Loadsmart Review 2026

Pros Explained

Free TMS Saves Real Money. Monthly TMS subscriptions for small carriers typically run $50 to $200. Over a year, that is $600 to $2,400 you are not spending. CarrierTMS is not the most sophisticated system on the market, but it handles the basics: dispatching, invoicing, fleet visibility, and back-office management. For an owner-operator or small fleet that primarily hauls Loadsmart freight, eliminating that recurring expense makes a meaningful difference in monthly overhead.

Factoring Rate Beats the Average. At 2.5%, Loadsmart's QuickPay sits half a point below what most factoring companies charge. That spread adds up. Factor $100,000 in freight over a year and you save $500 compared to a 3% factor. The same-day funding means you are not waiting on broker payment terms to get your money. For carriers who need quick cash flow and regularly book through Loadsmart, the combination of speed and competitive rate works.

Fuel Savings Put Money Back in Your Pocket. The ONRAMP fuel card is not a gimmick. Discounts averaging 53 to 56 cents per gallon translate to thousands of dollars a year. A carrier burning 20,000 gallons annually at 55 cents off per gallon saves $11,000 on paper. Real-world savings will be lower since you will not always fill up at optimal locations, but $5,000 to $7,000 in annual savings is realistic for most operations. That money goes straight to your bottom line.

Financial Stability Provides Confidence. Loadsmart achieving operating profitability during a freight recession says something about the underlying business. Companies backed by SoftBank, BlackRock, and The Home Depot have resources to weather downturns that would sink smaller operations. The $1.3 billion valuation might sound like tech hype, but the profitability milestone suggests actual substance behind the numbers. For carriers concerned about signing up with a platform that might disappear, Loadsmart looks reasonably stable.

Cons Explained

Shipper Focus Means Carriers Are Secondary. This is the fundamental limitation you need to understand. Loadsmart built its business serving shippers through the ShipperGuide platform. The carrier tools exist to make their brokerage operations run smoothly. When priorities conflict, shipper needs come first. That is not necessarily a problem if your expectations are aligned, but carriers looking for a company that puts their interests at the center of the business model should look at traditional load boards instead.

Limited Carrier Reviews Create Uncertainty. Unlike DAT or Truckstop, where you can find thousands of carrier experiences across multiple forums and review sites, Loadsmart has minimal presence in places like TruckersReport. The iOS app has ratings but limited detailed reviews. Trustpilot and similar platforms show sparse feedback. This absence makes it difficult to know what the typical carrier experience looks like. You might have a great experience. You might have problems. The lack of data makes it harder to predict which way it will go.

Factoring Limitations Reduce Flexibility. The 2.5% rate sounds good until you realize it only applies to Loadsmart loads. If you factor 60% of your freight through Loadsmart and 40% through other sources, you still need a traditional factoring company for that 40%. That second relationship means two sets of paperwork, two funding sources, and potentially less favorable rates from the outside factor since you are bringing them reduced volume. Carriers who want one factoring relationship covering all their invoices need to look elsewhere.

Customer Service

Customer service is an area where the limited available data makes it hard to draw confident conclusions. Loadsmart advertises 24/7 carrier support via phone, email, and chat. The BBB gives them an A+ rating with accreditation since July 2022 [^3], which suggests they handle complaints through proper channels.

User feedback is mixed. One positive review described the overall experience as "above and beyond almost all interactions I have had with outside vendors. They respond to issues quickly and provide tons of details." That sounds promising. On the other side, carrier complaints mention communication inconsistencies, with concerns about speaking to different brokers after booking and disputes where fault gets pushed onto the driver.

Payment disputes appear in some complaints. One carrier on ComplaintsBoard detailed an extended detention situation where they felt inadequately compensated for layover and storage fees. Another complaint mentioned the company still owing money after a multi-day delay situation. These are individual cases and do not necessarily represent typical experiences, but they are worth noting.

The Glassdoor employee rating sits at 3.7 out of 5 based on 236 reviews. Companies with solid internal cultures tend to deliver better customer service, but 3.7 is neither excellent nor terrible. It suggests a decent workplace without being outstanding.

What you can reasonably conclude is that support is available when you need it and the company responds to formal complaints appropriately. Beyond that, your individual experience will depend on which representatives you work with and how your specific situations get handled.

Who Should Use This

Loadsmart makes the most sense for carriers who fall into specific situations.

You already haul Loadsmart freight regularly. If you book loads through Loadsmart multiple times a month, the integrated ecosystem creates genuine value. Use the free TMS to manage those loads, factor through QuickPay at 2.5%, and capture fuel savings along the way. Everything connects, and you are not paying platform fees for any of it.

You want free TMS functionality without monthly costs. Owner-operators and very small fleets often skip TMS software because the monthly expense feels hard to justify. CarrierTMS solves that problem if you are willing to haul enough Loadsmart freight to make the integration worthwhile. It is not as feature-rich as paid options, but free beats $100 a month.

You are comfortable with technology-driven operations. Loadsmart runs on apps, algorithms, and automated processes. If you prefer building relationships with specific brokers who know your name and your lanes, the digital-first approach may feel impersonal. Carriers who are comfortable working through mobile apps and platforms will find the workflow intuitive.

You want fuel savings regardless of other services. The ONRAMP fuel card stands on its own merit. Even if you rarely book Loadsmart freight, signing up for fuel discounts costs nothing and potentially saves thousands per year. Test the fuel card first, and if the savings materialize, explore the other tools.

Look elsewhere if you need a primary load board with consistent daily volume, want factoring that covers all your invoices from any source, or prefer traditional broker relationships with personal contact. Loadsmart works best as part of a broader toolkit, not as your only freight source.

Final Verdict

Loadsmart earns a 3.8 out of 5 and our Free TMS Included badge for delivering genuine value through free carrier tools and competitive factoring rates. The company has built a stable platform backed by serious investors, achieved profitability during a freight recession, and earned recognition from Gartner for its technology. Those are real accomplishments.

The free CarrierTMS eliminates software costs for carriers who regularly haul Loadsmart freight. The 2.5% factoring rate beats industry averages. The fuel card partnership offers savings that can run into thousands of dollars per year. None of these tools cost anything to access, which is rare in an industry where everyone seems to charge a monthly fee for everything.

The limitations are equally real. This is a shipper-focused company that built carrier tools to support their brokerage, not the other way around. Limited carrier reviews make it hard to know what typical experiences look like. Factoring only applies to Loadsmart loads. Load availability varies by region and equipment type.

The smart approach is to treat Loadsmart as one resource among several. Sign up for the fuel card and track your actual savings over a few months. Test load availability in your operating regions. If you find consistent freight that pays fairly, take advantage of the free TMS and competitive factoring. If loads are sparse in your lanes, keep using your primary load board and just capture the fuel savings.

For carriers who can align their operations with what Loadsmart offers, the platform delivers value that costs nothing to access. That alone makes it worth exploring, even if it never becomes your primary freight source.