Doft Load Board

Overview

Doft Load Board is a freight-matching service for carriers and shippers. It is best suited to owner-operators and small fleets seeking free load searches, and to shippers who want tools to post, book, and track shipments. Its range of workflows is a strength, but the acceptance and booking fees—and Doft’s stated limits on its responsibility for transactions—deserve attention.

Key features

Carrier search and booking

Carriers can narrow searches by lane, deadhead radius, equipment, and minimum rate per mile, and enable load alerts. Doft advertises more than 200,000 loads daily, but a large overall volume does not guarantee a useful match for a particular route or truck. Booking is part of the workflow; Premium adds a $0.99 fee per load booking.

Premium also includes up to 20 parallel AI calls for negotiating, booking, and check calls. That could help carriers coordinating several loads, though rate information is eligible for only 10–30% of loads, so it will not inform every decision.

Shipper tools and delivery tracking

Shippers can post manually, in bulk, by CSV, or through imports from their website. They can collect bids, message drivers, create a private loadboard, book shipments, and monitor delivery on a live map. Embedding a live board or sharing private loads by link gives shippers options beyond public postings.

The driver app shares GPS location, posts delivery statuses, and uploads proof of delivery. Doft says it checks carriers against FMCSA records for operating authority, insurance, safety rating, and crash history before booking. These checks may inform a shipper’s decision, but they do not replace the need to assess a transaction: Doft’s terms say it does not guarantee user identity, shipment completion, or transaction quality.

Pricing

Doft has free carrier and shipper plans, plus a paid carrier plan. The 10-day trial gives prospective users a short period to evaluate the service.

• Basic (carrier): free. Includes unlimited load search, requires no credit card, and is aimed at owner-operators and small fleets. It is the clearest fit for carriers who want to search without a subscription; the AI dispatcher and other Premium features are not included.
• Free (shipper): free, with no subscription or monthly fee. Shippers pay a $99 driver acceptance fee when accepting a driver, so the absence of a subscription does not mean every accepted load is cost-free.
• Premium (carrier): $19.99 a month, billed monthly; annual billing is also offered with savings of up to 16%. It adds up to 20 parallel AI calls, but rate information applies to only 10–30% of loads and each booking costs $0.99. It suits carriers who expect to use the dispatcher enough to justify those charges.

Platforms

Doft is available on web, Android, and iOS. It links separate driver and shipper apps, making mobile access relevant to both sides of a shipment. Payment processing is provided by Stripe, and carriers can withdraw earnings to a debit card or bank.

Who it's for

Carriers who prioritize unrestricted searching and can work within the matching loads available to their lanes can start with Basic. Premium is a more targeted choice for carriers who want AI-assisted calls and are comfortable with a per-booking fee. Shippers get flexible posting, private-board, bidding, and delivery-tracking tools, but should factor the $99 acceptance fee into their costs.

Doft describes password protection and physical and technical safeguards for accounts, while cautioning that internet transmissions cannot be guaranteed fully secure. Its help center offers 24x7 live chat and forms for technical support, bug reports, billing questions, and suggestions.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Unlimited free carrier searches remove a subscription barrier for owner-operators and small fleets.
• Pro: Shippers can combine several posting methods with bids, messaging, private boards, booking, and live-map tracking.
• Pro: Driver GPS updates, delivery statuses, and proof-of-delivery uploads connect booking with delivery follow-through.
• Con: Shippers pay $99 when accepting a driver, despite having no monthly fee.
• Con: Premium adds both a $0.99 booking fee and a limitation on rate-information eligibility, which can weaken the value for carriers who need price context on most loads.
• Con: Doft does not guarantee identity, shipment completion, or transaction quality, so the marketplace tools do not amount to a transaction guarantee.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, see Load Board Software. Direct Freight may suit carriers who want a free plan with three load searches per day, truck posting, matching alerts, and mileage and map tools. BulkLoads is another freemium option, with a free plan that includes forum access, washout search, multiple users, app access, and load search.

Carrier First Management may be a better fit for brokers seeking free unlimited load postings alongside quote and bid management, carrier communications, invoicing, and document management. FlatLoads offers a free plan with load and truck boards, forum access, industry content, and truck or classified postings, without a free trial.

FreightLink is a free option for approved members, with no hidden fees or credit card requirement. LaneRunner may appeal to shippers looking for unlimited free load posting across open marketplaces and private networks, with up to five picks and five drops per load. LoadBetter offers brokers a free plan with unlimited loads, internal users, and carrier invitations. RXO Connect is intended for carriers and carrier representatives using the service for commercial or business purposes in the United States, Mexico, and Canada.

Verdict

Doft is a strong starting point for carriers who want unlimited free search and for shippers who need multiple ways to post and track freight. Choose it when those workflows outweigh the acceptance or booking fees; look elsewhere if you need a platform that guarantees transaction outcomes or if the fees and limited rate-information eligibility undermine your economics.