Route Optimization by Fleet Size

A solo driver, a 5-van fleet, and a 30-vehicle operation are three different routing problems. SortDrops scales across all three with consistent design and flat-rate pricing — Free for solo, $29.99/month flat for up to 20 drivers, custom plans above.

Why fleet size changes the routing problem

A solo driver is also their own dispatcher — every routing decision happens on a phone in 30-second windows between deliveries. A small fleet (2–10 vehicles) has a part-time dispatcher and a stop volume that's beyond what one person can hold in their head, but well below the threshold where enterprise platforms start making sense. A medium fleet (11–50) has a full-time dispatcher who is KPI-accountable, manages exceptions systematically, and quotes customer-facing ETAs as enforceable SLAs. The optimizer is the same; the workflow around it is fundamentally different.

The single biggest cost driver across these segments is per-seat pricing. Most enterprise platforms charge $40–$95 per driver per month, which scales linearly with fleet size and disproportionately punishes the 2–20 vehicle band. SortDrops Team is $29.99/month flat for up to 20 drivers — explicitly designed to remove the per-seat penalty for small and small-to-medium fleets.

How to pick the right fleet-size page

If you're one person with one vehicle, the solo page covers what you need (Free plan and Pro upgrade triggers). If you run 2–10 vehicles with a part-time dispatcher, the small-fleet page covers Excel upload, k-means clustering, drag-and-drop reassignment, and live tracking on the $29.99/mo Team plan. If you run 11–50 vehicles with a full-time dispatcher, the medium-fleet page covers multi-depot routing, KPI tracking, exception management, and customer-facing ETA broadcasts. Above 50 vehicles, the use case typically diverges enough that we recommend a conversation about exact requirements.

What every fleet-size page covers

Each of the three fleet-size detail pages follows a parallel structure: why dispatch at this scale is its own problem, a typical day with concrete workflow detail, the SortDrops features that map onto the scale, and operational thresholds we recommend. The solo page closes with a worked monthly cost-saving estimate so a one-person operator can see the payback period for the Pro plan. The small and medium pages close with explicit per-seat pricing comparisons against the dominant enterprise platforms, because per-seat pricing is the structural pain point that drives most of these fleets to look for alternatives in the first place.

Use these pages to gauge when to upgrade between plans. The solo-to-small transition happens when you hire driver number two and need a dispatcher view. The small-to-medium transition happens when your dispatcher becomes full-time and you start tracking KPIs systematically. Both transitions are smoother on SortDrops than on per-seat-priced platforms because the cost of adding a driver is zero up to 20 — you do not have to justify each new driver against an incremental subscription line.

Browse all fleet size

Solo Driver

Single-driver dispatch, mobile-only workflow, route-of-day prep — built for one person and one phone.

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Small Fleet (2–10 vans)

Basic dispatcher, fleet-wide route balancing, driver app — without enterprise complexity or per-seat pricing.

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Medium Fleet (11–50 vehicles)

Dispatcher tools, exception management, KPI tracking, customer ETAs — at flat-rate pricing.

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Frequently asked questions

Does SortDrops scale from 1 to 50 vehicles?

Yes. The same dispatcher screen handles 1 driver and 20 drivers — only the data volume changes. For 21–50 vehicle fleets we set up custom plans on the same flat-rate philosophy. Beyond 50 vehicles, the use case typically diverges enough that we recommend a conversation about exact requirements.

When should I upgrade from Free to Pro?

When you regularly hit 15 stops per route, run more than 3 routes per day, or want Excel/CSV upload. Pro at $9.99/month raises stops-per-route to 200 and removes the 3-routes-per-day cap.

When should I upgrade from Pro to Team?

When you have a second driver. Pro is single-driver. Team is multi-driver dispatch — Excel upload, k-means clustering, live tracking, signature capture, $29.99/month flat for up to 20 drivers.

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