adds up to 3 users and live load tracking. Pro ($250) adds up to 5 users, roles and owner reports. Enterprise is custom. Month to month, no setup fee, and the prices are on the website. QuickBooks export comes with every plan, and EDI with shippers is available on Pro and Enterprise.

Where it's not the fit: it doesn't post loads to load boards for you. And if you're a large brokerage that needs a long list of custom integrations from day one, an enterprise system is built for that.

For more on what a TMS has to handle, see freight broker TMS software: what it actually has to do.

Common questions

What is the best TMS for a new freight broker?

One with no contract, a low monthly price, and carrier vetting and packets built in. Haulan is built for exactly that: $70 a month flat, with live FMCSA carrier checks, carrier packets, rate cons and invoicing included.

How much does a freight broker TMS cost?

From about $70 a month for low-cost options like Haulan up to several thousand a month for enterprise systems, which usually add setup fees and yearly contracts.

Is there a free TMS for freight brokers?

Spreadsheets are free, and some tools offer limited free plans or trials. Most brokers outgrow free quickly, because free tools rarely check carriers for you, and that's where the costly mistakes happen.

Do I need a TMS if I only move a few loads a week?

You don't strictly need one, but the carrier check alone is worth it. A TMS that checks authority and insurance on every carrier, every time, protects you on the loads where you're too busy to check by hand.

Which TMS includes carrier onboarding packets?

Haulan includes carrier setup packets in every plan, starting with 25 a month on Starter. When you compare others, ask whether packets are included or billed by a separate service.

Want to try Haulan on a real load? Get a free demo login and run one through it.