Dispatcher Fee Calculator: Percent or Flat, Per Mile

How the calculation works

Percentage fee = gross × percentage.
Flat fee = the flat amount for the same period.
Fee as a share of gross = fee ÷ gross. This turns a flat fee into a percentage you can compare.
Fee per mile = fee ÷ miles.
After the fee = gross − fee.
Effective rate per mile = (gross − fee) ÷ miles.

Use a single load, or a whole week. Keep gross and miles from the same period, loaded miles for a rate comparison, or all miles to see the fee against every mile you drive.

A worked example

ONE WEEK, TWO FEE TYPES

EXAMPLE

Gross, 2,400 loaded mi$6,000

5% fee$300

Flat $300 fee$300

Same week at $3,500 gross

5% fee$175

Flat $300 = 8.6%$300

Made-up weeks.

At $6,000 the two fees are the same. In the slower week the percentage falls to $175 while the flat fee stays at $300, which is 8.6% of that week. That gap is why a percentage tends to treat slow weeks better, and why a percentage dispatcher earns more only when you do.

What the result tells you

Fee per mile sits on your cost-per-mile list next to fuel and tires. At typical rates, a single-digit percentage is a few cents to the low teens of cents a mile.
Effective rate per mile is what you compare against your cost per mile. If it is below, the load or the week lost money after the fee.
Fee as a share of gross lets you compare a flat-fee dispatcher with a percentage one on your own numbers.

Whether the fee is charged on the fuel surcharge changes the result. If it is, put your gross including surcharge into the calculator; the fuel surcharge calculator and what is a fuel surcharge in trucking explain how that part of the rate is set.

Our fee, for comparison

5% of gross for one truck with authority older than six months, 7% for a new MC, a 26 ft box truck or a hotshot, 4% per truck for two or more (a limited-time rate). No setup fee, no minimum, no fee in a week you don't haul. Tap the tier buttons in the calculator to see each one on your numbers, and put the fee into your books with your other costs from the trucking expenses list.

Whether the fee is worth it depends on what the dispatcher brings back: the dispatch ROI calculator adds the rate and hours side. Every load we book is offered to you first, as described on dispatch for owner-operators. Apply to see your tier.

Questions about this calculator

How do I calculate a dispatcher's fee?

For a percentage fee, multiply the gross the fee is charged on by the percentage: 5% of a $6,000 week is $300. For a flat fee, the fee is the flat amount; divide it by the gross to see it as a percentage. Divide either by your miles to see it per mile.

Is a flat dispatch fee cheaper than a percentage?

In a strong week it can be; in a weak week it usually isn't. A $300 flat fee is 5% of a $6,000 week and 8.6% of a $3,500 week. Some flat fees are also charged in weeks you don't run. Enter both in the calculator for your typical week.

Is the fee charged on the fuel surcharge?

Ask each dispatcher, because it changes the fee. Many charge on gross load revenue, which includes the fuel surcharge and accessorials; some charge on linehaul only. With us, the fee is on gross load revenue, and pass-through reimbursements carry no fee.

What is an effective rate per mile after the fee?

What a mile pays you once the dispatch fee is taken out: gross minus the fee, divided by miles. It is the number to compare against your cost per mile and against what you earned self-dispatching.

Dispatcher fee calculator