Five apps owner-operators find when they search for help collecting detention. We built one of them, so read the table with that in mind. Every cell comes from the vendor's own public pages and store listings, checked on October 3, 2026, and each app's weak spot is listed, ours included.
Updated Oct 2026 ยท Last verified Oct 3, 2026 · Not affiliated with any other vendor
The useful distinction is not "does it track detention", every app does. It is which part of the job each one does: timing the stop, building proof, invoicing, chasing the money, and knowing who pays.
| GetDockPay | PayDwell | DockClaim | DMRG Detention Pay | DetentionIQ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Owner-ops & small fleets who want the claim sent and followed up | Drivers who want strong, shareable evidence at little or no cost | Owner-ops who want hands-off GPS detection | Budget-minded drivers and small fleets | Carriers with 50–200 trucks already on ELD/GPS telematics |
| How the stop gets timed | You tap Arrived / Departed; the phone's GPS stamps time and place. Pro adds a Geofence reminder: a notification when you pull in and when you leave; nothing is logged until you tap | Geofence starts and ends the session by itself; GPS-tagged gate and signed-BOL photos | Geofence starts and stops the clock at known facilities, with manual override | Geofence on exit: you check in on site; a half-mile geofence marks the load complete when you leave | Geofence on your ELD/GPS feed (Samsara, Motive), no driver input |
| Proof package | ✓ GPS times, map of the stop, BOL photo links, the time you notified the broker, your ELD log (Pro) | ✓ GPS-tagged photos, PDF invoice with a SHA-256 verification code | ✓ GPS-verified timestamps, coordinates | Partial start and finish times, duration, map, BOL uploads and notes in the app; no shareable report or PDF described | ✓ GPS geofence + ELD on-duty times, load documents |
| Invoice sent to the broker | ✓ we email it (Pro); on Free, export the PDF and send it yourself | ✓ PDF invoice you email from your own mail app (automatic broker email is listed for Pro; its privacy policy says it isn't switched on yet) | ✓ one-tap PDF invoice | Partial alerts to your customer; no invoice described | ✓ invoices and evidence packets |
| Automatic follow-ups to the broker | ✓ Second, Third and Fourth Notice by email on day 3, 7 and 14 (Pro) | — | Unclear promises follow-up reminders; doesn't say they go to the broker | — manual Remind Customer button | — |
| Payment tracking (billed vs paid) | ✓ for claims sent with Pro | — | ✓ | ✓ "Detention Owed" until you mark it paid | ✓ |
| Broker / facility scoring | ✓ Broker Pay Score + Dock Score from real claims (your own brokers and facilities on Free; the full directory with Pro) | — | Facility wait data | — | Facility scorecards from your fleet's own data |
| Tax-ready report | ✓ weekly and tax reports | — | — | — | Billed vs paid reporting |
| Works with your ELD | Attach your ELD log PDF or screenshot from any ELD app (Pro; on iPhone, save a screenshot to Files first) | — | — on its roadmap | — fleet-software integration listed for later versions | ✓ built on it (Samsara, Motive or existing GPS) |
| In the App Store and Google Play | ✓ both | ✓ both | — early access, no store listing found | ✓ both | — web platform for fleets |
| Price (public) | Free plan · Pro $24.99/mo or $239.99/yr | Free for one broker · Pro $9.99/mo or $89.99/yr | $49/mo launch price (first claim free, no card) | Free for now; in-app purchases listed ($0.99 a load, $39.99 a month) | Not published (contact sales) |
| Weak spot | Newest of the five in the stores (public launch Sep 2026); auto-detect reminds you but never logs on its own, so you still tap to confirm; follow-ups need the broker's email; the ELD log is attached, not connected | The free tier covers one broker; you send the invoice from your own mail app, and the chasing is yours | Early access with no app in the stores yet; $49/mo; doesn't say its reminders reach the broker | No invoice or proof document described; the only reminder is a manual tap; last updated in 2025 | Made for fleets on telematics; invite-only, no public price; too much for one truck |
| Last verified | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 3, 2026 |
Sources: each vendor's website and App Store / Google Play listing, checked Oct 3, 2026 (paydwell.app, dockclaim.com, DMRG's store listings and detentionpay.com, detentioniq.com). A dash (—) means we found no such feature on Oct 3, 2026 (in the store row: no store listing); any words after a dash say what the vendor does describe. DockClaim had no app in the App Store or Google Play on Oct 3, 2026, so its column is what its website says. Detention Source Lite, which was in our September comparison, was not in the App Store or Google Play when we checked on Oct 3, 2026. Features and prices change; if we have something wrong, email info@getdockpay.com and we will fix it. Not affiliated with any vendor named here.
Strongest at: the part after you send the invoice. The Second, Third and Fourth Notice go to the broker by email on day 3, 7 and 14 by themselves until you mark the claim paid or denied, and payment tracking shows what is submitted, paid or denied. The Broker Pay Score shows who actually pays (for your own brokers on Free; with Pro, check any rated broker before you book). With Pro, auto-detect reminds you to tap Arrived when you pull in and Departed when you leave, and a dock timer in your notifications counts your free time from the Arrived tap (live on Android).
Weak spot: it is the newest app here in the stores. Auto-detect is a reminder, not an automatic clock: nothing is logged until you tap, so you still have to tap. Follow-ups go by email only and need the broker's email on file, and your ELD log is attached as a PDF or screenshot rather than connected. See exactly what the broker receives.
Strongest at: evidence. Its geofence starts and ends the session on its own, with GPS-tagged photos at gate arrival and at BOL signing, in a PDF invoice with a SHA-256 verification code. Free for one broker; Pro is $9.99 a month or $89.99 a year.
Weak spot: you email the invoice from your own mail app (PayDwell lists automatic broker email for Pro, but its privacy policy says it isn't switched on yet), and follow-ups are on you.
Strongest at: passive detection, as its website describes it: a geofence starts and stops the clock on its own (with manual override), plus one-tap PDF invoices, payment status and offline sync.
Weak spot: it is still in early access, with no app in the App Store or Google Play on Oct 3, 2026, so you can't install it yet. $49 a month at launch after a free first claim, and no DockClaim page says its "automatic follow-up reminders" reach the broker (one page says you get them).
Strongest at: price. Free for now (the App Store also lists $0.99-a-load and $39.99-a-month in-app purchases). You check in on site, your customer can be told you've arrived and is alerted when detention passes your threshold, and a half-mile geofence marks the load complete when you leave. Loads show "Detention Owed" until you mark them paid, with a one-tap Remind Customer button and BOL uploads.
Weak spot: no invoice or proof document is described, the only reminder is a manual tap, and the app was last updated in 2025.
Strongest at: fleets. Connects to Samsara, Motive or existing GPS, geofences each customer facility so arrival and departure are caught with no driver input, flags dwell past a threshold (2 hours by default), packages GPS and ELD on-duty evidence, invoices, tracks billed vs paid and ranks facilities on scorecards.
Weak spot: made for carriers with 50–200 trucks and built around a telematics connection; invite-only accounts with no public price; too much for a single truck.
GetDockPay Pro's auto-detect reminds you to tap Arrived when you pull in and Departed when you leave. If you want the clock to start with no tap at all: PayDwell, DockClaim (early access) or DetentionIQ (fleets on telematics).
GetDockPay's GPS-stamped times with the map, BOL photos and your ELD log (Pro), PayDwell's PDF with a verification code, or DetentionIQ's ELD evidence.
Any app that produces an invoice: GetDockPay, PayDwell, DockClaim, DetentionIQ.
GetDockPay is the only one of the five that says it emails the broker follow-ups on a schedule: the Second, Third and Fourth Notice on day 3, 7 and 14. That is the job it was built for.
PayDwell (free for one broker), DMRG (free for now), or GetDockPay's Free plan to log stops, see what you're owed and send the PDF yourself.
DetentionIQ.
Different job: these apps tell you about a facility before you get there. They don't replace a detention invoice.
Free. Driver reviews, maps with details that matter to drivers, typical wait times, overnight parking and load/unload procedures for shipping facilities (App Store listing, rated 3.6 out of 5 from 14 ratings when we checked).
Free for drivers, on iPhone and Android. Star ratings and driver dock notes on entrances, wait times, staff and amenities, plus an appointment check-in that tracks your time on site (dockwatch.app).
Dock Score: how long drivers who logged that facility in the app actually waited. Then the part the dock apps don't list: the GPS-stamped detention invoice to the broker and, with Pro, the follow-ups on day 3, 7 and 14.
Checked Oct 6, 2026 on each app's own store listing or website. Neither Dock411's listing nor Dock Watch's site mentions sending a detention invoice to the broker. Features change; if we have something wrong, email info@getdockpay.com.
It depends on which part of the process fails for you. Forget to record times: a geofence helps. PayDwell and DockClaim say theirs starts the clock by itself; GetDockPay Pro reminds you to tap Arrived when you pull in and Departed when you leave. Document but never bill: any app with an invoice. Bill but never follow up: GetDockPay, which emails the broker the Second, Third and Fourth Notice on day 3, 7 and 14 until you mark the claim paid or denied. One truck on a budget: PayDwell (free for one broker), DMRG (free for now) or GetDockPay's Free plan.
Of the five apps here, only GetDockPay says it emails the broker follow-ups on a schedule: the Second, Third and Fourth Notice on day 3, 7 and 14 until you mark the claim paid or denied. It also has a Broker Pay Score built from real claims: Free shows it for the brokers you work with, and Pro's directory lets you check any rated broker before you book. PayDwell and DockClaim say their geofence starts the clock automatically. GetDockPay Pro uses a geofence as a reminder instead: you get a notification when you pull in and another when you leave, and the GPS stamp is taken when you tap Arrived or Departed.
Yes, on Pro, since version 1.1 (October 2026). Auto-detect arrival watches one zone reaching about 700 ft from the pin of the facility you picked for your next stop. When your truck enters, you get a reminder to tap Arrived; when it leaves, a reminder to tap Departed. Nothing is logged until you tap. It works on iPhone and Android and needs location set to Always or Allow all the time and notifications on. Auto-detect itself does no route tracking. How to turn it on.
The Free plan logs stops, does the math, shows what you're owed and gives you the invoice PDF to send yourself, no card. Auto-detect arrival, dock reminders, sending the claim and the automatic notices are Pro at $24.99 a month or $239.99 a year. Pricing details.
No app can. Detention is contractual: the rate confirmation sets the free time, the rate, when the clock starts, any notice requirement and the deadline to bill. An app makes the claim complete, timely and hard to ignore. No app can guarantee that a broker pays. Read the guide.
How reliably a broker actually pays detention claims filed through GetDockPay: percent paid, average days to pay, denial rate. Next to it, the Dock Score rates how long drivers wait at a facility.
Free Download on iPhone and Android. No credit card required. Upgrade to Pro in the app when you want arrival reminders or are ready to send your first claim.
