The comparison
We are not going to characterize our competitors. We are going to show you what they publish about themselves, put ours next to it, and let you draw the line. Every claim below is sourced and dated.
What the category costs, according to the category leader
“Consortium enrollment typically runs $50–$150 per driver per year, and individual tests cost $40–$80 including MRO review... Most small carriers end up spending $200–$500 per driver annually once you factor in Clearinghouse queries, random pool fees, and collection costs.”
Foley, foley.io drug & alcohol testing page, accessed 17 September 2026That is $200 to $500 per driver per year for the drug and alcohol program on its own. Not the DQ files. Not the MVRs. Not the PSP reports. Not the training. Not the audit.
Ultralus is $600 per driver per year, and the drug and alcohol program is one line item inside it.
Side by side
Based on each company's own public pages as of 17 September 2026. Where a company does not publish an answer, we say so rather than guess.
| Ultralus | Foley | J.J. Keller DataSense |
Embark Safety |
DQM Connect |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Driver qualification files | |||||
| Document storage & expiration alerts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Builds the file for youAssembling a complete 49 CFR 391 file, not just storing one | ✓ | ~"Document review service" in top tier | ✓Audits 170+ items per file | — | —"Self-managed portal" |
| Contacts the driver to collect documentsSomeone chasing the expiring physical, not a reminder email to you | ✓We email and text them | ~Driver submits via their app | ? | ? | ? |
| Screening & testing | |||||
| DOT drug & alcohol testing | ✓Included in the monthly fee | ~Own product, priced separately | ~Separate service | — | ~Partner integration |
| Random testing consortium | ✓ | ~Separately priced | ~ | — | ~ |
| MVR pulls & monitoring | ✓ | ~Professional tier and up | ~Separate service | ~Separate product | ~ |
| PSP reports | ✓ | ~Professional tier and up | ~Separate service | ~Separate product | ? |
| FMCSA Clearinghouse queries | ✓We run them | ✓In all tiers | ~ | ? | ? |
| Training, monitoring & audit | |||||
| Monthly driver safety training | ✓Included | —Not in published tiers | ~Separate service | ~Separate product | ~Partner integration |
| CSA score monitoring | ✓ | ~Professional tier and up | ? | ? | ~ |
| DataQ challengesDisputing inspection and crash records | ✓ | ? | ? | ? | ? |
| DOT audit representationTalking to the auditor on your behalf, attending on site | ✓Included | ~"Audit services" in Professional and up | ~Dedicated Compliance Advisor | ? | — |
| Commercial | |||||
| Price published on their website | ✓$150 then $50 per driver | —Tiers listed, no numbers | — | — | — |
Sources: foley.io/pricing, foley.io driver files, jjkellerdatasense.com DQ services, embarksafety.com DQ file, dqmconnect.com. All accessed 17 September 2026.
An honest read
A comparison that says we win every row is a comparison nobody believes. Here is the fair version.
The most complete platform in the category, and the only one publishing tier structures at all. If you want software with a large feature surface and you have staff to run it, they are a serious choice. The catch is that MVR monitoring, PSP, CSA monitoring and audit services all sit in the Professional tier or above, so the entry price is not the real price.
Seventy years of regulatory authority behind them, an initial audit covering 170+ items per file, and a dedicated Compliance Advisor. Their driver app lets drivers photograph documents and submit directly for processing, which is genuinely closer to our model than anyone else's. Testing, MVRs, PSP and training are still separate purchases.
Clean, focused software for storing and organizing files and setting reminders, plus solid MVR monitoring as a separate product. Good at what it says it does. It does not claim to do the work for you, and it does not pretend otherwise.
Fast onboarding, a clean interface, and integrations with screening and training partners. They describe it accurately as an "online, self-managed portal," which is the honest framing of what most of this category actually is.
We are the only one on this page that publishes a price, includes the third-party costs inside it, and sends a person to chase your driver rather than sending you an alert that your driver needs chasing. If you want software, buy software. If you want the work done, that is the whole reason we exist.
Send us what another provider quoted you and we will show you, line by line, what is and is not inside it. If they are the better fit, we will tell you that too.
