Nuuly vs Rent the Runway: Which rental plan is worth it?

Clothing rental can solve a simple problem: you want something fresh to wear, but you do not want to own it forever. A month full of office days, dinners, and a wedding can make that trade feel quite sensible.

The trick is to pay for clothes you will use. A bag with a high retail value is not a bargain if half the pieces stay on their hangers.

Nuuly and Rent the Runway both let you borrow a changing wardrobe. The main difference is the pace. Nuuly keeps things simple. Rent the Runway offers plans with more shipments, so you can change looks more often. Your real calendar should decide which plan wins.

Nuuly vs Rent the Runway at a glance

Nuuly	Rent the Runway
$98 per month for six items	$129 per month for one shipment of five items
Up to four bonus items at $22 each	$164 for two shipments or $275 for four, with five items per shipment
One main monthly selection	More frequent changes on higher-priced plans
Strong fit for everyday styles and trying something new	Strong fit for designer variety and a busy outfit calendar

Regular prices checked October 19, 2026. Tax may apply. First-month offers are temporary, so compare the recurring bill before you sign up.

Clothing rental services: what does each plan cost?

Nuuly's $98 plan is the lower-priced starting point. Divided across six items, that is about $16.33 per item for the month. A bonus item brings the total to $120 before tax. Six items may be plenty if you plan to mix them with clothes in your own closet.

Rent the Runway's subscription plans start at $129 for one five-item shipment each month. That is $25.80 per item if all five work. The $164 plan has two shipments of five. Use both in full and the average drops to $16.40 per item received.

Those sums are not a measure of quality. They show why a bigger plan only makes sense if you will use it. Paying $164 and ordering just one shipment would cost $32.80 per item received. The price of an unused slot is easy to miss.

The $275 Rent the Runway plan includes four shipments of five items. It may fit someone who needs many different looks. It is a large monthly cost if you tend to reach for the same jeans and sweater each week.

A first-month discount is not the normal price

A sign-up deal can make a rental subscription feel much cheaper than it will be. Read the price that applies after the first month. Check whether a referral offer has different terms from the offer on the home page.

Before you order, write down three figures: the first payment, the next payment, and the date the plan renews. That small step makes it much easier to decide whether to keep renting after the first bag.

Do not add items just to make a discount look better. The useful comparison is the amount you will spend for outfits you need, not the largest claimed saving.

Nuuly: a simple monthly edit

Nuuly suits a shopper who wants six fresh pieces without a menu of plans to work through. You make the selection yourself, which can be part of the fun. It can also take time if you enjoy saving dozens of styles before you settle on a few.

The mix leans toward everyday clothes you can dress up or down. Think a dress for dinner, a jacket for work, or jeans in a cut you would like to try. The point is to add range to your closet without filling it with things you may only want for a month.

For a first Nuuly order, keep most choices close to cuts you know. Let one or two slots be the experiment. A whole bag of unfamiliar shapes may look exciting on screen, but it puts too much of the month's value on uncertain fit.

Nuuly is our choice when the budget is firm and one batch of clothes will cover the month. It is less suited to someone who wants to swap a single item the moment they get bored with it.

Rent the Runway: designer brands and more swaps

Rent the Runway is worth a closer look if your month has very different dress codes. You may want office pieces one week and a more dressed-up look the next. Plans with more shipments give you a way to change the selection.

Designer brands are not all in every plan. Rent the Runway has two tiers of stock. These are the Limited Subscription Closet and the Full Subscription Closet. Some styles are for one-time Reserve rentals only. Check the pieces you like before you pay.

That matters more than the headline count of designer brands. A large closet is only useful if the clothes you want are in your plan, in your size, and ready when you need them.

Rent the Runway wins if you want to swap more often. Nuuly is easier if one bag a month fits your life. Neither can promise a dress that is out of stock.

Swaps and shipping affect how much you get to wear

When you rent clothes, some of the time goes on shipping. A plan with more shipments asks you to manage more returns. The next shipment is not the same as having every item at home at once.

Nuuly's rental FAQs explain its early-renewal feature. You return the bag, then start the next paid cycle early. It is not a free midmonth swap. That distinction can change the cost if you get through your first six items quickly.

With Rent the Runway, check your shipment allowance and return steps in the app before you send pieces back. Make the return early enough to leave room for the next selection and delivery. Do not plan a new outfit around a parcel arriving at the last minute.

For either service, try everything on soon after it arrives. Report a damaged item or a wrong piece right away. Save the return receipt until the service logs it. A few minutes of care can prevent a long exchange with support later.

Fit is the biggest risk with rental services

You can rent a beautiful dress and still get no use from it. Measurements and recent wearer photos are more helpful than a model photo alone. Look for notes from people with a similar height, shape, and fit preference.

The two services carry many brands. Your size in one label does not settle your size in another. Check the garment details each time, especially for fitted waists, slim sleeves, and short hems.

Real users get mixed results. In one Nuuly discussion, a renter said the first bag fit poorly. Reading more reviews helped them choose well next time. That is one person's account. A second order may not solve your fit problem.

If only four of six Nuuly items work for you, the $98 fee comes to $24.50 for each usable piece. This is why fit can matter more than a plan's price per slot.

Maternity clothing: rent the change, own the staple

Maternity wear is a good reason to consider clothing rental. Your fit needs may change faster than your wish to buy a new wardrobe. A dress for a short run of events is different from jeans you want to wear most days.

Nuuly has a maternity and postpartum range. Check the size and fit of each piece. A loose dress may not work at every stage. True maternity wear may have a panel or cut that gives your bump more room.

Check Rent the Runway's maternity clothing before you pay. Look in your size and plan. A large range is no help if the pieces you want are out on loan.

Our maternity jeans guide can help if you would rather buy one dependable pair. Renting the dress and owning the jeans may make more sense than asking one service to cover all your needs.

Special events: keep a spare outfit ready

A subscription is flexible, but a wedding date is not. If you have one fixed event and need a certain dress, check a date-based rental separately. Rent the Runway's Reserve service is distinct from its monthly subscription.

Make sure the neckline, length, and dress code work before you count the outfit as done. Try it with the shoes and layers you will use. Keep a second outfit ready if the event is too close to allow another delivery.

For a full month of dinners and office events, a Rent the Runway plan may earn its cost. For one party and mostly casual days, Nuuly may be enough. For one dress you will wear for years, buying may win.

Retail value is not the same as money saved

Retail value tells you what an item was priced to sell for. It does not tell you what you have saved by renting it. If you would never buy a $400 dress, borrowing it is a new expense, not a $400 saving.

Count uses instead. If a rented jacket gets worn eight times and a dress once, the jacket may give you more value even with a lower retail price. A high-end label is less useful than a piece that fits your life.

You also should not expect rental clothes to be brand new. They have been worn and cleaned. Check condition on arrival, and raise a problem promptly if an item is not ready to wear.

Which styles will you rent most?

Nuuly offers brands such as Free People and Urban Outfitters. That makes it worth a look if you like relaxed shapes and playful prints. Rent styles you can mix with your own basics. A trendy top may get worn more than a full look that needs new shoes.

Rent the Runway also has bags and jewelry. Those accessories can finish an outfit you own. A bag worn to two events may make more sense than a dress worn once. Check whether bags and jewelry count toward your item slots before you choose them.

Both Nuuly and Rent the Runway let you try new styles. But neither is a clear winner on taste. Browse first. Save a few looks, then check how many you can rent now. A page full of unavailable clothes is not a useful closet.

Will rental replace things you buy?

Clothing rental services make more sense when they replace some shopping. If you still buy the same amount of fast fashion each month, the rental fee is an extra bill. Try a no-buy month while you rent clothes. See what you miss and what you do not.

There is no need to rent a new look for each meal with friends. Let a good piece get worn. The more it is worn, the less each use costs. Ask which clothes would get worn to work, which would get worn at home, and which would sit in a bag.

Do not buy a worn rental just because the price is lower than retail value. The purchase is a separate choice. Would you want it at that price if you had not rented it first? If not, send it back.

Before you pause or cancel

Sending the clothes back is not always the same as ending the plan. Complete the account steps, check the billing date, and save the confirmation.

Rent the Runway's terms explain that pausing without items can still lead to charges if pieces are not returned before the next billing date. Do not leave that return until the last possible day.

Check Nuuly's pause and return instructions too. If you want a break for a few months, make sure the account shows the change. Look at the next charge date after you finish, not just the email that says your return arrived.

Which one should you choose?

Choose Nuuly for the lower monthly fee and a simple six-piece refresh. It is our first choice for someone testing whether clothing rental fits their routine.

Choose Rent the Runway for more swaps and designer brands. First check that your plan has the styles you want. The extra cost pays off only if you use the clothes.

If your real aim is to keep a few new pieces, see our Wantable vs Stitch Fix comparison. Those services help you buy rather than borrow. For staples you would choose yourself, our Quince clothing review takes a closer look at fit, fabric, and care.

The best rental plan is the one that sends clothes you wear, at a cost you are happy to repeat. Start with the month you actually have ahead of you.