Truck Packer vs PackApp: $252 a Year for Unlimited Load Plans vs 240 Euros for 50 a Month

PackApp's smaller plan costs €240 a year plus VAT for 50 load calculations a month, about $269, and Truck Packer Pro costs $252 a year billed annually with no limit on load plans. Both run in a browser and both build a 3D container plan, so for most people it's the same job for less money, and you never count calculations.

PackApp is made by NextCargo.com in Bonn, Germany, and it's built around shipping containers for exporters and forwarders. It shows up in EasyCargo's price table, so here's a straight comparison, including where it beats us.

PackApp costs €240 a year for 50 calculations a month, or €600 for 200

Source: PackApp, Pricing

PackApp charges by the calculation, not by the seat. Subscription 1 is €240 a year for 50 calculations a month, Subscription 2 is €600 a year for 200, and both are billed a year in advance with VAT on top. There are also one-time packs of 100 calculations for €100 or 200 for €160 that never expire. Any number of workstations is included, and partners like your forwarder can join free, which is a nice touch for a shared shipment. EasyCargo's table estimates PackApp at $593 a year, which doesn't match either current plan.

Truck Packer Pro costs $28 a month, or $252 a year, with unlimited packs

Source: Truck Packer, Pricing

Pro is for one person and includes unlimited packs, the case and container library, CSV import, PDF export, AutoPack, weight visualization, shareable packs and a loadout checklist. Billed annually it's $21 a month, $252 for the year, which is less than PackApp's smaller plan before VAT. The 7-day trial unlocks every Business feature with no credit card. Business adds multi-user orgs, collaborative packs, multi-truck packs, the advanced importer, API access and SSO, and it's contact-for-pricing.

Both run in a browser, and Truck Packer works in feet and inches

Source: PackApp and PackApp, Truck calculation

PackApp runs in Firefox, Chrome, Safari or Edge with nothing to install, and the results open on a PC, tablet or phone. It works in centimeters and kilograms, and most of its help pages are in German. Truck Packer also runs in any browser at app.truckpacker.com, in imperial or metric. You drag cases into the truck, AutoPack fills the space, and anything that collides or sits outside the walls gets flagged. I'm a FOH engineer, and after years of planning trailer packs in Excel, SketchUp and chalk on the dock floor, I built it to be the easiest load planner to use.

PackApp picks the container mix and shows center of gravity, and Truck Packer doesn't yet

Source: PackApp, Stacking packages and PackApp, Determining the optimal container

This is where PackApp is ahead. It loads 20, 40 and 45 foot containers, high cubes, open-tops and flat-racks, plus a 13.6 meter semi-trailer or a custom truck, and it picks the fewest and smallest containers that fit the shipment. Each item can be rotatable or not, stackable on the bottom or on top, high or low priority, or flagged as needing a crane. Results show the center of gravity and the loading meters used. Truck Packer's AutoPack is a space solver without stack limits, bottom-only rules or unload priority yet. We show total weight per container and a weight view of the pack, and axle and kingpin weights are in progress. PackApp doesn't do axle loads either.

Both share a 3D plan by link, and Truck Packer adds a QR code per truck

Source: PackApp, Sharing results and Truck Packer, Changelog

PackApp emails a share link with the 3D view and packing list, and you can revoke it later. It added step-by-step loading instructions with notes in version 2106. Truck Packer's Crew View is a public link with the plan, notes and a shared checklist, and it opens on any phone with no account. Since v0.10.2 the share button makes a QR code, so the crew can scan the plan at the dock. Every container also gets its own PDF.

Both import a spreadsheet and offer a REST API

Source: PackApp, REST API and Truck Packer, Pricing

PackApp imports and exports CSV, and it has a REST API in JSON or XML, with credentials on request, for connecting a warehouse or transport system. Truck Packer Pro imports CSV, and the Business importer also reads XLSX and dimensions packed into one column like 48x24x30. Business includes a REST API with keys you generate yourself in Settings. One thing I'd check before committing is how actively PackApp is developed: the newest release notes I could find are from October 2021. For comparison, we shipped 19 releases in the year up to September 2026, and every one is on the changelog.

Truck Packer does the same 3D container plan for less, with no calculation limit

Source: PackApp, Pricing and Truck Packer, Pricing

PackApp and Truck Packer do the same core job in the same place, a browser. Truck Packer costs $252 a year against €240 plus VAT, never meters your load plans, works in feet and inches, and hands the crew a link and a QR code. PackApp still picks the container mix for you, shows center of gravity and handles crane and flat-rack cargo today, and its free partner seats are handy if a forwarder needs to see the plan. Both have free tiers or trials, so build the same container in each.

Got a container to plan this week? Log in to Truck Packer and pack it.