TruckMargin makes free tools that tell an owner-operator the truth about their costs and their loads — fast, before money is on the line. This page explains exactly how we calculate, where our data comes from, and how the business stays alive without getting in your way.
Most owner-operators don't go broke on the road. They go broke on the math — a rate that looked fine until deadhead, fuel, and the fixed costs you forgot to count quietly ate the margin. The single number that prevents that, your true all-in cost per mile, is the one number a lot of drivers have never sat down and calculated with their own pay included.
TruckMargin started as a fix for exactly that: put the real number in front of a driver in seconds, for free, with no login and no sales pitch — then let them check any load against it before they book it. Everything we build is judged by one test: does it help an owner-operator keep more of the money they earn?
Solo owner-operators and small fleets running in the United States and Canada — the people who are the driver, the dispatcher, the accountant, and the negotiator all at once. The tools default to realistic owner-operator numbers and work in both USD and CAD.
No black boxes. Every tool uses a transparent formula you could run on paper — we just make it instant and harder to get wrong.
Fixed costs (payments, insurance, permits, ELD, parking) plus variable costs (fuel = diesel price ÷ real MPG, maintenance, tires, DEF) plus your own pay, divided by the miles you actually run. We always count owner pay as a cost — leaving it out is the most common reason a "profitable" truck still leaves you short.
Rate ÷ total miles (loaded + deadhead) measured against your cost per mile. Booking off rate-per-loaded-mile flatters every load; we show rate per total mile because that's what actually hits your bank account.
Benchmarks and averages will always differ from your specific lane, equipment, season, and fuel surcharge. Treat them as context, then trust your own numbers.
Fuel and rate figures are reviewed on a regular cadence and refreshed when the public sources move. We publish a free weekly Owner-Operator Brief that tracks diesel, rate movement, and deadlines, and we recommend every driver recalculate their cost per mile each quarter and any time a payment, insurance renewal, or fuel spike changes the picture. If you ever spot a number that looks off, tell us — corrections from drivers make the tools better for everyone.
Free tools that quietly sell your data are not free. Ours don't. Here's the whole model:
Free forever The core calculators — cost per mile, load profit, IFTA, per diem, diesel, and lane rates — stay free, no login required.
Pro · $9/mo An optional upgrade for drivers who want to save their trucks, keep a load history, and export clean PDF/CSV records. It adds convenience on top of the free math; it never gates the math itself.
Vendor sponsorships Trucking companies (factoring, fuel cards, insurance, ELDs) can sponsor a placement. Sponsored spots are always clearly labeled, capped so the tools stay useful, and never change the answer a calculator gives you.
Some outbound vendor links may be affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no cost to you (see our disclaimer). We do not sell driver data — ever. Your saved trucks and loads are visible only to you.
TruckMargin is built and maintained by a small, independent team obsessed with the unit economics of small trucking businesses — operators and builders, not a media company chasing pageviews. We'd rather ship one tool that saves you a bad load than ten articles that waste your time. Questions, corrections, or lane data to share? Email hello@truckmargin.com — a real person reads it.
TruckMargin provides estimates for planning purposes only and is not financial, tax, or accounting advice. Always verify figures before booking a load or filing.