Fretebras
Fretebras is the largest digital road freight marketplace in Brazil, operating under parent brand Frete.com. Its two-sided platform connects over 900,000 independent truck drivers with 25,000+ transport companies across 2,200+ cities, monetizing via subscriptions, transaction fees, sponsored listings, and embedded credit services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersCatalão, Brazil
- Headcount501–1,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Fretebras does
Fretebras, operating under the parent brand Frete.com following its 2021 merger with Cargo X, is the largest digital road freight marketplace in Brazil and Latin America. The platform connects more than 900,000 registered independent truck drivers with over 25,000 transport companies and shippers across 2,200+ cities, enabling direct negotiation and matching of cargo loads without intermediaries. Its technology stack combines a web platform and mobile application with Big Data and Machine Learning capabilities powering freight matching, GPS-based Check-In for proximity matching, a proprietary driver scoring system, predictive route risk analysis using historical crime data, and fraud/anomaly detection for risk management.
The company monetizes through a multi-stream revenue model: tiered subscription plans for business users (transportadoras, embarcadoras, agenciadoras), service fees deducted from drivers via the Fretebras Digital Account when freight payments transit the platform, optional Frete Seguro secure-payment fees, sponsored Frete Destaque listings, and an emerging embedded credit/factoring business intermediated through an R$28M FIDC structured with XP Investimentos. Around the core marketplace, Fretebras has built an ecosystem of adjacent services including CT-e and MDF-e electronic document issuance, Saldo Garantido payment protection, cargo protection coverage up to R$100,000, and an in-platform Chat for negotiation.
Founded in 2006 (website launched 2008) and headquartered in São Paulo with a registered office in Barueri, Fretebras employs 501–1,000 people and reached unicorn status in 2021 at a R$2.2 billion valuation following a R$1.1 billion funding round led by SoftBank Latin America Fund with participation from Tencent, Blackstone, Goldman Sachs, IDB Invest, Lightrock, Farallon Capital, Reinvent Capital and Valor Capital Group. The company reports facilitating over 20 million transport operations annually and over R$70 billion in customer transactions, with stated impact metrics including a 50% reduction in truck idle capacity, 25% transport cost savings for companies, and R$1.4 billion in prevented cargo theft losses.
Fretebras firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Fretebras
- Legal name
- Fretebras Internet e Serviços Ltda.
- Website
- https://fretebras.com.br
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 501–1,000 employees
- Short description
- Fretebras is the largest digital road freight marketplace in Brazil, operating under parent brand Frete.com. Its two-sided platform connects over 900,000 independent truck drivers with 25,000+ transport companies across 2,200+ cities, monetizing via subscriptions, transaction fees, sponsored listings, and embedded credit services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Fretebras industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Digital Freight Marketplace
- NAICS
- Freight Transportation Arrangement (4885)
- SIC
- Arrangement Of Transportation Of Freight & Cargo (4731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Carrier Sales & Capacity Sourcing Platforms (TLAEAJAD)
Keywords
Where Fretebras is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Catalão
- HQ country
- Brazil
- HQ region
- Latin America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Fretebras business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Subscription Fees (Plano de Assinatura): Monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, or annual subscription plans for business users (transport companies, shippers, agencies) with varying feature tiers. Prices depend on plan type, payment method, and commitment period.
- Service Fee (Taxa de Servico): Service fee charged to drivers for platform access and commercial matchmaking, deducted automatically from the Fretebras Digital Account when funds from shippers transit through.
- Frete Seguro (Secure Freight Fee): Optional secure freight payment fee paid by drivers to guarantee payment, with guaranteed balance protection.
- Frete Destaque (Featured Listings): Sponsored listing fees where subscribed users can pay to highlight their freight announcements at the top of search results for a defined period.
- Credit/Factoring Services: Facilitates credit operations and funding for transport companies through the platform, connecting with financing partners. Extended approximately $120 million in credit by end of 2025, projecting to surpass $300 million in 2026.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free tier for non-subscriber users |
| Subscription | Monthly | Business subscription plans with multiple tiers |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Service fee on driver transactions |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Frete Seguro secure payment option |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels5 records
Fretebras product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Fretebras operates a two-sided digital freight marketplace that connects transport companies (shippers) with independent truck drivers across Brazil. Transport companies publish cargo loads on the platform, and truck drivers search for, negotiate, and contract freight directly through a web platform and mobile app. The platform supports direct negotiation without intermediaries and provides freight matching, secure payments, risk management, transport document issuance (CT-e and MDF-e), cargo protection, and credit/factoring services.
Product overview
Fretebras operates as a digital freight marketplace platform connecting transport companies with independent truck drivers across Brazil. The core product is the Fretebras Platform (web and mobile), which enables companies to post loads and drivers to search, negotiate, and contract freight directly. The platform offers tiered subscription plans for companies (Usuário Assinante) with add-on features including Frete Destaque (sponsored listings), Frete Seguro (secure payment), Saldo Garantido (payment protection), Cargo Protection (up to R$100k coverage), and a Transportation Management System for document issuance. For drivers, the mobile app includes Fretebras Checkin (location-based availability), Freight Calculator, and Motorista VIP (premium tier). The ecosystem also includes Chat Fretebras for direct communication and a Digital Account for payment processing. The company operates under the Frete.com brand umbrella.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Fretebras Platform Core web-based digital freight marketplace connecting transport companies with independent truck drivers across Brazil. Enables companies to publish cargo loads and drivers to search, negotiate, and contract freight directly without intermediaries.
- Fretebras Mobile App Mobile application available on Google Play with over 4 million downloads, allowing truck drivers to find freight opportunities, negotiate directly with companies, access calculator tools, manage payments, and check-in to signal availability.
- Motorista VIP Premium membership tier for truck drivers offering exclusive advantages including priority positioning in freight negotiations, fuel discounts, and enhanced visibility on the platform.
- Sistema de Gestão de Transportes Fretebras (CT-e and MDF-e Document Issuance) Integrated transportation management system allowing transport companies to issue electronic transport documents (CT-e - Conhecimento de Transporte Eletrônico) and electronic freight manifests (MDF-e - Manifesto Eletrônico de Documentos Fiscais) directly through the platform.
- Cargo Protection (Proteção de Carga) Cargo protection program offering coverage up to R$100,000 against theft, robbery, or misappropriation when freight is contracted and coordinated exclusively within the Fretebras Chat platform.
- Conta Digital Fretebras (Fretebras Digital Account) Prepaid digital payment account enabling secure transactions between transport companies and drivers, facilitating freight payments and automatic service fee collection.
- Frete Destaque (Featured Freight Listings) Sponsored listing feature allowing subscribing companies to pay to highlight their freight postings prominently at the top of search results for a defined period to increase visibility.
- Fretebras Credit/Factoring Services Credit operations and funding program for transport companies, connecting them with financing partners. Extended approximately R$120 million in credit by end of 2025, with projections to surpass R$300 million in 2026. Backed by a R$28 million FIDC structured by XP Investimentos in January 2026.
Quantifiable outcome
- Reduces transport costs by up to 25% for transport companies
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use Fretebras
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Fretebras technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature8 records
Fretebras partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators21 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Fretebras competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Loggi: Brazilian logistics and last-mile delivery platform founded in 2013. Competes with Fretebras in Brazilian road freight and parcel delivery, with a similar app-based driver network and SMB shipper base.
- TruckPad: Brazilian digital freight marketplace connecting truck drivers with cargo. Was a leading domestic competitor to Fretebras in the trucker-facing marketplace, with overlapping GTM in the Brazilian trucking community.
- GoBolt: North American digital freight and warehousing platform. Comparable in combining marketplace-style freight matching with adjacent logistics services (warehousing, last-mile).
- Uber Freight: Global digital freight marketplace connecting shippers with carriers via an app-based platform. Direct competitor to Fretebras in Brazil and globally, with similar two-sided marketplace model, capacity sourcing, and digital matching.
- Loadsmart: US-headquartered digital freight brokerage and capacity sourcing platform. Operates a similar carrier-sales and shipper-matching model with TMS integration, comparable to Fretebras' enterprise offerings.
- Transfix: Digital freight marketplace connecting shippers with pre-vetted carriers using ML-based matching. Closely aligned with Fretebras' value proposition of tech-enabled freight matching for the road freight market.
- Convoy: Was the largest US digital freight network before shutting down in 2023. Operated a near-identical model of carrier-sales capacity sourcing via app, with comparable ML-based matching and shipper SaaS layer.
Emerging players
- FreteBras/Cargo X legacy competitive set (TruckPad, Giro do Caminhão, Carga+): Smaller Brazilian freight marketplaces and load boards that have competed with Fretebras in the domestic market. Several are early-stage or regional, sharing the same trucker-facing marketplace model.
Broad incumbents
- iFood: Brazil's leading food delivery platform with an emerging logistics arm. While primarily restaurant delivery, it has built driver-side logistics infrastructure in Brazil that could expand into adjacent freight categories.
- Maersk Logistics & Services (Brazil): Global logistics and container shipping major with growing digital road freight presence in Latin America. Represents incumbent competition with significant capital and shipper relationships for end-to-end freight.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Fretebras social profiles
Digital presenceFretebras financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Fretebras leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Fretebras subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Fretebras funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Fretebras M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Fretebras
What does Fretebras do?
Fretebras operates a two-sided digital freight marketplace that connects transport companies (shippers) with independent truck drivers across Brazil. Transport companies publish cargo loads on the platform, and truck drivers search for, negotiate, and contract freight directly through a web platform and mobile app. The platform supports direct negotiation without intermediaries and provides freight matching, secure payments, risk management, transport document issuance (CT-e and MDF-e), cargo protection, and credit/factoring services.
Is Fretebras a public or private company?
Fretebras is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Fretebras founded?
Fretebras was founded in 2006. It employs 501 to 1,000 people.
Where is Fretebras based?
Fretebras is headquartered in Catalão, Brazil, in the Latin America region.
How does Fretebras make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Subscription Fees (Plano de Assinatura) is the primary driver. The others are service Fee (Taxa de Servico), frete Seguro (Secure Freight Fee), frete Destaque (Featured Listings) and credit/Factoring Services.
Who are Fretebras's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Loggi, TruckPad, GoBolt, Uber Freight, Loadsmart, Transfix and Convoy. FreteBras/Cargo X legacy competitive set (TruckPad, Giro do Caminhão, Carga+) is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are iFood and Maersk Logistics & Services (Brazil).
Does Fretebras have an API?
No public API is recorded for Fretebras.
What industry is Fretebras in?
Fretebras's product category is Digital Freight Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is TLAEAJAD, Carrier Sales & Capacity Sourcing Platforms. Its NAICS code is 4885 and its SIC code is 4731.