Short answer: AscendTMS is the budget option: a basic plan that has long been free for small teams and a per-user Premium plan. It suits new brokerages and owner-operators who need a working TMS at the lowest cost. Polt is a different category: an AI-native broker platform priced by load volume, with unlimited users and automation included. A brokerage that has outgrown a free tool, or that loses hours to manual load entry and carrier checks, is Polt’s buyer. A one-person startup counting every dollar is AscendTMS’s.
At a glance
Polt | AscendTMS | |
|---|---|---|
Built for | Freight brokers and 3PLs | Carriers, brokers and shippers of any size |
Pricing basis | Per load, unlimited users | Per user |
Entry price | $1,199/month, up to 200 loads | Free Basic plan for small teams (directories list up to 2 users); Premium $99 per user per month |
Higher tiers | $2,899 (500 loads), $5,999 (1,100), custom above 1,500 | Reported 2026 plans of $69, $119 and $149 per user; confirm with AscendTMS |
Free trial | No, demo on request | Yes |
AI | Loads from tender emails and documents, automatic alerts, freight matching | AI features reported on the top plan only |
Tracking | Polt Tracking, Descartes MacroPoint | Driver track and trace on Premium |
Carrier vetting | Highway, FMCSA and Highway status on every bid | Standard carrier records |
EDI | Supported | Premium and above |
Accounting | Open API | AR, AP and statements on Premium |
Load boards | Truckstop posting from the shipment | Integrations vary by plan |
Polt prices from polt.ai/pricing. AscendTMS figures are from Capterra and 2026 third-party reports because AscendTMS’s pricing page sits behind a login. Confirm current plans with AscendTMS.
Pricing
AscendTMS built its reputation on a free plan. Directory listings still show Basic at $0 per user and Premium at $99 per user per month with no user limit. Reports from mid-2026 describe a new three-plan structure at $69, $119 and $149 per user with a 30-day trial and no free tier. Either way, cost scales with headcount: a 10-person team on Premium is around $1,000 a month.
Polt is $1,199 a month for 200 loads with unlimited users, $2,899 for 500 and $5,999 for 1,100. Cost scales with freight, not people.
A two-person startup moving 50 loads will pay far less on AscendTMS. A 12-person brokerage moving 400 loads is in the same price band on both, and gets more automation on Polt.
What you get for the money
AscendTMS covers the essentials: dispatch, documents, check calls, claims, commissions, track and trace, EDI and accounting workflows on the paid plans. It is a conventional TMS that many small operations run happily for years.
Polt starts from the automation: tender emails and documents become loads, carriers are checked against FMCSA and Highway on every bid, shipments raise alerts for double brokering, detention, delays and lost signal, and freight matching runs from inside the shipment. The question is whether that saves enough hours to justify the higher entry price. For a brokerage doing 200 loads a month with manual entry, it usually does. For 30 loads a month, it usually does not.
Who should pick which
Pick AscendTMS if: you are starting out, you have one to three users, your volume is low, and you need a working TMS at the lowest possible cost today.
Pick Polt if: you have outgrown a free tool, your team is growing faster than your tolerance for per-user fees, or load entry and carrier vetting are eating your margin.
See Polt on one of your own loads
Comparison based on public pages and directory listings reviewed in November 2026. Confirm current terms with each vendor.
See what an AI-native TMS looks like.
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