Compare import software
How Tyllus compares with project44, Terminal49, Flexport and CARVO
Tyllus is import operations software for importers moving roughly 10 to 100+ ocean containers a month into the United States and Mexico. It keeps container tracking, automatically read documents, purchase orders, supplier, forwarder and broker coordination, customs readiness and landed cost in one shipment record. project44 and Terminal49 focus on visibility data, Flexport moves freight and clears customs, and CARVO serves European importers.
Updated: October 3, 2026
Which category does each product belong to?
These five products are often compared, but they do different jobs. Tyllus runs the import for the importer's own team. project44 and Terminal49 supply visibility data. Flexport is a logistics company with its own platform. CARVO manages shipments for importers in Europe.
Competitor descriptions below follow each company's own website as of 3 October 2026.
| Product | Category | Built for | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tyllus | Import operations software | Importers and their import teams moving roughly 10 to 100+ ocean containers a month into the US and Mexico | Runs each shipment from purchase order to landed cost and coordinates the supplier, freight forwarder and customs broker you already use |
| project44 | Describes itself as a Decision Intelligence Platform for the supply chain | Shippers, 3PLs and freight forwarders | Visibility across ocean, road, air, rail and ports, plus transportation, yard and e-commerce delivery products |
| Terminal49 | Describes itself as automated container tracking that unifies tracking, shipment documents and workflows | Cargo owners, freight forwarders and drayage companies | Container milestones from carriers, terminals, vessels and rail for the North American import supply chain, in dashboards or your own systems |
| Flexport | Describes itself as a freight forwarder, customs broker and fulfillment company with its own platform | Companies from emerging brands to Fortune 500s | One company that moves freight by ocean, air and truck, clears customs through licensed brokers and runs fulfillment |
| CARVO | Describes itself as a shipment management platform | Small and medium European importers handling 5 to 200 shipments a month | Imports into the EU and UK, with customs checklists for all 27 EU member states |
How do the five products compare by capability?
Each competitor cell summarises what that company states on its own website as of 3 October 2026. "Not a stated focus" means the public pages reviewed for this comparison do not describe the capability; it is not a claim that the capability is missing.
| Capability | Tyllus | project44 | Terminal49 | Flexport | CARVO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Container tracking | Automatic for 11 ocean carriers; the Tyllus team checks the ETA for any other line | Ocean visibility it says spans nearly all shipping lines, 700+ ports and 5k+ vessels | 35 integrated ocean carriers plus terminals, vessels and rail; 65 more lines listed for reference | Tracking of freight it moves; Control Tower also covers freight moved by other carriers or forwarders | Live shipment map with ETAs that update automatically |
| ETA changes | ETAs re-checked daily; the broker request and document checks are re-timed when the ETA moves | Its own ETAs built from carrier and forwarder data, extending to container discharge | ETA change, vessel discharge and LFD notices | Flags exceptions before they become delays, in its own words | Notifications for ETA changes |
| Modes and ocean visibility | Ocean containers only, on a route map with transshipment stops and the vessel's estimated position | Ocean, road (FTL, LTL, parcel), air, rail and intermodal, ports and terminals | Carrier, terminal, vessel and intermodal rail milestones | Ocean, air and trucking that it moves itself | Ocean (FCL and LCL), air, road and rail, including multi-leg shipments |
| Documents read automatically | 8 US document types, including ISF (10+2) and CBP Form 7501; 7 for Mexico, including the pedimento | Document parsing for bills of lading, commercial invoices and packing lists | Classifies documents from any source and links them to the right container | Document ingestion inside its customs brokerage process | Extraction from purchase orders, invoices, bills of lading and duty notices |
| Purchase orders | Orders page with six statuses; one click turns a PO into a shipment | Shipment, order and SKU visibility | Not a stated focus | Order management with ordered, booked and in-transit units and supplier scorecards | Reads data from uploaded purchase orders |
| Supplier, forwarder and broker coordination | 11-step flow for US imports (Mexico skips the ISF step); most steps send the supplier, forwarder or broker a request and reminders automatically, no partner account needed | Connects to the carriers and forwarders in your network for visibility data | Shares container reporting with teams and customers | Flexport acts as your forwarder and broker: one partner and one platform | Document requests and updates to suppliers, forwarders, brokers and warehouses through secure links |
| Customs workflow | Broker request 7 days before ETA; clearance status confirmed by the broker. Tyllus does not file entries | Tariff Analytics: U.S. tariff types across your product catalog, matched by HTS code | Container holds and terminal fees | Licensed customs brokerage that files entries, plus classification and duty drawback | Checklists for 27 EU member states plus the UK and 20+ EU customs procedures; not a customs broker |
| Landed cost | Per shipment from read documents: goods, freight, broker fees, duties, taxes and fees | Tariff Analytics compares total landed costs across suppliers, with tariff breakdowns | Not a stated focus | SKU-level landed-cost reporting | Per-unit landed cost with five allocation methods and multi-currency conversion |
| Exceptions | Needs-attention panel, Delayed and missing-document filters, warnings when a partner goes quiet | AI agents that work on disruptions and exceptions | Containers-at-risk view, milestone and exception alerts, daily email digests | Shipment and customs exception views | Notifications for customs deadlines and missing documents, plus a daily morning briefing |
| Teams | Owner, Admin and Member roles; partners act without accounts | Not a stated focus | Custom views and shared container reporting | Company details, users and settings managed in one place | Team invitations and roles; good fit for teams of 1 to 10 people |
| Integrations | None needed to start; spreadsheet import and Excel or CSV export | Connects with TMS and other business systems through technology partners | ERP, TMS, spreadsheets, data warehouses and developer access to container data | Integrated with your ERP and connected to e-commerce marketplaces | Excel import and export |
| Markets served | Ocean imports into the US; definitive ocean imports into Mexico; team and partners in any country | Global networks: 282K carriers connected, in its own figures | North American import supply chain | Operations network across 135 countries | Imports into the EU and UK |
Which one should an importer choose?
Start with the job you need done, then compare products inside that category. A visibility platform, a freight forwarder and an import operations workspace solve different problems, even when their screens look similar.
- Choose Tyllus if your team imports roughly 10 to 100+ ocean containers a month into the US or Mexico and wants supplier, forwarder and broker requests, documents, customs readiness and landed cost handled in one shipment record.
- Choose project44 if you need multimodal visibility across ocean, road, air and rail for a large shipper or logistics network.
- Choose Terminal49 if you need container, terminal and rail milestones for North American imports inside your own dashboards or systems.
- Choose Flexport if you want one company to move your freight, clear your customs entries and run fulfillment.
- Choose CARVO if you import into the EU or UK and need EU customs checklists and per-unit landed cost allocation.
What does Tyllus keep in one shipment record?
Tyllus brings the work that usually sits in spreadsheets, inboxes and carrier websites into one record per shipment. Each part below is a product capability today.
- Tracking: Tyllus tracks containers automatically for MSC, ONE, Evergreen Marine, HMM, Yang Ming, ZIM, PIL, SM Line, TURKON, Arkas and Global Feeder; for any other line, the Tyllus team checks the ETA, ports and departure date.
- Documents: Tyllus reads the proforma invoice, commercial invoice, packing list, house bill of lading, ISF (10+2), CBP Form 7501, freight forwarder invoice and customs broker invoice; for Mexico, the pedimento replaces ISF and 7501.
- Cross-checks: Tyllus compares 23 shipment fields across five sources and marks conflicting or uncertain values Needs review.
- Coordination: an 11-step flow for US imports (Mexico skips the ISF step), in which most steps send the supplier, forwarder or broker a request and reminders automatically; Tyllus warns you when a partner goes quiet.
- Customs: the broker request goes out 7 days before ETA, and the Customs page shows filed entries, duty history and spend by HTS code (US) or TIGIE/NICO code (Mexico).
- Landed cost: goods, freight, broker fees and duties, taxes and fees per shipment, built from the documents Tyllus reads.
Where can you read each comparison in detail?
Each detail page answers the main difference, shows a side-by-side table, and states when the other product is the better choice.
- Tyllus vs project44: an import operations workspace compared with a multimodal decision intelligence and visibility platform.
- Tyllus vs Terminal49: running the whole import compared with container, terminal and rail milestone data.
- Tyllus vs Flexport: software that coordinates your own partners compared with a forwarder and customs broker.
- Tyllus vs CARVO: US and Mexico ocean imports compared with EU and UK imports.
Run one of your shipments in Tyllus
Create an account, import your shipment spreadsheet or open the sample shipment, and see tracking, documents, partners, customs and cost in one record.