Short answer
Descartes Aljex starts at $699/mo for 5 users with unlimited shipments (as of September 10, 2026). Alternatives for small and mid-size brokers include AscendTMS ($69/user/mo), FreightVero ($349/mo), Port TMS ($375/mo for 5 users), EZ TMS ($500/mo with 3 seats), BrokerPro ($950/mo base) and Tai TMS ($995/mo), which Descartes now also owns.
Aljex at a glance
Aljex is a cloud TMS for freight brokerages “From two to several hundred users,” covering truckload and LTL brokerage. Features include automated order entry, carrier management, shipment visibility, lane pricing, capacity sourcing, accounting, analytics and EDI messaging. Descartes Systems Group bought Aljex in February 2018 for $32.4 million. Descartes also owns MacroPoint and MyCarrierPortal, and both are built into Aljex plans.
Aljex pricing
| Plan | Price | What’s included |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | $699/mo | 5 users, unlimited shipments, MacroPoint, MyCarrierPortal, one of 123Loadboard, DAT or Truckstop, ProMiles, QuickBooks, DAT RateView. One-time setup fee. |
| Professional | From $999/mo | 15 users, unlimited carrier profiles, customer and carrier portals, private load board, 1 customer EDI connection, 30-day hypercare. One-time implementation fee. |
| Enterprise | From $2,375/mo | 2 customer EDI connections, agent security, dedicated CSM, 90-day hypercare. One-time implementation fee. |
Prices are from the Aljex pricing page as of September 10, 2026. Setup and implementation fee amounts aren’t listed. Capterra still shows an older $499 Essential price.
AI features
Aljex delivers AI mostly through integrations with Vooma, Parade’s CoDriver and Fleetworks, alongside its own automated order entry.
What reviewers say
Aljex rates 4.6/5 on G2 from 431 reviews and 4.4/5 on Capterra from 16 reviews (as of September 10, 2026). That’s a large review base, and the rating is strong. The recurring complaints from G2 and Capterra reviewers are an “outdated interface,” slow performance with large amounts of data, and uneven support.
Why teams look for Aljex alternatives
- Descartes now owns two broker TMSs. Descartes bought Tai on August 24, 2026. It hasn’t said whether Aljex and Tai will stay separate, share a roadmap or merge. That’s a fair question for any Aljex customer approaching renewal. We cover it in what the Tai deal means.
- Interface and speed. The most common review complaints are about the interface and performance on large data sets.
- User tiers. Essential covers 5 users. A sixth person means Professional at $999 or more, plus an implementation fee.
- Partner-built AI. Buyers who want agents built into the TMS compare Port TMS and BrokerPro.
Aljex has real strengths that are easy to undervalue: unlimited shipments, bundled MacroPoint and MyCarrierPortal, a choice of load board integration on the entry plan, and a long track record. Price those in before you compare. A cheaper TMS that needs separate tracking and carrier onboarding subscriptions can cost more in total.
Aljex alternatives compared
Aljex is listed first for reference. Prices are published starting prices.
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Pricing model | AI | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Descartes Aljex (reference) | Brokers from 2 to several hundred users | $699/mo for 5 users | Tiered by users, unlimited shipments | Via partners (Vooma, Parade, Fleetworks) | MacroPoint and MyCarrierPortal bundled |
| FreightVero | Brokers who want enforced checkpoints | $349/mo | Flat monthly, no per-load fees | Seven AI agents live, a person approves | New, one design-partner customer |
| Tai TMS | Brokers and 3PLs with LTL | $995/mo | Seats plus shipments plus overages | Track & Trace voice agent included | Also owned by Descartes |
| BrokerPro | Broker-only teams from about 50 loads a month | $950/mo base | Base fee plus load volume | BrokerPro AI (powered by CloneOps.ai) | No seat limits |
| Port TMS | Multimode brokers and 3PLs | $375/mo for 5 users | Tiered by users | Coverage, Procaller and Dispatch agents | AI free for 3 months |
| EZ TMS (formerly EZ Loader) | Small FTL and LTL brokerages | $500/mo with 3 seats | Flat plus per extra seat | No AI agents marketed | Built-in CRM |
| AscendTMS | Budget-first small brokers | $69/user/mo | Per user, month to month | AscendAI, free to users | No contract, no setup fee |
Pricing as of September 10, 2026. Sources below.
FreightVero: broker TMS with rules the database enforces
FreightVero is our product, so weigh this section with that in mind.
Best for: Small and mid-size brokerages that want flat pricing without setup fees and a TMS that blocks dispatch and delivery without proof.
Starting price: Starter $349/mo (5 users, 250 loads a month), Growth $749/mo (15 users, unlimited loads), Scale from $1,500/mo (unlimited users), as of September 10, 2026. No per-load fees on any plan. Details on the pricing page.
Strengths
- Four checkpoints are enforced in the database. Dispatch needs the latest signed rate con version, Freight On Board needs a BOL and freight photos, and Delivered needs a POD with the signer’s full name. See how checkpoints work.
- Live today: load board, multi-stop load entry, customer and carrier CSV import, carrier booking with swap history, versioned rate cons on your letterhead, document storage, alerts, tasks, billing queue with customer billing rules, reports and an append-only audit log.
- Load Market tracking with an ETA from the truck’s last position, checked against the carrier’s appointment, shown green, yellow or red.
Drawbacks
- New, with one design-partner customer and no reviews.
- No MacroPoint, MyCarrierPortal, load board or EDI integration today. All are planned. QuickBooks Online is in development.
- No customer or carrier portals. The customer portal is in early access and the carrier portal is planned.
FreightVero is not the right pick if you rely on bundled MacroPoint tracking, MyCarrierPortal onboarding or customer EDI today. Aljex includes them and FreightVero doesn’t yet. Track the MacroPoint integration status if that’s your deciding factor.
Tai TMS: the other Descartes broker TMS
Best for: Brokers and 3PLs with meaningful LTL volume who want direct LTL carrier connections.
Starting price: $995/mo on Growth (2 staff logins, 200 shipments), $2,465/mo on Premium (6 logins, 600 shipments), as of September 10, 2026 (Tai pricing).
Strengths
- Direct LTL carrier API and EDI connectivity. A Capterra reviewer wrote “The LTL functionality is fantastic.”
- Track & Trace voice agent included for all customers.
- 4.4/5 on Capterra (77 reviews), and every tier includes a branded client portal and CSM.
Drawbacks
- Same owner as Aljex, so it doesn’t answer the Descartes roadmap question.
- Shipment caps and overages, unlike Aljex’s unlimited shipments.
- Terms “auto-renew in perpetuity” with 60 days’ notice.
More on our Tai TMS alternatives page.
BrokerPro: broker-only, with its own AI
Best for: Brokers from roughly 50 loads a month to mid-market that want unlimited users and AI agents included.
Starting price: “Base Platform fee $950/mo,” driven by invoiced monthly load count, as of September 10, 2026 (BrokerPro pricing).
Strengths
- “No seat limits. No feature gates.”
- BrokerPro AI (powered by CloneOps.ai) for carrier outreach, check calls and collections follow-up.
- Integrations include DAT, Truckstop, 123Loadboard, MacroPoint, Trucker Tools, Highway, RMIS and MyCarrierPortal.
Drawbacks
- Contracts auto-renew, with notice due “at least 14 business days prior.”
- A Capterra reviewer wrote “Updates that sometimes seem to have a lot of bugs.”
- Pricing rises with load volume.
Port TMS: lower entry price with native agents
Best for: Brokers and 3PLs moving several modes who want built-in AI agents and portals without Aljex’s jump to $999.
Starting price: $375/mo for 5 users (Pro), $750/mo for up to 12 users (Growth), as of September 10, 2026 (Port TMS pricing).
Strengths
- Customer and carrier portals on the Pro plan.
- Coverage, Procaller and Dispatch agents shipping now.
- One-click DAT and Truckstop posting and e-signatures on rate cons and BOLs.
Drawbacks
- EDI, API and onboarding fees may apply.
- Only 6 Capterra reviews.
- AI pricing after 3 free months isn’t public.
EZ TMS (formerly EZ Loader TMS): simple broker TMS with CRM
Best for: Small FTL and LTL brokerages that want a straightforward broker TMS with a built-in CRM and QuickBooks Online sync.
Starting price: $500/mo Standard Plan including 3 user seats, extra seats priced per seat, as of September 10, 2026 (EZ TMS pricing).
Strengths
- “Flat-rate. No per-load fees.”
- Built-in CRM, historical rate engine, digital rate cons and two-way QuickBooks Online sync.
- Integrations with DAT, Truckstop, Descartes MacroPoint, Highway, RMIS and MyCarrierPortal.
Drawbacks
- $1,500 setup fee unless you sign for 12 months.
- Early termination “buyout fee of 50% of the remaining contract value.”
- No AI agents marketed and no G2 or Capterra listing.
AscendTMS: lowest entry cost, no contract
Best for: Very small brokerages that want to start today with no setup fee and month-to-month billing.
Starting price: $69/user/mo (Basic), $119 (Premium), $149 (Pro), as of September 10, 2026 (AscendTMS pricing).
Strengths
- “No Contracts. No Setup Fees. No Credit Card Needed.”
- 4.9/5 on Capterra from 367 reviews.
- AscendAI included free since May 2026.
Drawbacks
- Per-user pricing. Five users on Pro is $745 a month, more than Aljex Essential.
- A Capterra reviewer wrote “you can only upload one doc at a time.”
- Serves carriers and shippers as well as brokers.
How to choose an Aljex alternative
- Price what Aljex bundles. MacroPoint, MyCarrierPortal and a load board integration are included on Essential. Add their cost to any alternative that doesn’t include them.
- Count shipments as well as users. Aljex is unlimited. Tai caps shipments by tier and BrokerPro prices by load count.
- Ask Descartes about plans. Get written answers on Aljex’s roadmap and renewal pricing now that Tai is in the family.
- Test speed with your data. If performance is your complaint, demo each alternative with a year of your own load history loaded.
- Check the AI you’d actually use. Aljex relies on partners such as Vooma and Parade, BrokerPro and Port TMS include their own agents, and EZ TMS markets none. Ask for a live demo on your own emails and loads.
- Read fees and terms. Setup fees, implementation fees, auto-renewal and buyout clauses differ across every tool here.
Smaller teams can also read our page for small freight brokerages.