Rate Per Mile Calculator
What does this load actually pay after deadhead, dispatch, and factoring? Run it before you call the broker back.
Enter the load and hit RATE THIS LOAD
How this calculator works
The calculator strips a load offer down to the number that matters: what lands per mile after every mile is counted and every fee is out. It divides the gross pay by loaded plus deadhead miles — because your truck burns the same fuel and hours either way — then pulls dispatch and factoring off the top, since those are percentages of gross that come out before you see a dollar.
after-fee rate = (load pay − dispatch − factoring) ÷ total miles
trip profit = (after-fee rate − your cost per mile) × total miles
Enter your cost per mile and the ticket turns into a verdict: BOOK IT at 35 cents or more of margin, THIN MARGIN when you're above water but one delay from below it, WALK AWAY when the load pays less than it costs to run. Don't know your break-even? Run the cost per mile calculator first — this tool is only as honest as that number.
Two worked examples
Example 1 — the $2.50 load that's really $2.11
A broker offers $2,000 on 800 loaded miles — "$2.50 a mile," he says, and he's not lying, he's just not counting. You're 120 miles from the pickup, so the truck runs 920. All-in that's $2.17, and after your factoring company's 3% ($60), you're at $2.11 per mile. Against a $1.80 cost per mile you clear about 31 cents a mile — $284 for the trip. The ticket stamps it THIN MARGIN: real money, but one four-hour dock delay from working for free. Worth booking if it puts you somewhere freight leaves from.
Example 2 — the decent-looking load that loses $68
$1,450 for 610 loaded miles reads $2.38 — respectable. But the pickup is 145 deadhead miles away (755 total), you're on a dispatch service at 8%, and factoring takes 3%. Fees pull $159.50 off the top, leaving $1,290.50 over 755 miles: $1.71 per mile. At the same $1.80 break-even, you'd pay $68 for the privilege of a two-day round trip. The stamp says WALK AWAY — the load looked fine at every step until all the math showed up in one place.
From the road
Load boards and phone brokers quote loaded miles because it's the biggest number available. Nobody's going to volunteer the all-in rate — that's your job, and it takes thirty seconds while he's still talking. Ask where the freight actually is, run the deadhead honestly, and remember the cheapest words in the business are "it's a quick reload out of there."
Which brings up the part this calculator can't see: what leaves the place you're delivering into. Some markets swallow trucks — you haul in at a rate that looked fat, then sit two days or crawl out at a dollar a mile. Before you book, glance at outbound loads from the delivery area. A $2.40 load into a dead zone plus 300 empty miles out of it is one load, not two, and priced that way it's often worse than the $2.05 that keeps you in freight. Same logic on fees: if a dispatcher takes 8%, that's fine — as long as the loads clear your number after the 8%, every time, not on average.
FAQ
Why count deadhead miles in the rate?
Because you pay for them. A $2,000 load over 800 loaded miles is $2.50/mile — until you add 200 deadhead miles and it's really $2.00 on 1,000 total. Deadhead burns the same fuel, hours, and maintenance as loaded miles.
What's a good rate per mile?
One comfortably above your break-even, not a market average. $2.10 is great at a $1.70 cost per mile and a loss at $2.20. Know your number first, then judge every load against it.
How much do dispatch and factoring really take?
Dispatch usually 5–10% of gross, factoring 1–5% of the invoice. Together they can quietly clip 10%+ off the top — judge loads after fees.
Should I count deadhead to my next pickup too?
Think in tours, not single loads. A load into a market with no outbound freight makes you pay for the miles out of it — that deadhead belongs to the load that put you there. Check what's leaving the delivery area before you commit.
What margin makes a load worth booking?
The ticket stamps BOOK IT at +$0.35/mile after fees. Under that, one blown tire or an extra dock day eats the trip. Thin loads are fine as repositioning moves you chose on purpose — not as a habit.