AscendTMS alternatives

Best AscendTMS alternatives for small and mid-size fleets (2026)

The best AscendTMS alternatives for a small or mid-size asset carrier are Hemut Command, Truckbase, TruckingOffice, Alvys, Rose Rocket and PCS. AscendTMS markets a free start and bills per office user; Hemut Command is the one to look at first if you want a price published per truck, a free trial with no card and AI that reads your rate confirmations into loads.

AscendTMS alternatives compared on what a small carrier checks first

Five things a small or mid-size asset carrier can check before talking to anyone: whether the price is on the website, whether you can try it without a card, whether you can start without a sales call, whether AI reads your rate confirmations, and what accounting comes with it.

Price on its siteFree trialStart without a sales callAI on rate confirmations and check callsAccounting
Hemut Command$99 a month with 3 trucks included; 10 trucks is $30230 days, no card, no load limit. No free tierYes: self-serve signupReads rate confirmations and EDI 204 tenders into loads; AI voice agents make routine check callsDriver settlements and invoices built from the load; QuickBooks sync; IFTA reports
AscendTMS, the system this page is about$69, $119 or $149 per user a month; marketed as free to start30 days on Premium and Pro; no cardYes: self-serve, no demo neededAI listed under Pro only; rate confirmations not statedInvoicing and settlements on Basic; AR/AP on Premium
TruckbaseFrom $290 a month, billed annually; no per-truck rateNone mentioned; free demoDemo offered; no signup flow describedAI load importer named; rate confirmations and AI check calls not statedInvoicing, settlements and QuickBooks sync listed; whether they are in the price is not stated
TruckingOffice$25 to $90 a month on Basic, by truck count30 days; no card to sign upYes: sign up onlineNot stated on its pricing pageNot stated on its pricing page
AlvysNot published; quoted on load volume14 days on Foundations; card not statedFoundations: self-serve trial. Growth and Scale: contact salesAI load creation on Foundations; rate confirmations and check calls not statedQuickBooks two-way sync on every plan; other accounting systems on higher tiers or add-ons
Rose RocketFrom $2,080 a monthNone; consultation and demoNo: book a consultationAI agents on every plan; rate confirmations and check calls not statedInvoicing and freight audit; accounting integrations named only as a category
PCSNot published; demo requestNone statedNo: request a demoCortex AI for dispatch and backhauls; rate confirmations and check calls not statedBuilt-in accounting module: AR/AP, payroll, driver settlements

Each cell comes from the vendor's own pages, opened October 29, 2026 and listed under Sources, and every number links the page it came from. "Not stated" means we did not find it on those pages, not that it does not exist.

Which ELDs and accounting tools each AscendTMS alternative names

The connections each vendor lists on its own site. Check your own ELD brand and accounting software against this table before you book a demo.

ELDs named on its siteAccounting and fuel connections named on its site
Hemut CommandSamsara, Motive, Geotab and OmnitracsQuickBooks sync; EFS fuel card imports; factoring paperwork covered
AscendTMS, the system this page is aboutNot named on its pricing pageOver 140 pre-installed integrations; brands not listed there
TruckbaseOver 30 ELDs, with Samsara, Motive and Geotab shownQuickBooks sync; factoring, fuel card and routing marked coming soon
TruckingOfficeNot stated on its pricing pageNot stated; PC*MILER mileage add-on
AlvysELD connections on every plan; Samsara Premium ELD is an add-onQuickBooks two-way sync; NetSuite, Business Central and Sage on higher tiers or add-ons
Rose Rocket40+ integrations across ELD, accounting and EDI; brands not namedAccounting category only; QuickBooks not named
PCSNot stated on its carrier pageBuilt-in accounting; QuickBooks not stated

Lists as published on October 29, 2026. A vendor may support more than its site names.

The 6 options, one by one

Hemut first, since we know it best, then the rest. Each entry says who it fits, what it costs, what it does well and what to check before you sign.

Hemut Command

Who it fits: Asset-based trucking carriers. Hemut Command is a TMS built for asset-based trucking carriers; it is not built for pure freight brokerages.

Price: $99 a month includes 3 trucks, then $29 per truck for trucks 4 to 15 and $24 per truck for trucks 16 to 30, so a 10-truck fleet pays $302 a month on Command. Fleets over 30 trucks get a quote. Every plan is on the pricing page.

Free trial: 30 days with no load limit and no credit card to start. There is no free tier.

Good at: Taking the retyping out of the office. Rate confirmations (PDFs) and EDI 204 load tenders are read into loads, and AI voice agents make routine check calls to drivers and record the answers on the load. Driver settlements and invoices are built from that same load record, invoices sync with QuickBooks, and IFTA reports come from imported EFS fuel card transactions and the fleet's own miles. Truck positions from Samsara, Motive, Geotab or Omnitracs show ETAs and arrival times on each load. Factoring paperwork and maintenance records, which many carriers buy separately, are covered too.

Watch for: Hemut is newer than the legacy platforms, McLeod included, so it has fewer years of installs behind it. There is no free tier, and Hemut costs more than TruckingOffice at every fleet size TruckingOffice publishes a price for (see both on the Hemut pricing page and the TruckingOffice pricing page). Its EDI support reads 204 load tenders, so check any other EDI message your customers need before you switch.

Truckbase

Who it fits: Growing asset-based carriers. Its home page says it is turnkey at 5 trucks and powerful enough for 50.

Price: Priced per truck, per driver, per load or as a flat annual rate, with a stated minimum of $290 a month billed annually. No dollar rate for any model is published on its pricing page.

Free trial: None mentioned on its pricing or home page, which offer a free demo.

Good at: Built for the same buyer as Hemut. Its pricing page lists free live onboarding and unlimited US-based 24-hour support in every plan, and its home page lists QuickBooks sync, settlements by load and driver, instant invoicing and connections to over 30 ELDs.

Watch for: The minimum is billed annually, and no per-truck, per-driver or per-load rate is published, so you cannot work out your own bill before the demo. Its pricing page does not say whether QuickBooks sync and settlements are in the price. Its home page names an AI load importer but not rate confirmations or AI check calls, and marks factoring, routing and fuel card integrations "coming soon".

TruckingOffice

Who it fits: Owner-operators and small fleets that want simple load and trip entry at a low, flat monthly price.

Price: Basic is $25 a month for 1 to 2 trucks, $55 for 3 to 7 and $90 for 8 or more; Pro is $35, $75 and $130 for the same sizes. PC*MILER mileage is an add-on from $5 a month. All on its pricing page.

Free trial: 30 days, no credit card.

Good at: The lowest published entry price here, flat by fleet size, with no per-user fees and no contract, per its pricing page. Pro adds LTL as well as full truckload.

Watch for: Its pricing page does not mention QuickBooks, settlements, ELD tracking, AI or rate confirmations, so ask about each one you need before you compare on price alone.

Alvys

Who it fits: Fleets and brokers that want an AI-forward TMS with many integrations, billed per load rather than per truck or per user.

Price: Not published. All three plans are quoted on your load volume, with no setup fee, per its pricing page.

Free trial: 14 days on the Foundations plan.

Good at: Integrations in the box. Its pricing page lists QuickBooks two-way sync and ELD connections on every plan, AI load creation on Foundations and a self-serve trial on that plan.

Watch for: You cannot work out your bill before a sales conversation on any plan, and Growth and Scale are "contact sales" on its pricing page. EDI partners are capped by plan, with per-partner pricing above the cap, and the page says most operations are live in under 2 to 4 weeks. Rate confirmations and check calls are not mentioned.

Rose Rocket

Who it fits: Brokers and carriers that want a configurable platform with a vendor-led implementation.

Price: Starting at $2,080 a month for the Full Service Platform; Enterprise is custom, per its pricing page.

Free trial: None on its pricing page, which offers a consultation and live demo.

Good at: Configurability and hands-on rollout. Its pricing page lists AI agents on every plan, 40+ integrations covering ELD, accounting and EDI, invoicing with freight audit, and a guaranteed go-live in 90 days.

Watch for: The entry price is the highest on this page, and a 90 day go-live, per its pricing page, is a rollout rather than a same-day start. The page does not mention rate confirmations or check calls.

PCS

Who it fits: Asset-based carriers running 50 to 1,000 trucks, per its carrier page.

Price: Not published; its carrier page offers a demo request.

Free trial: None on its carrier page.

Good at: Back office depth for larger fleets. Its carrier page describes a built-in accounting module covering receivables, payables, payroll and driver settlements, and Cortex AI for driver recommendations, load ranking and backhauls.

Watch for: It is sized for bigger fleets than most readers of this page run, and its FAQ says most carriers are up and running 30 to 90 days after signing, per its carrier page. Rate confirmations, check calls, QuickBooks and ELD brands are not mentioned there.

Where AscendTMS is the stronger fit

AscendTMS markets itself as the free TMS, and its home page says "Pricing plans start at zero dollars". Its pricing page shows what that means in practice: Basic is $69 per user a month, the 30 day trial is shown on the Premium and Pro features, and we found no permanent free plan there.

A fast, self-serve start

Its home page says you can go live in 5 minutes with no contract and no credit card, with no need to schedule a demo. Those timings are its own claims, not ours.

Brokerage and shipper tools

Its pricing page lists a shipper CRM, e-signatures and outbound EDI on Pro, and serves brokers, 3PLs and shippers as well as carriers. Hemut Command is built for asset carriers, not pure brokerages.

What to check before you sign up

The bill rises with every office user, and AR/AP needs Premium at $119 per user a month, per its pricing page. That page mentions AI only under Pro and does not mention rate confirmations or named ELD brands.

How to choose a AscendTMS alternative

Put the same six questions to every vendor, Hemut included, before you book a demo.

  • Is the price on the website, per truck? If a vendor quotes only after a demo, you cannot work out your own monthly bill first.
  • Can you start today without a sales call? A free trial with no card lets you test real loads before anyone books your calendar.
  • Is accounting included or extra? Ask whether invoicing, driver settlements and QuickBooks sync are in the plan or a separate purchase.
  • Does it read rate confirmations for you? Ask whether a rate confirmation PDF becomes a load without retyping, and whether routine check calls are automated.
  • Does it connect to your ELD and your accounting software? Check your own brands against the second table, not the vendor's logo count.
  • What is the exit? Look for contracts or annual billing, and ask whether you can take your data with you.

Keep reading

Where to go next.

Sources

Pages opened October 29, 2026.

  • AscendTMS home page, thefreetms.com: "Pricing plans start at zero dollars", "Go Live In 5 Minutes. No Contracts. No Credit Card.", no need to schedule a demo (ascendtms.com serves only a loading screen)
  • AscendTMS pricing page, thefreetms.com/pricing: Basic $69, Premium $119, Pro $149 per user a month, 30 day trial, no card, AR/AP on Premium, shipper CRM and AI on Pro, over 140 integrations
  • Truckbase pricing page, truckbase.com/pricing: "$290 / month (billed annually)" minimum, free demo, no trial mentioned
  • Truckbase home page, truckbase.com: AI load importer, QuickBooks, settlements, over 30 ELDs
  • TruckingOffice pricing page, truckingoffice.com: Basic and Pro prices by truck count, 30 day trial with no card
  • Alvys pricing page, alvys.com/pricing: per-load quotes, 14 day trial on Foundations, AI load creation, QuickBooks sync
  • Rose Rocket pricing page, roserocket.com/pricing: "Starting at $2080/month", AI agents, 40+ integrations, 90-day go-live
  • PCS carrier TMS page, pcssoft.com: "50 to 1,000 trucks", accounting module, Cortex AI, demo request
  • Hemut: plan prices from the pricing contract published on hemut.com/pricing; capabilities from Hemut's verified facts list

Questions

Is AscendTMS really free?

AscendTMS markets itself as free: its home page says "Pricing plans start at zero dollars" and calls itself the "Don't Pay Us" TMS. Its pricing page lists Basic at $69 per user a month, shows a 30 day trial on the Premium and Pro features and states no credit card is needed. We found no permanent free plan there. Hemut has no free tier either, and offers 30 days with no card (pricing page).

How much does AscendTMS cost?

Its pricing page lists $69 (Basic), $119 (Premium) and $149 (Pro) per user a month, with no charge for drivers, trucks or loads. The total depends on how many people in your office need a login. Hemut Command is priced per truck: $99 a month with 3 trucks included, per its pricing page.

What is the best AscendTMS alternative for an asset carrier?

Hemut Command is built for asset-based carriers and not for pure brokerages, with a published per-truck price and AI that reads rate confirmations into loads. Truckbase is the closest rival, and TruckingOffice is the lowest-priced basic tool. AscendTMS itself serves brokers, 3PLs and shippers too.

Does AscendTMS read rate confirmations?

Its pricing page lists AI only under the Pro plan and does not mention rate confirmations. Hemut reads rate confirmation PDFs and EDI 204 tenders into loads, and its AI voice agents make routine check calls.

Can I try AscendTMS without a credit card?

Yes. Its pricing page says no credit card is needed, and its home page offers self-serve signup. Hemut also needs no card to start, and its trial runs 30 days with no load limit (pricing page).

Try Hemut on your own loads

30 days with no load limit, and no credit card to start.

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