Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Load profit margin
$194
Margin per loaded mile
$0.405
Effective rate per total mile
$1.920
Total revenue
$1,008
Total cost of trip
$814
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter posted rate per loaded mile ($/mi).
- 2Enter loaded miles for this load (mi).
- 3Enter deadhead miles to reach pickup (mi).
- 4Enter your cost per mile ($/mi).
- 5Read your load profit margin on the right — it updates as you type.
- 6Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Load boards show a rate per mile or a flat rate for the load, but that number means nothing without comparing it to your true cost of running that specific trip, including deadhead to reach the pickup. This calculator takes the posted rate, total miles (loaded plus deadhead to origin), and your known cost per mile, and tells you the margin — positive or negative — before you accept. It's meant to be used in the two minutes between seeing a load posted and deciding whether to book it, replacing gut-feel with an actual number.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Posted rate per loaded mile: 2.1 $/mi
- Loaded miles for this load: 480 mi
- Deadhead miles to reach pickup: 45 mi
- Your cost per mile: 1.55 $/mi
Results
- Load profit margin: $194
- Margin per loaded mile: $0.405
- Effective rate per total mile: $1.92
- Total revenue: $1,008
- Total cost of trip: $814
What each field means
Inputs
- Posted rate per loaded mile ($/mi)
- The posted rate per loaded mile used in the calculation, measured in $/mi. Starts at 2.1 $/mi so you have a working example on load.
- Loaded miles for this load (mi)
- The loaded miles for this load used in the calculation, measured in mi. Starts at 480 mi so you have a working example on load.
- Deadhead miles to reach pickup (mi)
- The deadhead miles to reach pickup used in the calculation, measured in mi. Starts at 45 mi so you have a working example on load.
- Your cost per mile ($/mi)
- The your cost per mile used in the calculation, measured in $/mi. Starts at 1.55 $/mi so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Load profit margin
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Margin per loaded mile
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Effective rate per total mile
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total revenue
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total cost of trip
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What margin per mile should I be looking for?
There's no universal target, but many owner-operators aim for at least $0.15-0.30 profit per total mile above their all-in cost to build a maintenance reserve and take home real pay. Anything near zero or negative should only be taken to reposition for a much better load ahead.
Should I count deadhead to the pickup as part of the trip?
Yes — fuel and time spent driving empty to reach a load are real costs of taking that load, even though they're not reflected in the posted rate per mile. Ignoring them is the most common way drivers accept loads that actually lose money.
What if this load leads to a great backhaul?
That's a legitimate reason to accept a break-even or slightly negative load — factor the expected backhaul into a combined round-trip calculation instead, similar to the deadhead-impact calculator, rather than judging the outbound leg alone.
Does this account for detention risk?
No, this assumes on-time loading and unloading. If the shipper or receiver has a reputation for long dwell times, budget extra hours of opportunity cost against the margin shown here, or negotiate detention terms before accepting.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Load Board Rate vs Breakeven Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/load-board-rate-vs-breakeven
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/load-board-rate-vs-breakeven" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Load Board Rate vs Breakeven Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Load Board Rate vs Breakeven Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/load-board-rate-vs-breakeven) (2026).