---
title: "Free AI Dispatch Software in 2026: What’s Actually Free (The Buyer’s Shortlist)"
url: "https://www.upperinc.com/blog/free-ai-dispatch-software/"
date: "2026-11-01T07:38:10+00:00"
modified: "2026-11-01T07:39:00+00:00"
type: "Article"
resource: "https://www.upperinc.com/blog/free-ai-dispatch-software/"
timestamp: "2026-11-01T07:39:00+00:00"
author:
name: "Riddhi Patel"
categories:
- "Blogs"
- "Dispatch"
word_count: 2982
reading_time: "15 min read"
summary: "Free AI dispatch software mostly means a capped free tier or a trial with an end date. The full product sits on a paid plan. The best free way to test AI dispatch on a real multi-driver day is Uppe..."
description: "Free AI dispatch software is rare. Compare the free trials and free plans of Upper, Shipday, Routific, Spoke and more, and see what each one caps first."
keywords: "free AI dispatch software,AI dispatch software,free dispatch software,free plan,free trial, Blogs, Dispatch"
language: "en"
schema_type: "Article"
related_posts:
- title: "How to Schedule Deliveries Across Multiple Days"
url: "https://www.upperinc.com/blog/schedule-deliveries-across-multiple-days/"
- title: "How to Automate Dispatch and Delivery: Complete Guide"
url: "https://www.upperinc.com/blog/how-to-automate-dispatch-and-delivery/"
- title: "Predictive Dispatch With Historical Data: How Past Routes Improve Future Decisions"
url: "https://www.upperinc.com/blog/predictive-dispatch-historical-data/"
---
# Free AI Dispatch Software in 2026: What’s Actually Free (The Buyer’s Shortlist)
_Published: November 1, 2026_
_Author: Riddhi Patel_
Free AI dispatch software mostly means a capped free tier or a trial with an end date. The full product sits on a paid plan. The best free way to test AI dispatch on a real multi-driver day is **Upper**. Upper Crew gives a 7-day free trial for up to 5 users with no credit card. Upper AI Dispatcher, its [AI dispatch software for small fleets](https://www.upperinc.com/ai-dispatch-software/), can be run on your own stop list in a free demo. If you need a plan that stays free, Shipday is free up to 300 orders a month and Routific up to 100 orders a month.
Cost still holds many small businesses back from AI: in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 2025 small business technology report, 30% of small businesses not yet using AI cited concern about cost, up from 22% in 2024 ([U.S. Chamber of Commerce, 2025](https://www.uschamber.com/assets/documents/Empowering-Small-Business-Report-2025.pdf)).
Key Takeaway - Truly free, full-capability AI dispatch is rare. Most tools offer a limited free tier, a no-cost starter plan or a trial of a few days to a few weeks. Assignment, replanning and live tracking cost money to run, so vendors meter them.
- Upper is the best free way to test a real day. Upper Crew has a 7-day free trial on Professional (up to 5 users, no card), and Upper AI Dispatcher can be tested in a demo on your own stops. Upper has no plan that stays free.
- Know each ceiling before your real day hits it. Shipday's free plan stops at 300 orders a month and 10 drivers, Routific's at 100 orders a month, and Spoke's (on its single-driver Route Planner app) at 10 stops per route. Upper's trial plan caps routes at 500 stops, and AI driver assignment sits on the Optimize plan, not the trial plan.
- Count rules and changes, not vehicles. A few vans juggling certifications and same-day jobs pose a harder problem than a big fixed-route fleet. A free tool that copes with a tidy morning may buckle once the day shifts.
- Test on one real day, not a sample route. Import a full day, set your hard rules, dispatch, then cancel and add stops mid-route. That shows whether the "AI" holds up.
See it in action
See AI dispatch on your own stop list.
Run Upper AI Dispatcher on your real stops in a free demo.
[Book a demo](https://calendly.com/upper/demo)
## What is free AI dispatch software, and what is it not?
If you are new to the category, first see [how dispatch software works](https://www.upperinc.com/blog/dispatch-system-software/). Free AI dispatch software comes in four shapes:
1. **Free trial:** full or near-full features for a set number of days. Example: Upper Crew, 7 days.
2. **Free tier:** free forever, but capped on orders, stops, users or vehicles. Examples: Shipday (300 orders a month), Routific (100 orders a month), Spoke Route Planner (10 stops per route).
3. **No-cost starter plan:** a small free plan with core dispatch features, with AI features usually on paid plans. Example: Orcatec.
4. **Free to build:** no-code platforms where you build your own dispatch app. Examples: Softr, Glide.
The free version usually caps users, vehicles or AI requests. Advanced optimization, proof of delivery and analytics often sit on paid plans, and support on a free tier tends to be self-serve. To budget for that step, check [what AI dispatch software costs](https://www.upperinc.com/blog/ai-dispatch-software-cost/) once a free plan runs out. Practitioners in r/logistics describe a pattern. Free tools tend to be mobile-only, or become unstable once more than a couple of vehicles run on them. The same threads accept that free can work for a very small operation just starting out.
What it is not:
- **Not a free version of the full product.** The useful question is what the free version lets you prove before the meter starts.
- **Not “AI” just because it sorts stops.** Real AI dispatch decides who serves each stop, not only the order of stops, and shows why.
- **Not free once you build it yourself.** On no-code builders, you own every rule, screen and fix.
## How we ranked these free AI dispatch options
Every option was compared on 5 criteria:
1. **Type of free access:** trial, free tier, starter plan or free to build, and how long or how capped.
2. **Main decision it makes:** who serves each stop, or only the order of stops.
3. **Midday re-plan:** does the source say it re-optimizes after dispatch?
4. **Price after free:** the dated starting price once free access ends.
5. **Main limitation:** the ceiling most likely to stop a real day.
“Not stated” means the sources reviewed for this page don’t say. It does not mean the capability is absent.
## What are the best free AI dispatch options in 2026?
### 1. Upper: test AI dispatch software free on a real multi-driver day
None of Upper’s three products is free outright, and what you can try at no cost differs by product:
- **Upper Crew** (route planning for multi-driver teams): 7-day free trial on the Professional plan, up to 5 users, no credit card, usable once. Customer SMS notifications are not part of the trial. After the trial, you upgrade inside the same account, and your data and settings stay.
- **Upper AI Dispatcher:** no list price. You get a quote, and a test on your own stop list, by booking a demo.
- **Upper Solo** (one person planning the route they drive): 3-day free trial, at up to 500 stops per route. It suits owner-operators outgrowing a map app or spreadsheet. For a one-off route with no trial clock, try [Upper’s free route planner](https://www.upperinc.com/free-route-planner/). It is a route planner, not a dispatch tool.
**What AI Dispatcher decides:** who takes each stop, and when. Required skills, equipment and vehicle capacity are hard rules, so a stop that needs a certification only goes to someone who holds it. Preferred time windows are soft, and significant deviations are flagged. Each stop comes back with a suggested driver, the reasons and a confidence score. Autopilot can pass routine matches, but critical conflicts never pass and always return to a person. When nobody qualifies, Upper names the blocking rule.
**After dispatch**, it adds midday stops to the best-fit driver, re-optimizes remaining stops after traffic or a cancellation, moves stops off overloaded drivers, and sends uncertain matches back to a person.
- **Price after free (Oct 30, 2026):** Upper Crew Starter $50, Professional $60, Optimize $89 per user per month, or 20% less billed yearly. There are no per-stop or per-route charges and no cancellation fees.
- **Reviews:** 4.8/5 on G2 from 11 reviews (read Oct 30, 2026).
- **Main limitation:** the trial runs on Professional, while AI driver assignment is listed on Optimize. In the demo, ask to see how it [assigns stops to drivers automatically](https://www.upperinc.com/ai-dispatch-software/automatic-driver-assignment/).
**Best suited for:** multi-driver teams where several hard rules meet and the day changes after dispatch. Use it when you want to prove that on one real day before paying. Note that this is a time-limited trial, not a free-forever plan; if you need a plan that stays free, look at Shipday or Routific below.
7-day free trial · No credit card
Try Upper Crew free with up to 5 users.
Plan a real multi-driver day in Upper Crew during your trial.
[Start free trial](https://www.upperinc.com/pricing/)
### 2. Shipday, best free plan for local delivery dispatch
Shipday’s free plan covers up to 300 orders a month, 10 drivers and 1 dispatcher. Shipday pairs route optimization and automated dispatch with live tracking and customer SMS alerts, and its AI agents sit on the Business AI plans. Paid plans start at $29 per month (Professional Lite), Business AI Lite is $199 per month, and orders over a plan’s allowance cost $0.20 each (shipday.com/pricing, Oct 30, 2026). You upgrade inside the free account.
- **Reviews:** no G2 reviews yet (G2 listing, Oct 30, 2026).
**Best suited for:** restaurants and small local delivery teams that want dispatch they can keep using for free up to 300 orders a month.
### 3. Routific, best free tier for very small delivery route planning
Routific is free up to 100 orders a month, with every feature except SMS notifications. After that, a flat $150 a month covers up to 1,000 orders, and higher volumes are billed per order with volume discounts. Drivers are not charged per seat, and SMS is a paid add-on quoted on request (routific.com/pricing, Oct 30, 2026). It sequences routes around time windows, capacities and driver shifts. Explained assignment is not stated.
**Best suited for:** very small delivery operations that plan routes ahead and stay under 100 orders a month.
### 4. Spoke Route Planner, best free tier for a single driver trying a route app
Spoke (formerly Circuit) has two products, and only one has a free plan. The Spoke Route Planner app, built for a single driver, is free up to 10 stops per route. Spoke Dispatch, the multi-driver product, has a free trial instead of a free plan, then Starter at $125 per month for 1,000 stops, billed monthly. Advanced proof of delivery is held to Premium ($200 per month) (spoke.com/route-planner and spoke.com/dispatch/pricing, Oct 30, 2026).
**Best suited for:** one driver testing a route app before a paid plan. 10 stops won’t hold a real multi-driver day. If one driver just needs more stops, compare [free route planners with unlimited stops](https://www.upperinc.com/blog/best-free-route-planner-with-multiple-unlimited-stops/).
### 5. NextBillion.ai, best free trial for API-first enterprise routing
NextBillion.ai offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card (nextbillion.ai/route-optimization-software/pricing, Oct 30, 2026). After that, the Driver app plan is $19 per driver per month, and the Grow plan is $499 per month for up to 5,000 orders, on 12-month subscriptions. It is delivered as mapping, routing and AI logistics APIs, so plan for integration work before dispatchers use it day to day.
**Best suited for:** enterprises with engineers evaluating routing APIs.
### 6. Orcatec, best no-cost starter plan for field service dispatch
Orcatec offers a free plan for home-service teams with scheduling, real-time dispatching, a customer database, proposals and mobile apps. The free plan covers up to 5 team members with unlimited jobs and 1 GB of storage. Its AI Route Optimizer and employee GPS tracking sit on paid plans (getzelos.com comparison, Sep 2026; orcatec.com, Oct 30, 2026). Paid plans start at $19 per month (GetApp, Oct 2026). It also handles work orders, estimates and invoicing in one system.
- **Reviews:** 5.0/5 on Capterra from 14 reviews (Oct 2026). That is a small sample, so read individual reviews before you decide.
**Best suited for:** small field service businesses that want work orders and dispatch in one place.
**Build your own instead:** no-code builders let you assemble a dispatch app for free, but you own every rule, screen and fix. Softr’s Free plan includes 5 AI credits a month with user and record caps (softr.io/pricing, Oct 30, 2026). Glide’s Free plan is $0 per month with limited credits, 2 team members and 10 projects, and Basic is $25 per month (glideapps.com/pricing, Oct 30, 2026). Pick these only if someone on the team enjoys building and maintaining internal apps.
**Not free:** Onfleet has no free plan, only a 14-day free trial (onfleet.com/pricing, Oct 30, 2026). Its Launch plan starts at $619 per month for 2,500 tasks, billed monthly (Oct 2026), and auto-dispatch, barcode scanning and advanced optimization start on Scale (Sep 2026).
## How do the free AI dispatch options compare?
| Option | Best for | Free access | Price after free | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Upper (Crew trial + AI Dispatcher demo)** | Testing a real multi-driver day | Crew 7-day trial, 5 users, no card; Dispatcher demo | Crew $50/user/mo; Dispatcher on request | AI assignment on Optimize; no SMS in trial |
| **Shipday** | Local delivery dispatch | Free plan: 300 orders/mo, 10 drivers | From $29/mo + $0.20/extra order | AI agents from $199/mo |
| **Routific** | Very small route planning | Free to 100 orders/mo | $150/mo to 1,000 orders | SMS is a paid add-on |
| **Spoke Route Planner** | One driver trying an app | Free to 10 stops/route | Dispatch from $125/mo | Advanced POD on Premium |
| **NextBillion.ai** | API-first enterprise routing | 14-day trial, no card | $19/driver/mo | Needs integration work |
| **Orcatec** | Field service dispatch | Free plan, up to 5 team members | From $19/mo | AI routing, GPS on paid plans |
| **Softr or Glide** | Building your own app | Free plans with caps | Glide Basic $25/mo | You maintain every rule |
*Prices and trials checked October 2026.*
7-day free trial · No credit card
Test AI dispatch on a real multi-driver day.
Run your own stops in Upper Crew before you choose a plan.
[Start free trial](https://www.upperinc.com/pricing/)
## What does Upper Crew cap, plan by plan?
No Crew plan caps how many routes you run in a month. Prices were read from upperinc.com/pricing on Oct 30, 2026.
| Upper Crew plan | Price per user/month (monthly / yearly) | Stops per route | Driver profiles | Address book | Data retention | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $50 / $40 | 250 | 10 | 1,000 | 6 months | Email |
| Professional (the trial plan) | $60 / $48 | 500 | 15 | 2,500 | 1 year | Priority |
| Optimize | $89 / $71 | 1,500 | 30 | 10,000 | 2 years | Live chat |
| Enterprise | Let’s Talk | 3,000+ | Unlimited | 10,000+ | Custom | Dedicated success manager |
Customer SMS starts at $0.01 per text and varies by country. API access and webhooks are on Enterprise.
## Which free AI dispatch option fits your use case?
| Your situation | Best pick | Team size |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-driver day with hard rules | **Upper Crew trial + AI Dispatcher demo** | Small to mid-size |
| One driver planning their own route | **Upper Solo trial** | Owner-operator |
| Local delivery that must stay free, to 300 orders/mo | **Shipday free plan** | Small |
| Under 100 orders/mo, planned ahead | **Routific free tier** | Very small |
| Trying a driver app on short routes | **Spoke Route Planner free tier** | 1 driver |
| Evaluating routing APIs | **NextBillion.ai 14-day trial** | Enterprise with engineers |
| Field service with work orders and invoicing | **Orcatec free plan** | Small service businesses |
| Building your own app | **Softr or Glide** | Teams with a builder |
## How do you test free AI dispatch software in one working day?
Run one real day through it, not a sample route. The test takes 6 steps:
1. Import the full stop list for one actual day from your spreadsheet or CSV. Note which duplicate or mistyped addresses the tool catches.
2. Enter your hard rules (skills, equipment, vehicle capacity), then enter preferred time windows separately, so you see which the tool treats as soft.
3. Assign the day and read why each stop went where it did. An assignment with no visible reason can’t be audited later.
4. Dispatch to the driver app and confirm each driver sees the route on their phone.
5. Mid-route, cancel one stop and add another that needs a skill only one driver holds. Check that the remaining stops re-optimize without a full rebuild, and that the new stop lands on the right driver or comes back with the rule that blocked it.
6. Overload one driver on purpose and check whether stops move to a driver with capacity.
Load enough stops to approach the plan’s stops-per-route ceiling, because a ceiling you never touch tells you nothing. Steps 3, 5 and 6 are where AI assignment shows its work. For Upper AI Dispatcher, run them in a demo on your own stop list.
## When is Upper the wrong choice for free dispatch?
Upper falls short for three kinds of free-dispatch buyers:
- **You need software that stays free.** Upper has no plan that stays free once a trial ends.
- **You need invoicing or work orders.** Upper’s scope is routing, dispatch and proof of field service work.
- **You need an ELD, hours-of-service or compliance tool.** Upper logs what happened on each route, and compliance stays with your existing systems.
That narrow scope also helps. Your CRM, order system, billing, GPS and telematics stay untouched, so trying Upper involves no rip-and-replace.
## What results look like for Upper customers
These customers tested Upper on the free trial before paying. These are their reported outcomes, not a promise for your operation.
- **CleanHaul Services:** tested Upper during a free trial, imported 140 properties and built routes for 25 drivers. Weekly planning then fell from 6 hours to 30 minutes, and it saved $1,200 a month versus its previous tool. [Read the CleanHaul story](https://www.upperinc.com/success-stories/cleanhaul-valet-trash-collection-services/).
- **GreenEdge Lawn:** the owner used the free trial to test the full workflow. He reorganized 800 customers for 3 technicians in one afternoon and freed 21 hours of drive time a week. [Read the GreenEdge Lawn story](https://www.upperinc.com/success-stories/greenedge-lawn-care-company/).
- **Northern Express Logistics:** tested Upper on the 7-day free trial, then rolled it out for route planning, live GPS tracking and route manifests, growing to 3x daily deliveries. [Read the Northern Express story](https://www.upperinc.com/success-stories/northern-express-logistics/).
*This is Upper’s marketing content. Customer results reflect what that customer reported and are not guaranteed for you. A confidence score supports review and a preferred time window is a preference. Neither is a guarantee. Previews are marked as previews.*
See it in action
#### Spend your free trial on a real day
You'll see its reasoning, its confidence scores and where it hands the decision back to you.
[Book a Demo →](javascript:void(0)) 
## Frequently asked questions
Rarely. Most free AI dispatch software is a capped free tier or a time-limited trial, and the full feature set sits on a paid plan. Shipday’s free plan stops at 300 orders a month and Routific’s at 100 orders a month, so check the cap against your busiest month.
AI dispatch software automatically assigns jobs or stops to drivers and technicians, builds their routes and updates the plan when the day changes. It replaces manual dispatching on spreadsheets, calls and whiteboards with rule-based assignment, live tracking and driver app updates.
Free AI dispatch software is either a free plan with usage limits, such as a cap on orders, drivers or features, or a time-limited free trial of a paid product. Free plans suit very small teams, while trials are best for testing full features on one real working day before paying.
It depends on what you need to prove. To test a real multi-driver day, use Upper Crew’s 7-day free trial. For a plan that stays free, Shipday covers local delivery up to 300 orders and 10 drivers. Routific covers route planning to 100 orders, and Spoke Route Planner covers one driver up to 10 stops per route.
Pick a free plan if your volume will stay under its cap, such as Shipday’s 300 orders or Routific’s 100 orders a month. Pick a free trial if you need to prove a full multi-driver day before paying, and schedule that real day inside the trial window.
Free dispatch software usually caps users, vehicles or AI requests. Advanced optimization, proof of delivery and analytics often sit on paid plans, and support on a free tier tends to be self-serve. Routific’s free plan, for example, includes every feature except SMS notifications.
Yes, but trucking dispatch (loads, carriers, ELD and a TMS) is a different category from the last-mile and service dispatch covered here. Several trucking TMS vendors advertise free plans for small carriers, so compare those separately and check what each one caps.
No. Upper Crew has a 7-day free trial on Professional for up to 5 users with no credit card, and Upper Solo has a 3-day trial. Upper AI Dispatcher has no list price and is tested in a demo. When the trial ends, you pick a plan in the same account and your data stays.
Often not. Upper Crew’s 7-day trial covers Professional features except customer SMS notifications, and Routific’s free plan excludes SMS. On Upper’s paid plans, SMS starts at $0.01 per text and varies by country, so budget for it if customers expect text updates.
Test one real stop list, not a sample route. Add the toughest rule your dispatcher works around and one disruption you actually get, such as a cancellation after routes go out or a job only one certified person can take. Then check what the tool decides and what it hands back.
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_View the original post at: [https://www.upperinc.com/blog/free-ai-dispatch-software/](https://www.upperinc.com/blog/free-ai-dispatch-software/)_
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