Is a free load board worth the cost savings?
As an owner-operator or freight broker in a fast-paced and growing market, you have options when choosing a great-paying load or the right carrier for your freight.
One way to find the right load or truck to grow your business? Load Boards. With all the options available for owner-operators and trucking brokers, it can be hard to choose the one that’s right for your business.
Perhaps money is a top concern, and you are tempted to choose a free load board. After all, running your own trucking or brokerage business can be expensive with several upfront investments required. While there are benefits to saving money on a free load board, there are things to consider before choosing to post your truck or load on a free load board.
Below are the pros and cons of free load boards. Use this information to make smart business decisions early on to protect your truck, your future, and your business.
Free Load Boards: The Benefits
1. Easy on the wallet
This one is obvious: a free load board won’t break the bank. You’ll be able to access loads, trucks and essential contact information of carriers and brokers for no upfront fee, but you may still pay a price. If your top goal is to get loaded or post your truck for free, a free load board may be a good start.
Read on to find out why free load boards may actually end up costing you more money down the line.
2. Free load boards allow you to test a load board for your business
Maybe you’re not totally sold on the idea of having a load board for your business. If you work with a single broker and they fill your truck on a regular basis, or you call one carrier to move your freight, a load board isn’t always required to grow your business. But if you want to take on the spot market, you’ll need a load board.
A free load board will allow you to test a load board to explore whether it is a worthwhile tool for your business without committing long term.
Free Load Boards: The Risks
1. Low Number of Loads and Trucks
For the reasons above, free load boards are less commonly popular among top players in the industry. Capacity is sometimes lower.
On a free load board, you won’t usually get the quantity or quality of loads or trucks that you will have access to on a paid load board.
2. Free isn’t always free forever.
Some load boards are free, but only for a limited time. These load boards may give you a trial and charge you after 30 days or later. Make sure to read the fine print before signing up for a free load board.
Conclusion
We think free load boards are a worthy tool to grow your business. With free access to truck loads, rates data, quality brokers and carriers, and other useful features, you will make more money in the long run without having to pay for the load board.
If you are looking for a load board to grow your business, Doft - The Best Free Load Board has the perfect fit for you! For free, you have unlimited access to hundreds of thousands of legitimate and high-paying loads with brokers and shippers you can trust. Doft is a freemium load board - it's absolutely free but it has some paid premium features. The access to all basic features is unlimited and free forever.
What are you waiting for? Sign up now!
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Doft Premium Features:
- Show rates for all eligible loads: View the best-paying loads in any given lane
- Filter loads by lowest price: Best-Paying loads search by minimum price
- Filter loads by rate per mile: Best-Paying loads search by rate per mile
- Show backhaul loads for any load: Match load with backhauls instantly
- Add additional user: Invite additional users and link it to your account