TMS for startup freight brokers · No setup fee · 30-day free trial
The TMS for the 1-broker shop that just got FMCSA authority.
A startup freight broker does not need a $50,000 enterprise TMS deployment, a six-week implementation, or a sales call to find out what the pricing is. A startup broker needs a way to triage the 30 carrier replies on the first posted load, a way to verify MC numbers without alt-tabbing to FMCSA SAFER, and a way to generate a rate confirmation that doesn't look like a Word template from 2009. Keelway covers all three on day one.
30
Day free trial
No credit card required
$799
Per month, flat
Unlimited users, month-to-month
$0
Setup fee · contract · per-seat charge
Three things startup brokers can't afford
What we built for the first-year broker
Triage
30-50 carrier replies down to 5 ranked picks
The first time you post a load and watch 35 emails hit the inbox in 90 minutes is when you learn that "more carrier options" is not actually the problem. Keelway pulls the rate out of every reply, scores trust against FMCSA, and ranks the top five. You decide who to book; Keelway does the triage.
FMCSA
Authority verification on every reply
Every inbound carrier gets checked against FMCSA QCMobile in the background — operating authority, insurance, safety rating, out-of-service history. Score visible on every ranked row. Bad authority shows up before you call the carrier, not after the truck has been booked.
Rate cons
One-click rate confirmation from the load record
Standard rate-confirmation template generated from the load record on accept-a-carrier. Brokerage logo and terms editable in settings. Signed copies tracked in the load record automatically.
One price
$799/mo flat — unlimited users
One flat price: $799/mo, unlimited users, month-to-month, $0 setup. The same product whether you run it on top of AscendTMS and your existing inbox or as your full bundled TMS. No per-seat charge, no per-load metering, no forced-upgrade ladder.
The first-year freight broker stack we'd build today
If we were setting up a brand-new 2-person freight brokerage in 2026, the stack would be:
- FMCSA authority + $75K BMC-84 bond + BOC-3. Non-negotiable. See how to become a freight broker.
- Gmail or Outlook for the inbox. Don't spin up a custom domain mail server. Use Google Workspace or Microsoft 365.
- AscendTMS free tier as system of record. Free for 1-3 users. Covers load entry, carrier records, basic invoicing. Aljex if you're going to scale fast.
- Keelway at $799/mo flat on top of the inbox. Carrier triage, FMCSA trust scoring, rate extraction. 30-day free trial.
- DAT One for the load board. Truckstop ITS as backup capacity.
- QuickBooks Online for accounting. Keelway pushes invoices to QBO automatically.
Total monthly software cost on this stack: $799/mo flat for Keelway plus the DAT subscription, with AscendTMS's free tier at the bottom. See the full read on the cheapest broker TMS stack.
Frequently asked questions
What does a startup freight broker actually need from a TMS?+
Three things in priority order. (1) A way to triage the carrier replies that hit the inbox the moment a load gets posted — Keelway at $799/mo flat handles this from day one. (2) A way to generate rate confirmations and track who owes you what — basic TMS functionality. (3) FMCSA authority verification on every carrier so you don't book a double-broker by accident. The flashy reporting and BI features sold to enterprise brokerages don't move the needle when you're doing 50 loads a month.
What is the cheapest credible TMS stack for a brand-new brokerage?+
AscendTMS free tier (covers 1-3 users) + Keelway at $799/mo flat + DAT One subscription for the load board. Keelway is a single flat $799/mo — unlimited users, month-to-month, $0 setup — plus the DAT subscription, with AscendTMS free at the bottom. When you want to consolidate the stack, Keelway replaces the bottom layer too with the TMS and the AI bundled at the same $799/mo flat. See the cheapest broker stack page for the full breakdown.
Is there a free trial?+
Yes — a 30-day full-product free trial. That's enough to run a typical SMB brokerage for a few weeks of real volume and decide whether the rate-extraction accuracy and trust scoring earn their keep. No credit card to start, no auto-conversion to a paid plan, no calls with a salesperson required. After the trial it's $799/mo flat — unlimited users, month-to-month, $0 setup.
What about FMCSA authority and the broker bond?+
Keelway is software, not a brokerage. You bring your own MC authority, your own $75K BMC-84 bond, and your own BOC-3 filings. We integrate with your authority and verify your carriers' authorities against FMCSA on every reply. For first-time brokers still working through licensing, see our learn page on how to become a freight broker — it covers the FMCSA, the bond, and the year-one pitfalls.
When does a startup broker outgrow Keelway?+
Honestly: not often, and that's by design. Keelway is calibrated to scale from a 2-person shop through to a 200-broker mid-market 3PL on the same product. The price is the same — $799/mo flat, unlimited users, month-to-month — whether you're a 2-person shop or a 200-broker mid-market 3PL; only the largest deployments move to a custom enterprise quote. We don't run a forced-upgrade ladder. Where Keelway doesn't fit: pure asset-based carriers, freight forwarders running primarily ocean and air, and brokerages whose entire book is voice-relationship-driven with no carrier-email channel.
Just stood up your authority?
