Dispatch ROI Calculator

Why This Comparison Is Personal, Not Universal

There's no single right answer to "is a dispatcher worth it," because it depends on what you'd actually earn negotiating your own loads and how much your own time is worth to you, both of which vary a lot between carriers. This calculator is built around that honestly: it asks for your own estimate of each scenario rather than assuming one path automatically wins.

The Formula Behind This Calculator

For self-dispatching: multiply the hours per week you'd spend finding and negotiating loads by what you say your time is worth per hour, that's your self-dispatch time cost. Subtract that from your estimated self-dispatch weekly revenue to get your self-dispatch net.

For using a dispatcher: multiply your estimated weekly revenue by the dispatch fee percentage to get the fee amount, then subtract that from the revenue to get the dispatcher net. The calculator then compares the two net figures directly.

A Worked Example

Say you estimate $3,900 a week self-dispatching, spending 8 hours a week on load boards and calls, and you value your own time at $25 an hour. Self-dispatch time cost: 8 times $25, or $200. Self-dispatch net: $3,900 minus $200, or $3,700.

Now say you estimate $4,200 a week with a dispatcher at a 6% fee. Fee amount: $4,200 times 6%, or $252. Dispatcher net: $4,200 minus $252, or $3,948. In this example, using a dispatcher nets about $248 more per week, but change either revenue estimate or your hourly time value and the answer can flip the other way.

What This Calculator Deliberately Doesn't Claim

It doesn't assume a dispatcher gets you a better rate, more loads, or less deadhead than you'd find yourself, and it doesn't assume self-dispatching is cheaper just because there's no percentage fee. Both of those are real possibilities depending on the dispatcher and the carrier, which is exactly why the calculator asks for your own estimate of each scenario instead of baking in an assumption either way.