The short answer
Freight visibility software has no standard price. Enterprise platforms charge by quote on an annual contract, ocean specialists meter by container or prepaid credit, and a few vendors publish flat monthly plans. A shipper handling a few hundred to a few thousand shipments a month will usually pay least on a published flat plan, and most on a quote that bundles integrations it does not need.
This article compares the pricing models, not the exact figures, because quote-based vendors do not publish theirs and third-party listings disagree. The one competitor figure used here is Terminal49's public free allowance, read from its pricing page. Confirm every number with the vendor before you buy.
The four pricing models
Quote-based annual contracts
project44 and FourKites sit here. Price depends on shipment volume, the modes you cover, the number of integrations and the term. You get a proposal after a discovery call and an implementation plan. The benefit is a broad carrier network and professional services. The cost is a longer sales cycle, a fixed annual commitment and a renewal that can come with an uplift. For comparison pages see our project44 alternatives and FourKites alternatives.
Free allowance, then sales-led tiers
Terminal49 publishes a free plan for up to 10 active containers and 3 users. Its Lite, Essential and Complete tiers are not priced on the page and run on annual contracts, with API and webhooks from Essential. It covers ocean only, so air, parcel and trucking need another tool. More detail in Terminal49 alternatives.
Prepaid credits
Shipsgo sells credits, and each tracked shipment uses some. This suits a team with steady volume because the monthly cost is easy to forecast, but a busy month can burn credits faster than planned. See Shipsgo alternatives for how it compares with a flat plan.
Flat monthly plans
ShipmentVisibility publishes four plans with allowances. Starter is $49 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly. Growth is $149 a month, Pro is $499 and Enterprise is $1,499, with yearly billing at about half of each monthly price. Checkout is self-serve and there is no contract. The trade-off is that you work inside an allowance, and the largest networks with custom integrations need a bigger tool.
Pricing compared side by side
| Model | Examples | What you see before talking to sales | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quote-based annual contract | project44, FourKites | No list price | Large shippers with an IT team and many carriers |
| Free tier then sales-led tiers | Terminal49 | A free allowance of 10 active containers and 3 users, paid tiers by quote | Importers who only track ocean containers |
| Prepaid credits | Shipsgo | A public calculator, credits per tracked shipment | Steady, predictable ocean and air volume |
| Flat monthly plans | ShipmentVisibility | Four published prices with allowances | Mixed parcel, LTL, ocean and air at 100 to 15,000 shipments a month |
Vendor details change. Treat the table as a map of models and confirm current terms on each vendor's site before deciding.
What drives the total
The sticker price is rarely the whole bill. Four things move it more than the headline number.
Volume and overage. Know your peak month, not your average. A plan sized for 400 shipments feels cheap until the 700-shipment month arrives and either overage charges or a forced upgrade follows.
Modes. A tool that tracks ocean only means a second subscription for LTL and parcel. Two tools cost two prices and two lists to check, so count the modes you really follow.
Integrations and API. If your TMS or ERP needs a feed, check which tier includes it. On ShipmentVisibility the API and TMS and ERP feeds start on Pro.
Contract length. An annual commitment turns a monthly decision into a twelve-month one. Importers with seasonal volume, who might pay for ten empty weeks, should price that in. Container-heavy teams should also weigh how much a missed last free day costs, which our demurrage and detention guide breaks down.
Questions to ask before you sign
Ask the same list of every vendor and compare answers in writing.
- What is the all-in annual total for my stated volume and modes?
- What happens, and what does it cost, when I exceed that volume?
- What is the term, the renewal notice and the renewal uplift?
- Are the API, webhooks and branded tracking pages included in this tier?
- How many carriers in my lanes are supported, and how is a missing carrier handled?
- How long until I am live, and who does the setup?
What a flat plan covers
Take a US importer and distributor that ships 300 parcel and LTL orders a month and brings in 30 containers. That fits Growth at $149 a month, which includes 750 shipments plus 40 containers, predicted ETA, Slack and webhook alerts and a branded tracking page. Billed yearly it is $74 a month. A quote-based platform may well cover more, but the shipper would not see a number until a sales call.
The limit is worth stating plainly. ShipmentVisibility tracks freight and reports what carriers publish. It does not rate, book or manage contracts, and it is not a replacement for a full transportation management system. If the same company also classifies imports for duty, a tool like HS code lookup for imported products covers that separate step. Compare plans on the shipment tracking software pricing page, or test your own numbers in the box at the top of this page.
FAQ
How much does freight visibility software cost?
It depends on the pricing model. Enterprise platforms such as project44 and FourKites price by quote, usually under an annual agreement. Ocean specialists meter by container or credit. Flat plans, such as ShipmentVisibility at $49 to $1,499 a month, publish the price. Ask every vendor for a written annual total.
Why do project44 and FourKites not publish prices?
Both price each deal on shipment volume, modes, integrations and contract length, so there is no single list price. Third-party sites quote conflicting figures. The only reliable number is the written quote from the vendor, so request one with the exact volumes you expect.
What is the cheapest way to track freight across several modes?
For a team that is not yet large enough to need an enterprise integration project, a self-serve plan with a flat monthly price is usually cheapest, because you pay for an allowance rather than a deal. ShipmentVisibility Starter is $49 a month, or $24 a month billed yearly, for parcel, LTL, FTL and air plus 10 containers.
Do I pay extra for API access?
It varies. Some vendors include the API in higher tiers, others sell it as an add-on or part of the quote. On ShipmentVisibility the API is included from Pro at $499 a month, or $249 a month billed yearly. Always check whether webhooks and the API share the same tier.
What should I ask for in a visibility software quote?
Ask for the annual total with your own volumes, what happens when you exceed them, the contract term and renewal uplift, which modes and carriers are included, whether the API and branded tracking pages cost extra, and how long onboarding takes. Get every answer in writing.