LTL vs FTL: Which Should You Use?

Two shipments of the same goods can cost wildly different amounts depending on one early choice: LTL or FTL. Pick wrong and you either pay for empty trailer space you never used, or you stack LTL surcharges until a full truck would have been cheaper. Here is how each is priced and where the line between them actually falls.

What LTL and FTL actually mean

LTL (less-than-truckload) means your freight shares a trailer with other shippers’ freight. You pay for the slice you occupy. It suits anything from one pallet up to roughly six, and the carrier consolidates loads through regional hubs.

FTL (full truckload) means you book the whole trailer. You pay a flat rate for the lane whether the truck is packed to the roof or half empty, and your freight rides direct from pickup to delivery with no hub handling in between.

How each one is priced

LTL and FTL are quoted on completely different logic, which is exactly why you should price both:

Because LTL is class-driven, your first job is to know that class. Run your pallet through the freight class calculator — density sets the class, and class is the single biggest lever on an LTL quote.

When to ship LTL

Choose LTL when you have a handful of pallets, your freight is reasonably dense (so it rates at a lower class), and you can tolerate a slower, hub-routed transit. It is the default for most small-business shipping because you only pay for the space you use.

When to ship FTL

Choose FTL once you fill most of a trailer, when your goods are fragile (direct transit means far less handling), or when you are time-sensitive. A flat truck rate also sidesteps freight class entirely — handy for low-density freight that would rate at a punishing class on LTL.

Where the break-even falls

There is no universal number, but the crossover is commonly around 6–12 standard pallets or roughly 10,000–15,000 lb. Below it, LTL almost always wins; above it, LTL class and accessorial surcharges pile up until a flat full-truck rate is cheaper. For anything in that band, don’t guess — quote both. The fastest way is to build one request and send it to several carriers at once with the freight quote builder, so the numbers come back comparable.

And don’t forget partial truckload for mid-size loads (roughly 6–18 pallets): it skips the LTL hub network without paying for a whole truck, and often beats both.