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Roadmark vs Tai TMS: a side-by-side TMS comparison
Roadmark and Tai TMS, row by row: a broker TMS for FTL, LTL and drayage, now owned by Descartes, and a TMS for carriers, brokers and groups with AI agents.
The short answer
Which one fits you?
Roadmark is the better choice if
- You run your own trucks as well as broker freight, or plan to: Tai says it isn't designed for asset-based brokers or carriers.
- 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'd rather keep your current TMS for now and start with one job, such as quoting or tracking.
- You move freight beyond truckload, LTL and drayage, such as intermodal, rail, air or ocean, and want it on the same load record.
- You want AI agents that draft the whole record, from the quote to the invoice, with the numbers and the rule behind each draft.
Tai TMS is the better choice if
- You want an AI voice agent that phones drivers for location and ETA: Tai's Track and Trace AI Agent calls around the clock and writes the update into the shipment, in early access for single-stop shipments.
- You're a non-asset brokerage moving fully onto a new TMS in one project: Tai's FAQ plans setup in week one and data migration in week two before testing and go-live, then two to three weeks of transition support.
Roadmark and Tai TMS, row by row.
| Tai TMS | Roadmark | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Freight brokers and 3PLs running domestic truckload and LTL. Its FAQ says it isn't designed for asset-based brokers or carriers. | Asset carriers, freight brokers and groups of companies. |
| Ownership | Descartes Systems Group, which announced the purchase on August 24, 2026; Descartes also owns Descartes Aljex. FreightWaves reports that Tai's team and product roadmap continue unchanged. | Independent. |
| How routine work gets done | In Tai, with AI building loads from customer emails, OCR reading shipping documents, and workflows that automate task assignments and emails. | Quotes, plans, updates and invoices are drafted for a person to approve, with the numbers and rule behind each. |
| AI features | AI email handling that builds loads and drafts customer and carrier replies, OCR that matches shipping documents to the shipment, and a Track and Trace AI Agent that calls drivers 24/7 (early access; single-stop shipments only). | Seven agents, from the inbox to compliance. Your team controls approvals and autonomy by lane and customer. |
| Your own trucks | NoNot designed for carriers or asset-based brokers, per Tai's FAQ. | YesPlans your trucks around driver hours and empty miles; a sister carrier can haul a brokered load at the internal rate. |
| LTL | YesLive rates from 100+ LTL carriers by direct API and EDI, including FedEx Freight, XPO, Estes, Saia, R&L and Old Dominion, and every carrier invoice checked against the quote before it reaches payables. | YesComputes density and freight class from the pallets, rates your LTL carriers side by side on the real number, and audits each carrier invoice against the quote. |
| Carrier vetting and fraud checks | YesCarrier fraud prevention through features and integrations. | YesVets carriers and checks for fraud at onboarding, then re-checks every day; a lapsed policy blocks the tender. |
| Load board posting | YesPosts loads to load boards, with DAT, Truckstop, 123Loadboard and Direct Freight among its integrations. | YesPosts loads to DAT, Truckstop and many other load boards. |
| Modes | Truckload, LTL, drayage and cross-border, for brokers. | Truckload through LTL, drayage, intermodal, rail, air and ocean, on one record. |
| Several companies | Not described on Tai's public pages. Ask how separate legal companies and their books are set up. | Multiple companies and divisions in one platform, with separate records, internal rates and access controls. |
| Runs beside your current TMS | It is the TMS, from quote to invoice, with QuickBooks synced natively. | YesOne job at a time beside Tai, 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. |
| Integrations | DAT, Truckstop, 123Loadboard, Direct Freight, Parade and CargoChief; QuickBooks; 100+ LTL carriers; customer EDI by plan. | Public API and webhooks in every plan; EDI 204 in, 990, 214 and 210 out; ELDs, load boards and accounting. |
| Pricing | Published: Growth $995 a month (2 staff logins, 200 shipments) up to Pro $7,925 (25 logins, 2,500 shipments); Enterprise custom; 12-month terms. | 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 | Its FAQ plans setup in week one and data migration in week two, then testing and go-live, with transition support for the first two to three weeks after. | Start with one job beside your TMS; we do the setup with you. |
Who each one is for
Tai is a cloud TMS for freight brokers and 3PLs, based in Huntington Beach, California. Its FAQ describes the ideal customer as a mid-sized to enterprise brokerage running domestic truckload and LTL, and says plainly that it isn't designed for asset-based brokers or carriers with their own trucks. On August 24, 2026, Descartes Systems Group announced it had bought Tai for about $100 million.
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 they're alike
Both rate LTL across carriers and check each carrier invoice against the quote; Tai pulls live rates from more than 100 LTL carriers by direct API and EDI, including the large national ones. Both check carriers for fraud, post loads to load boards, and use AI on incoming email: Tai builds loads from customer emails and reads shipping documents into the load record, and it matches capacity from carrier history and load board connections.
Where Tai has the edge
A quick full switch. If you're moving your whole brokerage onto a new TMS, Tai's FAQ plans setup in week one and data migration in week two, then testing and go-live, with transition support for the first two to three weeks after.
An AI agent that phones drivers. Tai's Track and Trace AI Agent calls drivers around the clock, records location and ETA in the shipment and moves its status along. It's in early access and handles single-stop shipments only.
Where Roadmark has the edge
Trucks and brokerage together. If you run a fleet as well as a brokerage, Tai isn't built for you, by its own account. Roadmark plans your trucks around driver hours and empty miles, covers the rest with carriers vetted every day, and can run the carrier and the brokerage as sister companies with their own books, hauling at the group's internal rate.
Several companies. Roadmark runs a group's companies and divisions in one system with separate books and counts the margin once. We didn't find how Tai handles separate legal companies in its public materials.
Starting beside what you have. Roadmark is built to run beside your current TMS one job at a time. Tai is the TMS you move onto.
How the agents fit the work. Tai's AI works on parts of the load: the email, the document, the check call. Roadmark's agents draft the record itself, from the quote to the invoice, and every draft shows the numbers and the rule behind it for a person to approve.
Where it runs. Confirm hosting regions and deployment options with Roadmark before contracting.
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 Tai on this page comes from Tai's own site and knowledge base, Descartes's announcement or trade press reporting on the acquisition, 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.
Tai, Tai TMS, Descartes and Descartes Aljex 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
- Tai Software: freight broker TMS FAQtai-software.com
- Tai Software: pricingtai-software.com
- Tai Software: full truckload (FTL)tai-software.com
- Tai Software: less than truckload (LTL)tai-software.com
- Tai Software: about ustai-software.com
- Tai Knowledge Base: Track and Trace AI Agentlearn.tai-software.com
- Tai Knowledge Base: drayage shipmentslearn.tai-software.com
- Descartes: Descartes acquires Tai (August 24, 2026)descartes.com
- FreightWaves: $100M acquisition: how Descartes and Tai boost broker efficiencyfreightwaves.com
- Tai Software: load coverage and capacity integrationstai-software.com
- Tai Software: developer portaldocs.taicloud.net
- Tai Software: public API keylearn.tai-software.com
Questions about Roadmark and Tai TMS
Who owns Tai TMS?
Descartes Systems Group, which announced on August 24, 2026 that it had bought Tai for about $100 million in cash. Descartes also owns Descartes Aljex, another broker TMS. FreightWaves reports that Tai's team and product roadmap continue unchanged and that existing customers will see no immediate changes.
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.
We run trucks and a brokerage. Does Tai fit?
Tai's own FAQ says it isn't designed for asset-based brokers or carriers with their own trucks. Roadmark plans your own trucks and covers brokered loads in one system, and can set the carrier and the brokerage up as sister companies with their own books.
Can Roadmark run beside Tai?
Yes. Tai publishes a public API for pushing and pulling order and shipment data, and a Tai user with TMS Site Admin permissions generates the API key. Roadmark runs beside Tai through it, one job at a time: booked orders go to Tai with the stops, rate and references on them, and status comes back.
Do both have AI agents?
Yes. Tai uses AI to build loads from customer emails and draft replies, to read shipping documents and, in early access, to phone drivers for location and ETA. 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