What happened to Convoy the load board?

Convoy shut down as an independent company in October 2023 after burning over a billion dollars in funding. Flexport bought the technology in November 2023, and DAT acquired the Convoy Platform from Flexport in July 2025 for about $250 million. DAT is now integrating it into DAT One. Any 2026 article that still lists Convoy as a standalone load board is out of date.

Best Load Boards for Owner-Operators (2026) | DAT vs Truckstop vs Free Boards

Q: Are free load boards actually free?

Two are genuinely free and usable in 2026: TruckSmarter, which charges nothing and requires no credit card, and Trucker Path, whose free tier shows over 150,000 loads per day. Most other free boards are teasers. DAT's free board only shows loads other carriers do not want, based on your location, with no rate or credit data. And 123Loadboard has no permanent free tier at all, only a 10-day trial, despite what many comparison articles claim.

Q: Which is better, DAT or Truckstop?

It depends on what you haul. DAT One is the volume and rate-data leader and is preferred for dry van and reefer, with plans from $54 to $329 per month. Truckstop is the flatbed and hotshot specialist, has a cheaper entry at $42 per month, and stronger fraud tools, though its reputation is currently rougher. Many serious owner-operators run both: DAT for volume and lane-rate data, Truckstop for flatbed coverage and a cross-check.

Q: What is the best load board for a new owner-operator?

For the cheapest paid entry, Truckstop Basic at $42 per month or DAT One Standard at $54 per month both work. If cash is tight right now, start on TruckSmarter or Trucker Path's free tier to find some freight while you build broker credit, then move to a paid board once you can justify the subscription. New carriers benefit most from a board's broker-credit tools, which usually require a mid-tier paid plan.

Q: Do I need a paid load board to find loads?

You can find loads on free boards, but most owner-operators who run this as a business end up paying. Free boards give you visibility but usually lack the load volume, rate data, broker credit checks, and filter depth needed to book freight consistently and avoid bad brokers. The common practical advice is to start free if you must, then add a paid board once you have a few loads under your belt.

How we reviewed these boards

We did not rank by who pays us. We ranked by what matters to an owner-operator hunting freight: load volume, price, trailer-type strength, broker-credit tools, and whether the free option is real or a teaser. Every price below was pulled from the board's own pricing page in July 2026.

First, a correction most "best load boards 2026" articles get wrong

Convoy is dead. It shut down in October 2023 after burning through more than a billion in funding. Flexport picked up the tech, and DAT bought the Convoy Platform from Flexport in July 2025 for about $250 million. The convoy.com site now says "owned and operated by DAT Freight Tech, LLC." A lot of comparison articles still list Convoy as a current option. It is not. If you see it on a 2026 list, that list is stale.

Jump to a board: Truckstop DAT One 123Loadboard TruckSmarter (free) Trucker Path (free) Broker apps Comparison table

Quick comparison

The scannable view. Prices are carrier-side, verified from each board's pricing page in July 2026. "Verified" means we pulled it from the board's own site. "Free" means a genuine usable free tier, not a teaser.

Starting price = cheapest carrier plan. Most boards tier up from there. Confirm current prices on the board's site before you sign up.
Board	Starting price	Free option?	Strength	Best for
Truckstop Our partner	$42/mo + $42 app fee	No no trial	Flatbed, hotshot, security	Flatbed and hotshot operators; cheapest paid entry
DAT One	$54/mo to $329/mo	Teaser location only, no rates	Volume, rate data, broker credit	Dry van, reefer, operators who need lane-rate data
123Loadboard	$39/mo to $79/mo	No 10-day trial only	Price, mobile app	Budget-conscious owner-operators
TruckSmarter	Free	Yes no credit card	Genuinely free board	Carriers who need to find freight with zero upfront cost
Trucker Path	Free tier paid from $29.99	Yes 150k+ loads/day	Mobile-first, free volume	Drivers who want a phone-first board with a real free option
Direct Freight	Free tier paid from $39	Yes 3 searches/day	No-frills budget	A spare board for extra visibility

Uber Freight, J.B. Hunt 360, C.H. Robinson Navisphere, and Amazon Relay are not on this table because they are broker apps, not open load boards. You only see their own freight on them. More on that below.

1. Truckstop

Our affiliate partner

Best for: flatbed, hotshot, and step-deck operators, and the cheapest real paid entry point.

Truckstop is the board we link to, so we'll be direct about that. It earns the top spot here for two reasons that hold up regardless of who pays us. First, it is the recognized flatbed and hotshot specialist. Truckstop's own blog concedes it is "known for its strength in flatbed freight," and that is consistent with what operators report. Second, it has the cheapest paid entry of the big two, starting at $42 a month against DAT's $54.

The honest part. Truckstop went through a rough stretch and we are not going to hide it. CEO Kendra Tucker stepped down in June 2025, founder Scott Moscrip came back as interim CEO, and roughly 80% of the leadership team was let go within about six months. Trustpilot sits at 2.6 out of 5 across more than 900 reviews, and the complaints are consistent: customer-service wait times ballooned, the factoring side (which moved to Denim) had payment disputes, and auto-renew cancellation is a pain. We still recommend it because no other major board offers a public, cash-paying affiliate program, and for flatbed and hotshot it remains strong. But go in with eyes open.

Carrier price: $42 Basic → $135 Advanced → $159 Pro → $299 Heavy Haul Pro
App fee: $42 non-refundable (credited to first month if approved)
Free tier: No. No trial either.
Strength: Flatbed, hotshot, step-deck; Book-It-Now instant booking; broker-credit tools
Watch for: Auto-renew clauses, service wait times since 2022
Affiliate: Up to 20% recurring, lifetime of account, via PartnerStack (that is how we get paid; 20% is the max published rate)

Want to check Truckstop's plans? Use our link and we earn a commission if you sign up. It does not change your price.

See Truckstop pricing →

Source: truckstop.com/product/load-board/pricing and truckstop.com/blog (verified July 2026). Trustpilot score from trustpilot.com/review/truckstop.com. CEO change reported by FreightWaves, TTNews, and BoiseDev (June 2025).

2. DAT One

Best for: dry van and reefer operators who need the most volume and the best lane-rate data.

DAT is the biggest freight marketplace in North America and the volume leader. If you haul dry van or reefer, or you need real rate data to negotiate with brokers, DAT is the one most operators reach for first. It posts more freight than any other North American board, and its DAT iQ rate analytics are the industry benchmark for what a lane pays. Owned by Roper Technologies, an S&P 500 company.

The trade-off is price and noise. DAT starts at $54 and runs up to $329 for the Office plan. The common complaint on Trustpilot (which sits around 2.7 to 3.3 out of 5, a bimodal split) is "ghost" or duplicate loads, posts that vanish when you call. DAT responds to most of those reviews, and the volume is still real, but it is a known frustration. Note: what used to be called TruckersEdge is now part of DAT One. If you see TruckersEdge mentioned, it maps to DAT One's Standard or Enhanced tier.

Carrier price: $54 Standard → $119 Enhanced → $169 Pro → $239 Select → $329 Office
App fee: None published
Free tier: Teaser only. Location-based, limited searches, no rate or credit data. DAT's own words: it shows "only loads other carriers aren't willing to move."
Strength: Load volume, DAT iQ rate data, broker-credit and verification tools, auto-matching
Watch for: Ghost/duplicate loads, higher price, recent Select increase ($199 to $239)
Affiliate: Apply Real program, but terms not public. Must apply at dat.com/company/partner.

Source: dat.com/load-boards and dat.com/free-load-board (verified July 2026). Trustpilot score from trustpilot.com/review/dat.com. TruckersEdge rebrand confirmed at dat.com/solutions/dat-truckersedge.

3. 123Loadboard

Best for: the budget-conscious owner-operator who wants a real board without paying DAT or Truckstop prices.

123Loadboard is the cheaper third option and it carries the best reputation of the big three. Trustpilot has it at 4 out of 5 across more than 1,000 reviews, which is a full point and a half above DAT or Truckstop. Plans run $39 to $79 with no contracts and no hidden fees. The mobile app gets genuine praise for making booking fast. Based in Houston, BBB-accredited since 2012.

Here is the correction most comparison articles get wrong. 123Loadboard does not have a free tier. It offers a 10-day free trial, one per business, and that is it. A lot of "best free load board" lists include 123Loadboard as a free option. That is inaccurate and their own terms page says so. If you want actually free, skip ahead to TruckSmarter.

Price: $39 Standard → $59 Premium → $79 Premium Plus
Free tier: No 10-day trial only (common misconception)
Strength: Price, mobile app, best-reviewed of the big three
Watch for: Some BBB auto-renew and billing complaints; smaller load volume than DAT or Truckstop
Affiliate: Apply Real cash program, but % not public. $100 minimum payout.

Source: 123loadboard.com/pricing and 123loadboard.com/terms (verified July 2026). Trustpilot score from trustpilot.com/review/123loadboard.com. BBB profile verified at bbb.org.

4. TruckSmarter (genuinely free)

Best for: a carrier who needs to find freight right now and cannot justify a paid board yet.

TruckSmarter is the strongest "free board" story in 2026. The load board is 100% free, no credit card required. Their model: give the board away and make money on freight factoring (2.5% for owner-operators, 2.0% for fleets). It is a different business model that makes "free" actually sustainable rather than a teaser. The app sits at 4.9 out of 5 with over 500,000 downloads.

The honest catch is on the factoring side. Some 2025 reviews mention payment inconsistency and service issues, and the load volume will not match DAT or Truckstop. Treat it as a legitimate free starting point, not a full replacement for a paid board if you are running hard. If you want to understand how factoring fits your cash flow alongside finding loads, read our freight factoring explainer.

Price: Free no credit card
How it makes money: Freight factoring (2.5% owner-ops, 2.0% fleets)
Strength: Genuinely free, AI dispatch tools, strong app rating
Watch for: Factoring payment inconsistency reported in some 2025 reviews; lighter load volume
Affiliate: None public

Source: trucksmarter.com/free-load-boards (verified July 2026). App rating from Google Play.

5. Trucker Path (free tier)

Best for: a phone-first driver who wants free freight visibility alongside the broader Trucker Path app.

Trucker Path's Truckloads board is the other genuinely usable free option. The free tier shows over 150,000 loads per day. Paid tiers (Essential at $29.99, Preferred at $49.99, Ultimate around $74.99) add filters, booking tools, and deeper search. It is mobile-first, which fits how most drivers actually use a board: on the phone, between stops.

It has a lighter third-party review footprint than DAT or Truckstop, and it does not publish rate analytics at DAT's level. But as a free supplement or a starter board, it does what it says. Pair it with TruckSmarter and you have a real free freight-finding stack before you ever pay for DAT or Truckstop.

Price: Free tier → $29.99 Essential → $49.99 Preferred → ~$74.99 Ultimate
Free tier: Yes 150,000+ loads/day
Strength: Mobile-first, genuine free volume, part of the Trucker Path ecosystem
Watch for: No DAT-level rate analytics; thinner independent reviews
Affiliate: None public

Source: play.google.com (Trucker Path Truckloads listing) (verified July 2026). Pricing from app store listings.

Not load boards: Uber Freight, J.B. Hunt 360, Navisphere, Amazon Relay

These are broker apps. You only see freight that one broker controls. Useful, but not a marketplace.

Several apps get called "load boards" in roundup articles and they are not. Uber Freight, J.B. Hunt 360 / Carrier 360, C.H. Robinson's Navisphere, and Amazon Relay are digital freight brokerages or private freight networks. The difference matters: on a real load board, many brokers and shippers post freight and you pick. On a broker app, you only see loads that that one company already contracted from its shippers. The company is the broker. It sets the rate, and the margin it takes is generally not disclosed.

They can still be worth running. Uber Freight and Amazon Relay in particular move a lot of volume and some carriers build a lane strategy around them. J.B. Hunt 360 is heavy on power-only and drayage and requires you to be an approved carrier. Just know what you are looking at. If you want to compare freight from multiple brokers, you need an actual load board like DAT, Truckstop, or 123Loadboard.

Source: uberfreight.com, jbhunt.com/technology/carrier-360 (verified July 2026).

DAT vs Truckstop: which one fits your trailer?

This is the question every owner-operator ends up asking, and the honest answer depends mostly on what you pull.

Pull dry van or reefer? Lean DAT.

DAT has the larger load volume and the stronger rate data. If you haul van or reefer and you want to know what a lane actually pays before you book, DAT's rate analytics are the tool other boards get compared against. You pay more for it ($54 to start versus $42), and the ghost-load complaint is real, but for van and reefer volume it is the leader.

Pull flatbed, step-deck, or hotshot? Lean Truckstop.

Truckstop is the flatbed specialist. It has cheaper entry, the Book-It-Now instant-booking feature, and strong broker-credit and security tools. For open-deck and specialized freight, operators consistently rate it above DAT. The service complaints are real too, so weigh them, but the flatbed strength is not in dispute.

The move a lot of serious operators make: run both

If you can afford it, the common practical advice on r/FreightBrokers is to run DAT and Truckstop side by side. DAT for volume and rate data, Truckstop for flatbed coverage and a cross-check on the same loads. Two subscriptions is not cheap, but it doubles your freight visibility and lets you catch rate discrepancies between the two boards. Many owners treat the combined cost as a cost of doing business.

On a strict budget and deciding between the two? Our comparison table lays out the price ladder. And whichever you pick, pair it with a free board (TruckSmarter or Trucker Path) for extra visibility at no cost.

Want to sanity-check what a lane should pay before you book? Our free lane rate estimator gives a rough planning estimate from national-average rates, and the cost-per-mile calculator shows the floor you need to earn to break even. Both run in your browser.

The honest truth about free load boards

"Free load board" is one of the highest-volume search terms in trucking, and most of what you will read about it is overstated. Here is the unvarnished version.

Most "free" boards are teasers. DAT's free board explicitly shows "only loads other carriers aren't willing to move," filtered by your current location, with no rate data and no broker credit checks. 123Loadboard has no free tier at all, only a 10-day trial. That is the reality behind the marketing.

Two exceptions are genuinely free and usable in 2026:

TruckSmarter. Free board, no credit card. It works because they make money on factoring, not on the board.
Trucker Path. Free tier with 150,000+ loads per day. Monetized through paid upgrades and the broader Trucker Path app.

Can you run a business on free boards alone? Marginally. Free boards give you visibility, but they usually lack the volume, the rate data, the broker-credit checks, and the filter depth you need to book freight consistently and avoid bad brokers. The boards' own marketing frames paid as effectively required for serious load-finding, and the operator consensus on r/FreightBrokers agrees. Start free if cash is tight. Move to a paid board once you have a few loads booked and can justify the subscription.

If you are new and cash-strapped

Start on TruckSmarter or Trucker Path free. Use them to find your first freight and build a little broker credit. Then add Truckstop Basic ($42) or DAT One Standard ($54) once the loads are rolling. Trying to go straight to a $300-a-month board in your first month is how new carriers burn cash they do not have yet. Our factoring for new carriers page walks through the cash-flow side of that first year.

Load board scams: the short version

Freight fraud is at record highs. TriumphPay estimates $500 million to $700 million a year flows to double brokers, and carriers lose roughly $100 million a year in non-payments. The threats you need to know: double brokering (stolen MC identities), fake-DAT phishing sites, phantom loads with too-good-to-be-true rates, upfront "slot fee" scams, and fuel-advance (EFS MoneyCode) fraud.

The single rule that stops the most damage: legitimate load boards and brokers never charge a carrier an upfront fee to unlock, hold, or release a load. Anyone who asks for money before you get paid is running a scam.

Verify a broker before you book

Before you haul for any new broker from a load board, run their MC or USDOT number through the official FMCSA SAFER system. Our free DOT number lookup links you straight to the federal tool and walks you through the 7-step verification routine. For the full breakdown of every freight fraud type and the January 16 2026 broker-bond rule, see the complete scams & warnings guide.

Open the DOT number lookup →

For the cash-flow side of protecting yourself (what happens when a broker does not pay and you factored the load), our factoring comparison walks through recourse versus non-recourse and which factors cover broker defaults.

Ready to check Truckstop?

Truckstop is the flatbed and hotshot specialist and the cheapest paid entry point at $42 a month. If you sign up through our link, Truckstop pays us a recurring commission. It does not change your price.

See Truckstop plans →

Carrier plans start at $42/mo plus a one-time $42 application fee (credited to your first month if approved). No free trial.

Load board FAQ

The questions owner-operators actually ask. Short, honest answers.

What is a load board?

A load board is an online marketplace where freight brokers and shippers post available loads and carriers search for freight to haul. You filter by equipment type, lane, and rate, then contact the broker to book. DAT One and Truckstop are the two largest paid boards. A few, like TruckSmarter, are genuinely free.

Are free load boards actually free?

Two are genuinely free and usable in 2026: TruckSmarter (no credit card) and Trucker Path (free tier, 150,000+ loads/day). Most other "free" boards are teasers. DAT's free board only shows leftover loads by location, with no rate data. And 123Loadboard has no permanent free tier at all, only a 10-day trial, despite what many articles claim.

Which is better, DAT or Truckstop?

It depends on your trailer. DAT One leads on volume and rate data and is preferred for dry van and reefer ($54 to $329/mo). Truckstop is the flatbed and hotshot specialist with cheaper entry ($42/mo) and stronger fraud tools, though its service reputation is currently rougher. Many serious operators run both.

How do I avoid load board scams and double brokering?

Verify every new broker's MC authority on the FMCSA SAFER system and confirm their insurance is active. Cross-check the broker's name, phone, and address against multiple sources. Use the board's broker-credit tools. Never pay an upfront fee to unlock a load. Watch for rates that look too good to be true. And get a signed rate confirmation before you load. We put the full scams & warnings guide (every fraud type, the 7-step SAFER check, the Jan 2026 bond rule) on its own page.

What is the best load board for a new owner-operator?

For the cheapest paid entry, Truckstop Basic ($42/mo) or DAT One Standard ($54/mo) both work. If cash is tight, start free on TruckSmarter or Trucker Path, build some broker credit, then add a paid board once loads are rolling. New carriers benefit most from a board's broker-credit tools, which usually need a mid-tier paid plan.

What happened to Convoy?

Convoy shut down in October 2023 after burning over a billion dollars. Flexport bought the tech, and DAT acquired the Convoy Platform from Flexport in July 2025 for about $250 million. It is being folded into DAT One. Any 2026 list still showing Convoy as a standalone board is out of date.

Do I need a paid load board to find loads?

You can find loads on free boards, but most owners who run this as a business end up paying. Free boards give visibility but usually lack the volume, rate data, broker credit checks, and filter depth needed to book consistently. Start free if you must, then add a paid board once you have freight moving.

Is Uber Freight a load board?

No. Uber Freight is a digital freight brokerage. You only see loads Uber Freight already contracted from its shippers, and Uber takes an undisclosed margin as the broker. The same applies to J.B. Hunt 360, C.H. Robinson Navisphere, and Amazon Relay. They are useful apps, but they are not open marketplaces where multiple brokers post freight.

How much does Truckstop cost?

Carrier plans run $42 (Basic), $135 (Advanced), $159 (Pro), and $299 (Heavy Haul Pro) per month, plus a one-time $42 application fee that is credited to your first month if you are approved. There is no free tier and no trial. Broker plans are separate, starting at $109.

Want to see Truckstop's plans?

It is our affiliate link. If you sign up, Truckstop pays us, not you. Your price is the same either way.

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