DF Alliance is a freight forwarder network founded in 2020 by DP World, and its main draw is the bundle: network membership plus access to the SeaRates toolset that sits in the same corporate group.
Compared using each platform's own public statements, checked 14 August 2026. These companies are independent of CargoLinked and their products change — verify current details on their site before deciding. Where a company's own figures disagree with each other, that is noted rather than resolved in our favour.
The short answer
DF Alliance is a forwarder network with a DP World toolset attached — directory listing, a verified membership certificate and badge, rate advertising on SeaRates.com, vendor access to SeaRates leads, and web integrations for tracking and schedules. CargoLinked is an independent shipper marketplace with published pricing. The choice is partly about what you want bundled and partly about whether being inside a carrier-and-terminal group's ecosystem is an advantage for your business.
Side by side
| DF Alliance | CargoLinked | |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | Founded in 2020 by DP World; same group as SeaRates | Independent |
| Their stated size | A counter reads 2,803 members / 190+ countries while the about copy says "over 8,000 members" — both on the same page | ~29,000 listings across 194 countries |
| Who it serves | Freight forwarders and NVOCCs | Shippers and forwarders |
| Leads | Members "receive instant shipping requests, bid on them directly"; vendor access to SeaRates open leads | Shipper freight requests matched to your HQ country and lanes |
| Bundled tools | Logistics Explorer, container tracking and ship-schedule web integrations, rate advertising on SeaRates.com | 22 free calculators at /tools; no tracking |
| Pricing | Premium and Premium Plus packages — prices behind sign-in | Published: free listing; Connected $29/month or $299/year |
About those member numbers
A single page on their site shows a counter reading "2803 members" alongside about copy stating the network has "over 8,000 members". We are not going to guess which is current. It is worth flagging only because member count is the main thing a network sells, and a figure you cannot pin down is hard to weigh against a membership fee you also cannot see until you sign in.
For fairness: our own ~29,000 figure counts directory listings, most of which are imported company records rather than actively managed member accounts. Different platforms count different things, and ours is not a like-for-like comparison with a paid-membership count.
Where DF Alliance is stronger
- The bundle. Tracking and schedule integrations for your own website, plus rate advertising on a site with SeaRates' traffic, is real distribution — more than a listing on its own.
- Group weight. DP World operates terminals and logistics infrastructure worldwide. For some forwarders, association with that carries commercial value.
- A membership badge and certificate, which some buyers do look for.
Where CargoLinked differs
- Published pricing. You can decide whether it is worth it before creating an account.
- A free tier that quotes. Listed free forever with five free quotes — you can test the lead quality at zero cost, which you cannot do behind a sign-in wall.
- Independence. We do not operate terminals, ships or a forwarding arm, so we are not routing you toward a parent company's services.
- Shipper-side demand. Our requests come from cargo owners rather than being redistributed within a members' ecosystem.
Which to choose
- You want tooling and infrastructure association bundled with membership → DF Alliance, and ask for the price list up front.
- You want cargo owners' requests and a cost you can see → start with a free CargoLinked listing.
- You are shortlisting several platforms → note that DF Alliance and SeaRates are the same group, so counting both overstates your coverage of the market.
