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Roadmark vs AscendTMS: a side-by-side TMS comparison
Roadmark and AscendTMS, row by row: a free-to-start, self-serve TMS priced per user, and a TMS whose AI agents draft the work for a person to approve.
The short answer
Which one fits you?
Roadmark is the better choice if
- You want quotes, carrier cover, tracking updates and invoices drafted for a person to approve, with the numbers and the rule behind each draft.
- You'd rather keep your current TMS for now and start with one job in a new system, such as quoting or tracking.
- You run several companies or divisions and want them in one system, each with its own books, with sister companies hauling at an internal rate.
- You move freight beyond truckload and LTL, such as drayage, intermodal, rail, air or ocean, and want it on the same load record.
- You run trucks too and want fuel stops planned from ELD tank levels and enforced through fuel cards, and truck and trailer maintenance schedules and records, in the same system.
AscendTMS is the better choice if
- You want a long free run before you pay: AscendTMS's broker and carrier pages offer its Premium plan free for up to a year, and you can open an account yourself in minutes, with no contract, setup fee or credit card.
- You prefer a per-user subscription: plans are $69, $119 or $149 per user a month, with no user limit, and it never charges for drivers, trucks or loads.
- You want DAT's Convoy Platform inside your TMS: AscendTMS says it is the only multi-tenant TMS connected to it.
Roadmark and AscendTMS, row by row.
| AscendTMS | Roadmark | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Freight brokers, 3PLs, carriers and shippers, from startups to large companies. | Asset carriers, freight brokers and groups of companies. |
| How routine work gets done | Entered in AscendTMS, with automations such as text-message driver tracking, load board posting and outbound EDI tenders. | Quotes, plans, updates and invoices are drafted for a person to approve, with the numbers and rule behind each. |
| AI features | AI is listed among the Pro plan's features, and its release notes describe AscendAI building loads from uploaded documents. We didn't find agents that draft quotes or invoices in its public materials. | Seven agents, from the inbox to compliance. Your team controls approvals and autonomy by lane and customer. |
| Load boards | YesDAT and Truckstop search inside the TMS (with your own subscription), posting to up to 53 load boards, and DAT's Convoy Platform since January 2026. | YesPosts loads to DAT, Truckstop and many other load boards from the cover screen. |
| Carrier vetting | YesCarrier onboarding, qualification and fraud checks built in, from an MC or DOT number. | YesVets carriers and checks for fraud at onboarding, then re-checks every day; a lapsed policy blocks the tender. |
| Driver pay | YesDriver payroll with one click, paid per mile, percentage of linehaul, hourly or other bases. | YesPay for every trip on the driver's phone, calculated from the load. |
| IFTA fuel tax reports | YesIFTA reports from the fuel purchases, route and miles by state, with fuel card data imported. | YesIFTA fuel tax reports built in. |
| Equipment maintenance | —Not described on its pricing or feature pages. Ask. | YesTruck and trailer maintenance schedules and records. |
| Fuel-stop planning | —Not described; ask. Fuel card data is imported for IFTA. | YesPlans fuel stops from ELD tank levels and enforces them through fuel cards. |
| Tracking | AscendTracker texts the driver for their GPS location, with no app to install; Trucker Tools and Motive also connect. | Follows each load through the carrier's ELD, app or check calls; the Tracking agent drafts the delay update. |
| Several companies | Branches and departments on every plan, and the Pro plan is pitched at multi-office businesses. Separate legal companies with their own books aren't described; ask. | Multiple companies and divisions in one platform, with separate records, internal rates and access controls. |
| Modes | Truckload and LTL, with LTL carriers and rates from uShip, including cross-border freight. | Truckload through LTL, drayage, intermodal, rail, air and ocean, on one record. |
| Runs beside your current TMS | It is the TMS, with invoicing, settlements and accounting built in. | YesOne job at a time beside McLeod, TMW, TruckMate or your own. Orders still land there. |
| Works in your AI assistant | No MCP connector in its public materials (checked October 2026). | Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and Copilot, through MCP. |
| Pricing | Published: Basic $69, Premium $119 and Pro $149 per user a month, no user limit, no setup fee or contract, 30-day free trial. | Roadmark starts from $499 USD/month with unlimited users. Start with one workflow beside your current TMS and confirm the setup and price with our team. |
| Getting started | Self-serve sign-up; it says you can go live in 5 minutes, with free training and support. | Start with one job beside your TMS; we do the setup with you. |
Who each one is for
AscendTMS is a cloud TMS from InMotion Global, Inc. in Brandon, Florida, founded in 2015. It sells to freight brokers, 3PLs, carriers and shippers. Its pitch is low cost and no friction: you sign up yourself, start for free, and pay per user on published plans, with no contract and no setup fee.
Roadmark is a TMS with AI agents that price quotes, plan trucks and prepare invoices for your team to approve, built for asset carriers, freight brokers and groups of companies.
Where AscendTMS has the edge
Getting started. Nothing on this page is easier to try. AscendTMS says you can be live in minutes, training and phone support are free, and there's no contract to get out of. Roadmark starts from $499 USD/month with unlimited users. Confirm the workflow, implementation scope and subscription terms with our team before you begin.
A low per-user price. Every plan's price is on its site, from $69 a user a month, with no charge for drivers, trucks or loads, and load board search included (with your own DAT or Truckstop subscription). Premium adds full accounting; Pro adds outbound EDI, order management, KPI reports, a shipper lead directory and AI. Since January 2026 it also connects to DAT's Convoy Platform, a digital freight exchange that matches, tracks and settles a load without a person posting it.
Where they're alike
Both vet carriers and check for fraud when you add one, both post loads to many load boards, and both run IFTA reports and driver pay for a carrier's own trucks.
Where Roadmark has the edge
Who does the typing. In AscendTMS a person builds the load and moves it along, with automations around them. In Roadmark, agents draft the record itself: the quote priced from the customer's contract, your lane history and the market; the carriers ranked for the lane; the delay update; the invoice on POD. Each draft shows the numbers and the rule it used, and a person approves, edits or rejects it.
The fleet side. Roadmark plans fuel stops from ELD tank levels and enforces them through fuel cards, and keeps truck and trailer maintenance schedules and records; we didn't find either in AscendTMS's public materials.
Several companies. AscendTMS supports branches and departments, and its Pro plan is aimed at multi-office businesses. Roadmark runs a group's companies and divisions in one system with separate books, with sister companies hauling for each other at an internal rate and the margin counted once.
Starting beside what you have. Roadmark is built to run beside your current TMS one job at a time. AscendTMS is built to be the system you move onto.
Price
Roadmark starts from $499 USD/month with unlimited users. Start with one workflow beside your current TMS and confirm the setup and price with our team. See pricing .
How we checked
Every fact about AscendTMS on this page comes from AscendTMS's own site, including its pricing page and release notes, listed under Sources, as of October 1, 2026. Roadmark's column repeats only what the rest of this site already says, including the integrations it lists and the TMS comparison.
AscendTMS, AscendTracker, InMotion Global, DAT, Convoy Platform, Truckstop, Trucker Tools, Motive and uShip are trademarks of their respective owners. Roadmark is not affiliated with them.
How we compared
Every comparison on this site is written the same way, so you can check it.
- Their own wordsFacts about the other product come from its public documentation, pricing and release notes, listed under Sources.
- What it does, not a scoreEach row says what the product does for a carrier, broker or group, not a number out of ten.
- Both sidesEvery page also says when the other product is the better choice.
- Dated and correctedThe review date moves only when every row has been checked again. If something is out of date, tell us.
Sources
- AscendTMS: home pagethefreetms.com
- AscendTMS: pricingthefreetms.com
- AscendTMS: about usthefreetms.com
- AscendTMS: freight broker featuresthefreetms.com
- AscendTMS: release historythefreetms.com
- AscendTMS: DAT and AscendTMS bring 100% digital freight to the masses (January 12, 2026)thefreetms.com
- AscendTMS: carrier features (Easy EDI)thefreetms.com
- AscendTMS help: AscendSmartTenderascendtms.kayako.com
Questions about Roadmark and AscendTMS
Is AscendTMS really free?
You can open an account for free, with no contract, setup fee or credit card, and AscendTMS's broker and carrier pages offer its Premium plan free for up to a year. Its pricing page lists the paid plans at $69, $119 and $149 per user a month, and load board access needs your own DAT or Truckstop subscription. Check the current terms with AscendTMS before you plan around the free period.
How does Roadmark's pricing compare?
Roadmark starts from $499 USD/month with unlimited users. Start with one workflow beside your current TMS and confirm the setup and price with our team. Compare the required workflows, integrations and implementation scope when evaluating other vendors.
Can Roadmark run beside AscendTMS?
Yes, through EDI and email. AscendTMS has EDI built in, sending and receiving load tenders and invoices with any trading partner, and AscendSmartTender builds a load from a tender emailed to it. Roadmark connects through those: booked orders go to AscendTMS as load tenders, so nobody types them in twice.
Do both use AI?
In different ways. AscendTMS lists AI among its Pro plan features, and its release notes describe AscendAI, which builds loads from uploaded documents. Roadmark has seven agents, one per job, that draft the quote, the plan, the tracking update and the invoice, each showing the numbers and rule behind it, for a person to approve.
Bring last week's loads.
Send us a week of quote requests or loads. In the call, we show you what Roadmark would have drafted, next to what your team did.
- Your lanes, customers and carriers, not a canned demo
- Alongside your current TMS, or in place of it
- Where to start, and what it would cost