You have a wedding in two weeks. A black-tie gala in six. And a birthday dinner where everyone will take photos. Your closet holds a black sheath dress you’ve worn to three funerals and a sequin top that doesn’t fit. The math is simple: buying four new outfits would cost $600–$1,200. Renting them costs $88–$235. But which service actually delivers? I’ve used both Rent the Runway and Nuuly for over a year. Here’s the real breakdown.
How Rent the Runway and Nuuly Actually Work
Both services let you rent clothes for a monthly fee. But the model differs in ways that matter.
Rent the Runway started in 2009. You pay $94–$235 per month for 4 to 8 items. You pick from designer brands like Alice + Olivia, Badgley Mischka, and Shoshanna. Each rental comes with a backup size for free. You return everything in a prepaid bag. They clean and restock it. The average dress rental cost per item runs $23–$29.
Nuuly launched in 2019 under Urban Outfitters. One plan: $98 per month for 6 items. Brands lean younger — Anthropologie, Free People, Urban Outfitters, plus some third-party labels. No backup size. You return everything in the same box. They also handle cleaning.
The core difference: Rent the Runway focuses on occasion dressing. Nuuly focuses on everyday wardrobe rotation. If you need a gown for a wedding, Rent the Runway has 20+ options under $200 retail. Nuuly has maybe 4. But if you want a cute top for brunch, Nuuly wins.
Pricing Showdown — What You Actually Pay
| Feature | Rent the Runway | Nuuly |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $94 (4 items), $135 (6 items), $235 (8 items) | $98 (6 items) |
| Cost per item | $23–$29 | $16.33 |
| Backup size included? | Yes (free) | No |
| Cleaning fee | Included | Included |
| Shipping both ways | Free | Free |
| Late fee | $15 per day | $15 per day |
| Purchase option | Up to 70% off retail | Up to 50% off retail |
Nuuly is cheaper per item — $16.33 vs. $23–$29. But that number hides a catch. With Nuuly, you get 6 items. If you only need 4, you’re paying for 2 you don’t use. Rent the Runway’s 4-item plan costs $94. That’s $4 less than Nuuly’s 6-item plan. If you only need 4 dresses, Rent the Runway is cheaper.
One hidden cost: Rent the Runway charges $15 per day for late returns. Nuuly does the same. But Rent the Runway’s backup size means you’re less likely to reorder because something doesn’t fit. That saves real money.
Inventory — Who Has the Dress You Actually Want?
This is where the two services diverge hard.
Rent the Runway carries 800+ brands. For formal events, they stock Tadashi Shoji, Alex Perry, Marchesa Notte, and Laundry by Shelli Segal. You can filter by dress length, color, neckline, size, and price tier. The search is granular. I found a navy sequin gown for a New Year’s Eve gala in under 3 minutes.
Nuuly carries roughly 200 brands, heavily weighted toward Urban Outfitters Inc. labels. You’ll find Anthropologie‘s Maeve collection, Free People boho dresses, and Urban Outfitters basics. For casual events — a garden party, a dinner date — Nuuly is great. For a black-tie wedding? Thin pickings. The search allows filtering by size and color but not by event type or designer tier.
The verdict: For formal events, Rent the Runway has 10x the options. For everyday wear, Nuuly’s selection feels fresher and more current.
Fit and Sizing — Where Most Rentals Fail
Renting a dress you’ve never tried on is a gamble. Both services try to fix this, but only one does it well.
Rent the Runway includes a free backup size on every order. Order a size 6, and they ship a size 4 and size 8 as well. You try both, keep the best fit, return the other. This feature alone saved me from a disaster when a Badgley Mischka gown ran two sizes small. I wore the backup size 8. Without it, I’d have been stuck in a dress that didn’t zip. They also publish detailed size charts and customer reviews with fit notes like “runs large in the bust” or “short torso friendly.”
Nuuly does not offer a backup size. You order one size. If it doesn’t fit, you can exchange it, but that takes 3–5 business days. For a weekend event, that’s too slow. Nuuly does provide size charts, but they’re generic brand charts, not specific to each item. Customer reviews are limited and rarely mention fit specifics.
Common mistake: ordering your street size without checking the brand’s specific sizing. A size 8 in Free People fits like a 6. In Anthropologie, it’s true to size. Always read reviews and check the brand’s size guide before renting.
When NOT to Rent — The Failure Modes
Renting isn’t always the right move. Here’s when to buy instead.
You need the dress for more than 4 days. Both services give you a rental window of 4 days (Rent the Runway) or 5 days (Nuuly). If you need a dress for a week-long trip, renting means paying for two rental periods. Buying a $150 dress from ASOS might be cheaper than $188 in rental fees.
You’re between sizes. Without Rent the Runway’s backup size, Nuuly is risky if you’re a size that varies between brands. If you’re a 6 in one brand and an 8 in another, you’re gambling $98.
You want to keep the dress. Both services let you buy items at a discount. Rent the Runway offers up to 70% off retail. Nuuly offers up to 50% off. But if you know you’ll want to wear a dress multiple times, buying it new from Nordstrom during a sale might cost the same as renting twice.
You have a very specific vision. If you need a specific designer, color, and length, and you can’t find it on either platform within 10 minutes, you’re better off buying. The rental inventory changes weekly. What’s available today might be gone tomorrow.
The single most important takeaway: Use Rent the Runway for formal events where fit matters and you need designer labels. Use Nuuly for casual wardrobe variety when you want to experiment with trends without committing.
