For buyers & traders
Importers, exporters, consultants — anyone using our calculators, alerts and news. Free forever; upgrade when you need unlimited PDFs and WhatsApp alerts.
Free
Every calculator and the full news feed, no credit card.
- All 32 free supply-chain calculators
- Weekly news digest
- 1 free PDF export per month
- 1 free document template (R19 each after)
- Knowledge base & guides
- Realview SCM (1 shipment)
Pro
= R166/month, two months free
For active importers and exporters who need PDFs and instant alerts.
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited PDF exports (duty, CBAM, lead-time)
- Unlimited document templates
- WhatsApp alerts — SARS, Gazette & port events
- Saved calculations & history
- Realview Starter included (5 shipments)
- Cancel anytime · POPIA compliant
Pro+
= R416/month, two months free
For supply-chain teams running larger import volumes.
- Everything in Pro
- API & MCP access — call our tools from your systems or from an AI assistant
- Advanced calculators (when launched)
- Realview Growth included (20 shipments)
- Priority email support < 24h
- Team-shareable lead history
API & MCP access
Pro+ includes programmatic access to our duty calculator, HS tariff lookup and port-status board — over a REST API for your own software, and over MCP so AI assistants can call them as live tools instead of guessing. A Featured directory listing includes it too; you need one or the other, not both. See the developer docs →
PDF exports on every plan
Every calculator on TradeCaravan is free to use. Free includes 1 PDF export per calendar month. Pro and Pro+ get unlimited PDF exports — duty, CBAM emissions, lead-time, all included.
For service providers
Freight forwarders, customs brokers, warehouses — list your company so buyers can find you. Separate from the Pro plan above; this is a directory listing, not a tool subscription.
Starter
Basic profile so buyers can find your company.
- Listing in the directory
- Category & province filtering
- Company description (200 chars)
- On-site buyer enquiries & messaging (free)
- Post 1 job advert on Careers
Verified
= R166/month, two months free
Get found by buyers actively searching. Verified badge & visible contact details.
- Verified badge (CIPC + SARS check)
- Full profile + logo + website
- Tool Leads — quote calculator users (up to 5/month)
- Review collection from buyers
- Post 3 job adverts on Careers
Featured
= R416/month, two months free
Top placement and your logo inside every relevant tool.
- Everything in Verified
- API & MCP access — call our tools from your systems or from an AI assistant
- Top of search results in your category
- Logo placement in tool CTAs
- Unlimited Tool Leads + priority routing
- Post 10 job adverts on Careers
- Add your staff as users — R99 per employee / month, each with their own sign-in and a Realview seat included. Featured only.
Realview SCM Launching soon — container shipment tracking
| Tier | Shipments | Users included | Standalone / mo | If you have TC Pro | If you have TC Pro+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 1 shipment | 1 (owner only) | R0 | Included | Included |
| Starter | 5 shipments | 2 · max 5 | R299 / mo | Included | Included |
| Growth | 20 shipments | 5 · max 15 | R699 / mo | R699R400 | Included |
| Pro | Unlimited | 10 · no cap | R1499 / mo | R1499R1200 | R1499R800 |
How the discount works: TC Pro includes Realview Starter (R299) at no extra charge; TC Pro+ includes Realview Growth (R699). If you want a higher Realview tier than what your TC plan covers, you just pay the difference — the bundle credit is applied automatically at checkout.
Monthly or annual: every paid Realview tier can be billed annually at 10× the monthly price (two months free), the same as the buyer plans above. Annual TC Pro / Pro+ carries its bundled Realview tier for the full year. Standalone Realview subscriptions are managed inside the Realview app.
Team access: every workspace has one Account Owner (the billing account), who counts as the first user. Paid tiers can add team members — each gets their own free TradeCaravan login — at a flat R99 / user / month beyond the included seats, up to the tier's user cap. The Free tier is single-user.
Already paying for seats on a Featured listing? Those are the same seats. A Featured directory listing includes a Realview workspace, and the R99 you pay per employee there covers their Realview seat too — it is not charged again here.
Already on TradeCaravan?
Click Continue to Realview in your account menu. We sign you in via SSO and provision the bundled RV tier automatically — no second checkout, same payment method on file.
Pricing FAQ
How do Tool Leads and quotes work for providers?
Buyers who use our calculators (duty, freight, cargo insurance, carbon tax, 12L) can ask for quotes, and buyers browsing the directory message you directly — both arrive as on-site conversations. Calculator leads are routed to matching providers: Featured listings first with no monthly cap, then Verified listings on a fair least-recently-served rotation, up to 5 tool leads a month each. You reply and quote inside Trade Caravan (a card on file is needed to send a formal quote); the buyer's contact details are shared only when they accept. Receiving enquiries and messaging are free on every tier — you pay a flat R99 success fee per accepted quote, nothing up front, nothing if you don't win.
Why are TradeCaravan Pro and the Verified directory listing both R199?
They're different products at the same price point. Pro is a subscription you pay to get unlimited PDFs and WhatsApp alerts as a buyer. Verified is what a service provider pays to be listed and receive Tool Leads. Most people buy one or the other; companies that do both pay R398/mo total.
What is API and MCP access, and which plans include it?
Every calculator on this site is free to use in a browser. API access means calling the same duty, HS-code and port-status engines from your own software — a quoting tool, a spreadsheet job, an internal dashboard. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is the open standard that lets an AI assistant call those tools as live data rather than answering from memory, so it quotes today's duty rate instead of guessing one. Both are included with Pro+ and with a Featured directory listing — either one on its own is enough. You create the key yourself in your dashboard; there's no application to fill in. Developer docs →
Can I cancel any time?
Yes. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing month — no fees, no questions. POPIA + CPA-compliant per South African law.
How does the Realview bundle work?
When you upgrade to Pro or Pro+ on TradeCaravan, the corresponding Realview tier is included at no extra cost. You sign in to realview.tradecaravan.co.za via SSO and your shipment quota is provisioned automatically. You can still buy Realview Starter / Growth / Pro standalone if you don't want the TC bundle.
How do Realview team members and per-user pricing work?
Each Realview workspace belongs to one Account Owner — the person who pays. Every tier includes a number of users (the owner counts as the first): Starter includes 2, Growth 5, Pro 10. On any paid tier you can add more team members at a flat R99 per user per month, up to the tier's cap (Starter max 5 users, Growth max 15, Pro uncapped). Team members create their own free TradeCaravan account and the owner invites them — they only see your workspace's shipments, and only the owner can manage billing and seats. The Free tier is single-user.
What payment methods do you accept?
All subscriptions (TradeCaravan Pro / Pro+ and Realview SCM) are billed securely via a South African payment platform supporting Pay-by-Bank and card. Pro and Pro+ are available monthly or annually — the annual plan is 10× the monthly price (two months free) and renews once a year.
Is there a free trial for Pro / Pro+?
No trial — the Free tier already gives you every calculator, every news article, and one free PDF per month so you can decide whether you'd actually use the paid features.
Do you offer team / multi-seat plans?
Yes, on the company side. A Featured directory listing can add employees as users at R99 per person per month: each one signs in with their own free TradeCaravan account and works your listing at the level you give them — view only, leads and quotes, hiring, or manager. Each seat includes a Realview workspace seat at no extra charge. Only the owner can see billing or add and remove seats.
The buyer plans are different: Pro and Pro+ are per-person subscriptions for the tools you use yourself, so they are not shared. Larger than 50 employees, or need something we have not built? Email [email protected].