Digital permit book and fleet compliance software is typically priced one of two ways: per driver per month, or per power unit (truck) per month with unlimited driver app access included. Per-driver pricing means your cost rises every time you add a driver, even if your truck count stays flat, which is common with driver turnover and seasonal hiring. Per-truck pricing with unlimited drivers ties your cost to fleet size instead of headcount. At real-world rates and real-world driver to truck ratios, the per-truck model is usually both cheaper and more predictable.
Here is how to actually compare the two models for your fleet, instead of comparing sticker prices in isolation.
Why the headline rate tells you almost nothing
A platform advertised at “$5.00 per driver” and one advertised at “$3.75 per truck” are not quoting the same product in different amounts. They are quoting two different units of measure. The rate only becomes a price once you multiply it by a count, and those counts are rarely equal.
Most fleets run more drivers than trucks. Team operations, relief drivers, and normal turnover push the driver-to-truck ratio above 1.0, often well above it. That ratio is the entire ballgame, and it is the number a per-driver quote quietly hides.
The math at 100 trucks
Take a 100-truck fleet and price it three ways, at $5.00 per driver per month versus $3.75 per truck per month with unlimited drivers included:
| Drivers on 100 trucks | Ratio | Per-driver at $5.00 | Per-truck at $3.75 (unlimited drivers) | You save per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 drivers | 1.0 | $500/mo | $375/mo | $1,500 |
| 130 drivers | 1.3 | $650/mo | $375/mo | $3,300 |
| 150 drivers | 1.5 | $750/mo | $375/mo | $4,500 |
At a perfect one-driver-per-truck ratio, which almost no fleet actually runs, per-truck pricing is already $125 a month cheaper. At 150 drivers on 100 trucks, per-driver pricing costs exactly double.
Where the break-even actually sits
At 100 trucks, per-truck pricing costs $375 a month. Divide that by the $5.00 per-driver rate and you get the break-even: 75 drivers.
Per-driver pricing only wins if you are running fewer than 75 drivers across 100 trucks, a ratio of 0.75. That would mean a quarter of your power units are parked without an assigned driver. If that describes your fleet, you have a bigger problem than software pricing.
What happens when your headcount moves
The gap is not static. It widens every time you hire.
| Event | Per-driver at $5.00 | Per-truck at $3.75 |
|---|---|---|
| Hire 10 drivers, same truck count | +$50/mo, +$600/yr | No change |
| Onboard 5 seasonal drivers for Q4 | +$25/mo for the season | No change |
| Add a second driver to 20 team trucks | +$100/mo, +$1,200/yr | No change |
| Buy 10 more trucks | No change | +$37.50/mo |
Notice what each model is actually charging you for. Truck count is a number you set deliberately when you buy or sell equipment, and it maps directly to your compliance burden: every power unit carries its own permits, registrations, and inspection records. Driver count fluctuates with hiring cycles, seasonal freight, and turnover, which the trucking industry already runs higher than most other sectors. Under per-driver pricing, your software bill moves for reasons that have nothing to do with how much compliance work the platform is doing.
What to ask before comparing two quotes
- Is the price per driver, per truck, or a hybrid? Get it in writing, not from a sales call.
- What happens when a driver leaves and a new one is hired into the same seat? Some per-driver platforms charge a setup fee per new driver account. Ask directly.
- Are owner-operators priced the same as fleet drivers, or is there a separate tier? This matters if you mix company drivers and owner-operators.
- Does the price include the driver-facing app, or is that an add-on? A compliance portal with no usable driver app does not solve the roadside problem. Make sure “unlimited drivers” means unlimited app access, not just unlimited database records.
- Where does the next tier start? Multi-tier pricing often has step functions, so crossing from 25 to 26 trucks can jump you to a materially different rate. Ask what your effective per-truck rate is at your current size and at the size you expect to be in a year.
Start a free trial → and see the platform with your own fleet’s documents. No credit card, no per-driver charges, unlimited driver app access from day one.
Talk to us about your fleet → if you want a straight comparison against a quote you already have, or you are running enough trucks that a custom tier makes sense. Send us the quote and we will show you the math side by side.
A note on enterprise and owner-operator pricing
Most digital permit book platforms, PermiShare included, structure pricing in tiers by fleet size, with a separate flat-rate option for owner-operators running one or two trucks, and a custom quote for large enterprise fleets where volume and specific integration needs (integrations, custom onboarding, etc) come into play. If you are an owner-operator, make sure you are not being quoted fleet-tier pricing that assumes back-office staff and multi-truck document distribution you do not actually need.
Because per-truck pricing is tiered, your effective rate per truck drops as your fleet grows. The $3.75 figure above reflects the 100-truck tier. Smaller fleets pay a higher rate per truck, which is worth checking against your own numbers rather than assuming the headline rate applies at every size.
How PermiShare prices this
PermiShare charges per power unit, not per driver, with unlimited driver app access included at every tier. At 100 trucks that works out to $3.75 per truck per month, or $375 for the whole fleet, regardless of whether you are running 100 drivers or 200. Adding drivers, rotating team drivers through the same trucks, and seasonal turnover do not change your monthly cost. The only thing that changes your price is how many trucks are in your fleet.
See current PermiShare pricing tiers →
FAQ
Which is cheaper, per-truck or per-driver pricing? For most fleets, per-truck. At 100 trucks, per-truck pricing at $3.75 comes to $375 a month, while per-driver pricing at $5.00 costs $500 at a 1:1 ratio and $750 at 150 drivers. Per-driver only comes out ahead below roughly 0.75 drivers per truck.
How do I calculate my own break-even? Take your total monthly per-truck price and divide it by the per-driver rate. That is the number of drivers at which the two models cost the same. If your actual driver count is higher, per-truck pricing is cheaper.
Do digital permit book platforms charge setup fees? This varies by vendor. Some charge one-time onboarding or per-driver setup fees, others do not. Always ask directly and get it in writing before comparing quotes.
Is there a difference in price for owner-operators vs. fleets? Most platforms offer a separate flat-rate tier for owner-operators (1 to 2 trucks) rather than fleet-tier pricing, since the document volume and distribution needs are different.
What is typically included in the base price vs. an add-on? Check specifically whether the driver-facing mobile app, automated expiry alerts, and integrations like Samsara are included or billed separately. These vary significantly between vendors and materially affect the real cost of ownership.
Does adding drivers mid-contract trigger a new quote? Under per-driver pricing, usually yes. Under per-truck, unlimited-driver pricing, no. Your cost is set by truck count, so driver changes do not require a new quote.
