HOT SHOT RATE & PROFIT CALCULATOR

Enter one load. See the all-in rate per mile, fuel cost, estimated profit, and the break-even rate. The math stays in your browser. No signup.

THE LOAD

Blank optional boxes count as zero. Placeholder text is an example, not your number.

Miles you are paid to haul. Required.
Empty miles to the pickup, or after delivery. Blank counts as 0.
How is the rate written?
Dollars for the whole load. Switch the option above if the offer is per loaded mile.
Pickup and trailer together, not an unloaded truck on flat ground.
Tolls, permits, scales, lumper. Blank counts as $0. Not fuel.
Truck, insurance, trailer, phone. Leave blank to skip.
Used only to spread the monthly costs across this load.

Estimates only. This page uses the numbers you type. It does not look up a lane rate, and it does not include costs you leave blank. It is not tax, legal, or financial advice, and it is not a promise of profit.

HOW TO USE THIS CALCULATOR

  1. Type the loaded miles on the rate confirmation and the empty miles you will drive to get the truck there.
  2. Choose total pay or rate per loaded mile, then enter the offer. Per loaded mile is multiplied by loaded miles only.
  3. Enter the fuel price you expect to pay and the miles per gallon the truck and trailer actually get.
  4. Add tolls and permits for this trip. If you want the truck payment in the math, fill in both monthly fixed costs and loads per month.
  5. Read break-even before you book. If the all-in rate is under the break-even rate, the costs you entered are not covered.

For a whole month of miles, use the cost per mile calculator. For the startup sequence, read the hot shot trucking guide and how to find hot shot loads.

A WORKED EXAMPLE

Example only. Not a target and not your costs. 400 loaded miles, 80 deadhead miles, $1,200 total pay, $3.80 per gallon, 10 mpg, $40 in tolls, and no monthly costs.

All miles = 480. All-in rate = $1,200 ÷ 480 = $2.50 per mile. Rate per loaded mile = $1,200 ÷ 400 = $3.00. Fuel = (480 ÷ 10) × $3.80 = $182.40. Profit = $1,200 − $182.40 − $40 = $977.60 ($2.04 per all-in mile). Break-even = $222.40 ÷ 480 = $0.46 per mile. Add a truck payment and that break-even rises.

QUESTIONS

All-in rate per mile is the pay for the load divided by loaded miles plus deadhead. A rate per loaded mile ignores the empty miles you still buy fuel for.

Only when you fill in both fixed monthly costs and loads per month. The monthly total is divided by that load count and added to this trip. Leave either box blank and the truck payment stays out of profit and break-even.

Use total pay when the rate confirmation shows one dollar amount. Use per loaded mile when the offer is a rate times the loaded miles. Deadhead miles are not paid a second time.

No. It is an estimate from the numbers you type. Blank costs are missing, not zero in real life except where this page says a blank optional box counts as $0. It is not a tax bill and not a promise of what you will keep.