Alternatives
Looking for a CargoWise alternative?
CargoWise is a huge, good product and we're not going to pretend otherwise: Neo already ships a live map, air and ocean on one screen, alerts and a client portal. All of that is parity. The difference is how many systems you end up maintaining, how long you take to go live, and who picks up the phone on a Friday.
In one line
One system. One contract. A named person who answers.
Side by side
Where there's parity and where there isn't
Rowan Cargo | CargoWise | |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean, air and road shipment files | ||
| Invoicing and settlements per file | ||
| Per-file profitability before invoicing | ||
| Integrated warehouse management (WMS) | ||
| Multi-carrier container tracking | ||
| Live world map with vessel position | ||
| Air and ocean on the same map | ||
| Client portal with tracking, documents and bookings | ||
| Departure, arrival and disruption alerts | ||
| Multi-company / multi-office | ||
| Certified customs filing in 50+ countries | ||
| Global agent network and integration ecosystem | ||
| Client self-quoting from the portal | ||
| 24/7 support across multiple time zones | ||
| Proven scale with global operators and references | ||
| A single system: no integrations to maintain | ||
| A named person who knows your operation | ||
| Product and support in native Spanish | ||
| Live in weeks, not in 6-18 months | ||
| Onboarding with a written scope and data migration included | ? | |
| Custom development inside the client's roadmap | ||
| A real fit for a 5 to 49-person company | ||
| Mobile app at parity for operations and carriers | ||
| Road-carrier portal with e-CMR | ? | |
| VeriFactu (AEAT) hash chain inside the product | ? | |
| Road fleet on the same map as vessels and flights | ? | |
| Own AIS position, independent of what the carrier reports | ? | |
| ETA recalculated from real position, not from the booking | ? | |
| DCSA standard for multi-carrier tracking | ? | |
| Demurrage alerts with a free-time countdown | ? | |
| No per-shipment fee: the system doesn't punish growth |
Yes Partial No? Not published on their site
The numbers
What each model costs you
Rowan Cargo | CargoWise | |
|---|---|---|
| Per month | €2,450 | €3,968 |
| Per year | €29,400 | €47,622 |
| Three-year total | €100,200 | €202,866 |
| Contracts you maintain | One | Two + the integration |
| Per-shipment fee | No | Yes (Value Packs) |
How to read this table
This is not a savings argument. If the conversation turns into who is cheaper, we both lose. The figure only shows we're in the same order of magnitude, and that the real difference is one system versus a puzzle: with CargoWise you still need the Spanish tax-compliance system and the integration between the two.
Assumptions: 250 shipments/month, a 60/40 mix between the $19.95 and $9.95 fees, USD→EUR at 0.92, €300/month of tax-compliance software, CargoWise implementation estimated at €60,000 and Rowan Cargo onboarding at €12,000. On this mix the crossover sits at 167 shipments a month: below that, CargoWise's fee comes out cheaper than our subscription — and at that point the conversation shouldn't be about cost.
Why forwarders switch
One system, not a puzzle
68 modules on a single data model: shipment file, warehouse, invoicing, portals and visibility. With CargoWise you still need the Spanish tax-compliance system and the integration between the two — two contracts, two support desks, and a breaking point that's yours when it breaks.
Service with a name attached
A named person who knows your operation, product and support in native Spanish, and custom development inside your roadmap. Not a ticket in a global queue: someone who knows how you work and picks up the phone.
Weeks, not a year and a half
CargoWise implementations are documented at 6 to 18 months. You pay that time twice: in the project, and in the months you keep the old system running alongside. We go live in weeks, with a written scope and a date.
What you get
What changes when the system is one
One contract, not three
Shipment file, warehouse, invoicing, portals and visibility in the same product and on the same invoice.
No integrations to maintain
Nothing to sync between operations and tax compliance: it's the same data, so there's nothing to fall out of step.
Someone who knows your operation
A named person, in native Spanish, who understands how you work before you explain it.
A go-live with a date
Onboarding with a written scope, migration of your files and rates, and a production date that holds.
Growth isn't punished
No per-shipment fee. Your subscription is the same in a slow month as at peak season.
VeriFactu inside the product
The hash chain and the check QR live in the same system, ready before 1 January 2027, with no second tool.
When we're not your option
If you file customs yourself through a certified gateway in Germany or the Netherlands, we are not your option today — and we would rather tell you before the demo than after. In Spain we are. And if you move fewer than about 170 shipments a month, CargoWise's per-transaction fee works out cheaper than our subscription: if your decision is purely about cost, we're not the answer.
Migrating
Onboarding is paid for, and that's why it works
We migrate your clients, your shipment files, your rates and your history, with a written scope and a go-live date. We charge for it on purpose: whoever gives you the implementation for free charges you for it in the months you take to reach production. Annual contract, and you leave with your data whenever you want.
See how connecting works →FAQ
Aren't you more expensive?
We're not the cheapest, and that's deliberate. Compare the total: our subscription against their per-shipment fee plus the tax-compliance software you'll still need plus the integration between the two. Same order of magnitude, with one contract instead of three.
Why do you charge for implementation?
Because migrating your files, rates and history isn't free, and whoever gives it away charges you for it in the time you take to go live. Our onboarding comes with a written scope, data migration, training and a date.
We already have the map and the portal with Neo
True, and we won't argue it. The difference isn't there: it's in how many systems you maintain, how long it took you to go live, and who picks up the phone on a Friday.
CargoWise is the industry standard, isn't it?
It is, and for a multinational filing its own customs in 50 countries it's the right choice. With 5 to 49 people in Iberia you pay for a network you don't use and you swallow 6 to 18 months of implementation.
Nobody has heard of Rowan Cargo
True. That's why onboarding has a written scope and a date, the price is published, and you leave with your data. You risk one year of subscription, not three years of project.
Half an hour, your operation, and the numbers on the table
We'll tell you if we fit — and if we don't, that too. If your case is certified filing outside Spain, or fewer than 170 shipments a month, we'll say so on that call.
Comparison checked on 27 July 2026. CargoWise and WiseTech Global are trademarks of their owners; we are not affiliated with them. CargoWise does not publish rates on its website: the pricing figures and implementation timelines come from published third-party analyses, cited below. Capabilities they don't publish are marked "?", not as missing.
https://www.cargowise.com/solutions/cargowise-neo/
https://www.rfp.wiki/supply-chain-logistics-transportation/transportation-logistics/logistics-software/cargowise
https://checkthat.ai/brands/cargowise/pricing
https://gofreight.com/blog/cargowise-pricing-2025
https://www.nuevaflo.com/en/blog/cargowise-value-packs-pricing-2026/
https://www.wisetechglobal.com/product/warehousing