Looking for a QWTN alternative?
People usually arrive at this comparison with one question: does the software I am looking at actually submit to the Digital Waste Tracking Service? QWTN and LoadLog overlap on digital waste transfer notes, but they are built for different sides of the waste chain.
QWTN is a tool for carriers and tradespeople. LoadLog is built for permitted receiving sites that have to report every load they take in. That difference decides most of the comparison.
QWTN and LoadLog side by side
| Feature | QWTN | LoadLog |
|---|---|---|
| DEFRA DWTS API submission | Built; awaiting Defra approval | Yes, with automatic retry |
| GOV.UK compatible software list | No | Yes |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes, up to 5 WTNs a month |
| Paid pricing | From £12 a month | £12 a month (Compliance Lite) |
| Carrier validation | Yes, EA carrier and permit lookups | Yes, against all four UK public registers |
| EWC checks | Free EWC lookup tool | Recorded against every load |
| Digital signatures | Yes, signed on site or by link | Yes |
| Best fit | Carriers and tradespeople | Permitted waste receiving sites |
Details checked 25 October 2026 against qwtn.co.uk.
When QWTN is the right choice
QWTN was built by a former waste carrier for carriers and tradespeople, and it shows. If you collect waste and need to produce digital waste transfer notes for duty of care, it covers that job at a low price, and the free tier means you can start without paying.
Its free tools are genuinely useful. There is an EWC lookup, a duty-of-care checker, a permit lookup and a waste site finder, all available without a subscription, and they are the kind of things a carrier reaches for between jobs.
Carriers do not enter the DWTS mandate until October 2027, so a carrier choosing software today is solving a duty-of-care problem, not a reporting problem. On that basis QWTN is a fair option. QWTN has also built Defra receipt submission and is waiting on production approval, so this gap may close for carriers who also run a site.
When LoadLog is the better fit
If you run a permitted waste receiving site, the job is different. From October 2026 in England and Wales, every load you accept has to be recorded on the Digital Waste Tracking Service, and Scotland and Northern Ireland follow in January 2027. That is a reporting obligation, and it needs software on GOV.UK’s compatible provider list.
LoadLog is on that list and submits through the DEFRA API with automatic retry, so a submission that fails is sent again rather than lost. Loads carry an EWC code, the carrier is checked against all four UK public registers, both parties sign digitally, and the record goes to DEFRA without anyone re-keying it.
For a site receiving loads all day, that is the difference between a paper trail and a compliance record.
Pricing
LoadLog has a free tier covering up to five waste transfer notes a month, and Compliance Lite is £12 a month for unlimited notes with one admin and two operators. No credit card is required, and every load submits to DEFRA the same way on either plan.
Questions people ask
What is the best QWTN alternative?
It depends on what you need the software to do. QWTN is built for carriers and tradespeople who need digital waste transfer notes for duty of care. LoadLog is built for permitted receiving sites that have to submit records to the DEFRA Digital Waste Tracking Service from October 2026. If your site must report receipts of waste, LoadLog covers that workflow.
Is QWTN free?
QWTN has a free tier, with paid plans from £12 a month. LoadLog also has a free tier, which covers up to five waste transfer notes a month, and its paid plan is £12 a month for unlimited notes.
Does QWTN connect to the DEFRA Digital Waste Tracking Service?
QWTN advertises Defra receipts as built into its transfer notes, and its status page, updated 13 October 2026, says receipt submission is in Defra's production approval and that QWTN is not on the GOV.UK list of compatible software until that completes. Until it does, a receiving site cannot rely on QWTN alone for the two-working-day report. LoadLog is on that list and submits records through the Defra API with automatic retry.
Do I need DWTS software if I am a waste carrier?
Not yet. Permitted receiving sites in England and Wales report from October 2026, with Scotland and Northern Ireland following in January 2027. Carriers join the mandate in October 2027, so a carrier looking for digital waste transfer notes for duty of care has longer to decide.
See how LoadLog handles a load
Record a load, check the carrier, capture both signatures and submit to DEFRA from the yard. Start free today; Compliance Lite is £12 a month for unlimited notes.