SeaRates is one of the most widely used freight sites on the internet, and much of that traffic goes to its free tools rather than its booking flow. Understanding what it is optimised for explains where it beats us and where it does not overlap with us at all.
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
SeaRates is a tool ecosystem with instant rates attached, operating as "SeaRates by DP World" — a freight calculator, container and vessel tracking, ship schedules, a load calculator, a freight index, a CO₂ calculator and more, with online booking across a claimed 190+ countries. CargoLinked is a provider directory with a request-and-quote flow. If you want to calculate, track and book, SeaRates does more. If you want forwarders to compete for your shipment and a relationship afterwards, that is our model.
Side by side
| SeaRates | CargoLinked | |
|---|---|---|
| Ownership | DP World — brands itself "SeaRates by DP World" | Independent |
| How you get a price | Instant online Freight Calculator, with instant booking | Post a request; matching forwarders quote |
| Free tools | Extensive — container and vessel tracking, ship schedules, load calculator, distance and time, freight index, rate management, CO₂ calculator, HS codes, port and shipping-line directories | 22 calculators and references at /tools, no tracking |
| Provider directory | Carrier and shipping-line directories | ~29,000 forwarder listings across 194 countries |
| Coverage claim | 190+ countries for the calculator | 194 countries in the directory |
| API | Yes — developer portal and integrations offered | No public API today |
Worth knowing: SeaRates and DF Alliance are the same group
If you are evaluating platforms and have both SeaRates and DF Alliance on your shortlist, they are not independent alternatives. DF Alliance's own site states it was founded in 2020 by DP World, advertises member rates on SeaRates.com, and gives members vendor access to SeaRates leads. Treating them as two separate options overstates how much of the market your shortlist covers.
Where SeaRates is stronger
- Tracking. Container, vessel and multimodal tracking with real-time updates. We do not offer tracking at all — see how to track an international shipment for where that data actually lives.
- Breadth of free tools. Ship schedules and a live freight index are genuinely useful and we have no equivalent.
- Instant rates and booking, where we have neither.
- Integrations. A developer portal and API for putting rates or tracking into your own systems.
Where CargoLinked differs
- Forwarder discovery. SeaRates' directories cover carriers and shipping lines. Ours covers freight forwarders — the party that actually arranges your shipment — browsable by country, city and service.
- Competing quotes on your shipment rather than a calculated rate, which is the difference between a lane average and a price someone will stand behind.
- Direct contracting. You engage the forwarder; we step out of the way.
- Independence. We are not owned by a terminal operator or carrier group. Whether that matters is your call, but it is a real structural difference when a platform's parent also sells the underlying services.
Use them together
They complement each other more than they compete. Use SeaRates' calculator to frame a budget and its tracking once cargo moves; post a request here when you want forwarders to price the actual shipment and to build a relationship with one. Our own calculators cover the arithmetic in between — CBM, chargeable weight and detention and demurrage.
Related: freight marketplaces compared and CargoLinked vs Freightos.
