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Comparison — updated September 10, 2026

A MacroPoint alternative built for freight brokers

Track your carriers' loads through the driver's phone — with an app or a browser link. Start free with one active track and every feature. Paid plans start at $100/month.

See the comparison
No ELD integration required
Public pricing from $0
Self-serve — no demo wall
CV Live Tracking ON TIME
Dallas Memphis EN ROUTE
Load #52104 · Dallas → Memphis
Tracking via driver app · MC 590318 · ETA 4:40 PM · last ping 2 min ago
No fraud signals on this load

Every ping passed anti-spoofing screening

The short version

Three differences that decide it

Both products put freight on a live map. How they get there — and how you buy them — is where they part ways.

Tracking model

ELD-first vs phone-first

MacroPoint describes ELD/telematics pull and TMS push as its primary methods, with its driver app as a fallback[2]. CarrierView tracks every load through the driver's phone — app or app-less browser link — so tracking works with any carrier, integrated or not.

Buying model

Sales-led vs self-serve

MacroPoint's public site offers demo and "talk to an expert" paths, with a five-stage implementation process and a carrier activations team[4]. CarrierView is self-serve: sign up, create a load, driver gets a text — first track in minutes.

Scope

Platform vs broker tool

Descartes positions MacroPoint as a multimodal visibility platform for shippers, brokers and 3PLs, with a 435,000+ carrier network[1]. CarrierView does one job — broker load tracking by phone — and includes every feature on every plan.

Side by side

CarrierView vs Descartes MacroPoint

MacroPoint facts below come from its own public pages — numbered sources at the bottom, all as viewed August 6, 2026.

Swipe the table sideways to see both columns →

CarrierView Descartes MacroPoint™
Built for Freight brokers Shippers, freight brokers & 3PLs, carriers[1]
Primary tracking method Driver's phone — driver app or app-less browser link, per load ELD/GPS data pulled from the carrier's system, or TMS push; mobile app as fallback[2]
Getting started Self-serve signup; free plan, no demo required Demo / "talk to an expert"; no self-serve signup offered on its public site[1]
Pricing disclosure Public pricing page — all plans listed No pricing page on macropoint.com; figures appear only in its dated articles[5][6]
Pricing model Flat monthly by active tracks: $0 / $100 / $200 / $500 — no per-load fees Per-load; its July 2025 article cites $0.10–$2.00/load at high volume, $0.42–$3.75 at ~1,000 shipments/yr[6]
Implementation None — create a load, driver gets a text Its July 2025 article cites a $3K–$20K implementation cost; five-stage onboarding with dedicated CSM[4][6]
Photo & POD documentation Included on all plans — 15 photo/document types, geotagged Proof of Delivery listed among optional add-ons; pricing not published[6]
Customer visibility No-login live share links included Customer Portals listed among optional add-ons[6]
Fraud screening Anti-spoofing checks on every location ping, all plans — checks stay private on purpose Advertises a FraudGuard capability; implementation details not publicly documented[1]
Carrier network No network to join — you track your own carriers directly 435,000+ carrier network; 2M+ drivers on its app[1][3]

Every claim about MacroPoint on this page is sourced from its own public pages, as viewed August 6, 2026. MacroPoint's network scale and ELD integrations are real strengths for enterprise, integration-heavy operations — this table is about fit, not a takedown. Figures cited from articles reflect their publication dates and may have changed; see sources below.

Tracking models

How MacroPoint tracking works — and where CarrierView differs

If you're evaluating MacroPoint tracking for your brokerage, the practical question is where the location data comes from — that decides which carriers you can track and how fast a load goes live.

MacroPoint tracking, per its own pages

Descartes MacroPoint describes its primary tracking methods as pulling ELD/GPS data from the carrier's system or receiving it from a TMS, with its driver app as a fallback[2]. That model shines when your carriers are already in its integrated network[1].

ELD/GPS pull TMS push App fallback

CarrierView: the phone is the tracker

CarrierView tracks every load through the driver's phone — the free driver app or an app-less browser link the driver just taps. No ELD integration, no carrier-network prerequisite: the first track goes live minutes after signup, with anti-spoofing checks on every ping.

Driver app App-less link Any carrier
Honest fit

Which one is right for you?

CarrierView fits when…

You're a broker who needs loads tracked today, through the driver's phone, with photo evidence and a share link for the customer — and you want to see the price before you talk to anyone.

Phone-based tracking Public pricing Free plan

Descartes MacroPoint fits when…

You're an enterprise shipper, broker or 3PL that wants visibility fed primarily by ELD and TMS integrations across a large carrier network, with a managed implementation and a dedicated success team[1][4].

ELD/TMS-first Enterprise scale Managed onboarding
Pricing

Public pricing, from $0

Plans are priced by simultaneous active tracks — when a load delivers, the slot frees up for the next one. Every feature is included on every plan, fraud checks and all.

Free — $0
1 active track
Base — $100/mo
10 active tracks
Pro — $200/mo
30 active tracks
Enterprise — $500/mo
100 active tracks
No per-load fees, no implementation fee, no demo wall. See full pricing →
Evaluating visibility platforms more broadly? How freight visibility software gets its data →
FAQ

MacroPoint alternative, answered

Is CarrierView an alternative to Descartes MacroPoint?
For freight brokers tracking loads through the driver's phone — yes. CarrierView covers live GPS tracking, ETAs, photo documentation and customer share links with public flat pricing from $0. Descartes MacroPoint is a larger, enterprise-oriented visibility platform built primarily around ELD and telematics integrations — for that model, the two products differ substantially.
How is CarrierView's tracking different from MacroPoint's?
MacroPoint describes its primary methods as pulling location data from the carrier's ELD system or receiving it from a TMS, with its driver app as a fallback. CarrierView tracks through the driver's phone on every load — driver app or app-less browser link — so no ELD integration is needed to start tracking any carrier.
How much does Descartes MacroPoint cost?
MacroPoint doesn't publish a pricing page. Its own articles (July 2025) describe implementation costs from $3,000 to $20,000 and per-load pricing that varies with volume. CarrierView's pricing is public: Free $0 (1 active track), Base $100/mo (10), Pro $200/mo (30), Enterprise $500/mo (100) — every feature on every plan.
Can I try CarrierView before switching?
Yes. The Free plan includes one active track with every feature enabled — no demo call, no implementation project. Run it side by side on a few live loads and compare the results yourself.
Do drivers or carriers pay anything with CarrierView?
No. The CarrierView driver app is free, and the app-less browser link needs nothing installed at all — the driver taps a link and shares live location from the phone's browser.
What is MacroPoint tracking and how does it work?
MacroPoint tracking is Descartes' freight-visibility service. Per its own FAQ, it primarily pulls ELD/GPS location data from the carrier's system or receives it from a TMS, with its driver app as a fallback. CarrierView takes the opposite approach: every load is tracked through the driver's phone, so no integration is required to start.
Does CarrierView integrate or work with MacroPoint?
No — CarrierView is an independent tracking tool, not a MacroPoint add-on or integration. If you need both, they run side by side. CarrierView's Free plan (1 active track, every feature) costs $0, so trying it alongside carries no cost on our side.
Sources

Where the MacroPoint facts come from

  1. macropoint.com — homepage (network figure, audiences, FraudGuard mention), as viewed Aug 6, 2026
  2. macropoint.com/faqs — tracking methods (ELD/GPS pull, TMS push, mobile app), as viewed Aug 6, 2026
  3. macropoint.com/reach — network and driver-app figures, as viewed Aug 6, 2026
  4. macropoint.com/implementation — onboarding stages, customer success model, as viewed Aug 6, 2026
  5. macropoint.com/news/rvp-pricing — pricing article dated Dec 21, 2022
  6. macropoint.com/news/descartes-macropoint-recurring-costs — cost article dated Jul 28, 2025 (implementation range, per-load bands, add-on list)

Descartes MacroPoint™ and MacroPoint for Truckers are trademarks of The Descartes Systems Group Inc. or its affiliates. CarrierView is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Descartes. Information about Descartes MacroPoint is drawn from its public materials as of the dates shown and may have changed since; if you believe anything here is out of date, tell us and we'll review it promptly.

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