Nomad vs. Doorstead: Fees, Guaranteed Rent & Control (2026)

If you're about to rent out a home, you're deciding how much of the work you want to hand off and what that's worth to you. Some owners want someone else to show the home, field the repair calls and send a statement at the end of the month. Others are happy to make the calls themselves as long as the repetitive work is done for them and the rent shows up on time.

Doorstead and Nomad sit on different sides of that line. Doorstead is a leasing and property management company that places tenants and, on its Manage plan, runs the home for you. Nomad is software you use to lease and manage the home yourself, with guaranteed rent included. Below we compare what each costs at a typical rent, who makes which decisions, how showings work, and what happens if a tenant stops paying.

The short answer

Doorstead and Nomad both help you lease a home and keep it running, and the difference is who makes the calls and what happens if rent doesn't come in.

• What each is: Doorstead is a full-service manager in nine states whose team takes over after move-in. Nomad is software you use to lease and manage the home yourself, in all 50 states.

• Guaranteed rent: Doorstead no longer offers guaranteed rent. Nomad pays your rent on the 5th even when a tenant doesn't pay.

• Year-one cost at $2,500 rent: Doorstead Place costs $1,250 and Doorstead Manage $2,750. Nomad costs $1,299 to $2,799, depending on how showings are handled.

• Support: Nomad includes a 24/7 repair line and Property Protection, and you choose your showings, from doing them yourself to agent-led tours where they're offered.

Nomad vs. Doorstead at a glance

Doorstead figures are from doorstead.com/compare-plans and doorstead.com/product/manage, October 2026. Nomad figures are from nomadlease.com/pricing.

What do Nomad and Doorstead cost in year one?

Doorstead's fees are a percentage of one month's rent plus, on Manage, a monthly percentage. Nomad's depend on how you want showings handled. Here's what each option includes and what it costs in year one on a 12-month lease at $2,500 a month. Nomad prices use the 4% up-front option.

Nomad with agent-led tours and Doorstead Manage cost about the same in year one, but the money buys different things. Doorstead Manage pays for a team that takes over after move-in: repairs, inspections, renewals and turnover. With Nomad, you keep the decisions, the software handles rent collection and repair requests, and your rent arrives on the 5th whether or not the tenant pays. Doorstead doesn’t guarantee rent on any plan.

Doorstead Place costs $1,250 for the placement alone. For $49 more, Nomad's base option covers the placement and a full year of rent collection, guaranteed rent and repair support; you run the showings yourself.

Who makes the decisions on Nomad and Doorstead?

On Nomad and Doorstead, you approve the tenant before the lease is signed. The difference is how much happens before something reaches you.

With Doorstead, the team runs the process and brings you decisions: a recommended rent, a recommended applicant, and on Manage, any repair over the dollar threshold you set. Repairs under that threshold go ahead without a call to you.

With Nomad, you set the rent (with pricing advice from Nomad), review every screened applicant, and decide what happens with each repair request: send a vetted pro from Nomad's repair network, or handle it yourself or with your own contractor. Network pros use flat-rate prices for common jobs, so you can see the cost before you commit, and any quote over your spending limit comes back to you.

Nomad and Doorstead both use a spending limit, so a small job doesn't stall while it waits on you. The difference is that with Nomad you see every request in your portal and choose who handles the ones that need a pro, so you always know what's being spent and why.

How do showings work on Doorstead and Nomad?

Doorstead uses licensed agents for every showing. Its Place fee covers that, along with professional photos, syndication to sites including Zillow, Trulia and HotPads, application processing, identity and fraud checks, credit, income and background screening, and a digital lease.

Nomad gives you three options. You can show the home yourself at no placement cost, use resident-led tours, where Nomad ships a self-guided lockbox and prospects pass a pre-screen and ID verification before they can book, or pay for agent-led tours where they're offered (availability varies by city). Your listing goes to 30+ rental sites, including Zillow, Apartments.com and Realtor.com, and Nomad screens every applicant for credit, income, rental history and background. If you live near the home and have a few evenings free, showing it yourself is where most of the cost difference between Nomad and Doorstead comes from.

Does Doorstead or Nomad offer guaranteed rent?

Doorstead no longer offers guaranteed rent. Its own blog says it retired the Rent Guarantee in 2025 and replaced it with the Place and Manage plans. If you remember Doorstead as a guaranteed rent company, that's the older product. That plan charged 8% of monthly rent plus a 50% placement fee. Today's Manage plan is 5% with no guarantee.

Nomad includes guaranteed rent in its fee. Guaranteed rent here means you're paid on a fixed monthly schedule for the term of a signed lease, whether or not the tenant actually pays. Nomad pays 100% of the rent on the 5th of each month while the lease is in effect. Nomad also reimburses eviction costs for non-payment up to $5,000. Nomad's guaranteed rent covers missed rent during a lease, not the time between tenants.

Screening lowers the risk of non-payment but doesn't remove it, and the risk doesn't fade after the first year: between 22% and 34% of tenants' first serious delinquency (30+ days past due) started after month 12 of the lease in each of the last four quarters (Nomad portfolio data, 2026).

How Nomad handles this: See how Nomad's guaranteed rent works

For a wider look at who still offers a rent guarantee, see our comparison of guaranteed rent companies.

What do you get from Nomad and Doorstead during the lease?

During the lease, Nomad pays your rent on the 5th and lets you decide how each repair is handled, while Doorstead Manage's team coordinates repairs and renewals but doesn't cover missed rent. Most of a rental's life happens after move-in, so here's what each one does for you during the lease. Doorstead Place isn't in the table: its part ends when the lease is signed, so everything below is yours to handle on that plan.

Compared with managing on your own, you aren't the one taking the 9 p.m. leak call or wondering whether rent will arrive.

Who is Doorstead built for?

Doorstead is built for owners in its nine states who want to hand the home off after move-in and don't need guaranteed rent. Manage costs 50% of a month's rent to place a tenant plus 5% a month, and Doorstead's team handles the day-to-day within the repair limit you set. Without a guarantee, a missed payment comes out of your income until it's collected. Doorstead Place covers the placement only; once the lease is signed, rent collection, repairs and renewals are yours to handle without a platform behind you.

Why do owners choose Nomad over Doorstead?

Owners choose Nomad over Doorstead for five reasons:

• Your rent arrives on the 5th, whether or not the tenant pays. Guaranteed rent is part of Nomad's fee; Doorstead no longer offers one.

• You keep the decisions. You set the rent, choose the tenant from screened applicants and decide how each repair is handled.

• You pay only for the help you want. Show the home yourself with no placement fee, or add self-guided or agent-led tours.

• Support doesn't stop at move-in. A 24/7 repair line with flat-rate pricing, Property Protection and Rent Advance are there for the whole lease.

• It works wherever your home is. Nomad covers all 50 states; Doorstead covers nine.

If you're weighing a local property manager as well, our guide to choosing a property manager covers what to ask. A good local manager is the right answer for plenty of owners, especially with several homes or no time to spare.

How Nomad handles this: See what your home would cost on Nomad

Frequently asked questions

Is Nomad a good alternative to Doorstead?

Yes, Nomad is a good alternative to Doorstead, especially if you want guaranteed rent, which Doorstead no longer offers. Nomad pays your rent whether or not the tenant pays, works in all 50 states, and lets you choose how much help you pay for, from showing the home yourself to agent-led tours. Doorstead is a full-service manager in nine states, so its team makes more of the day-to-day calls for you. If you're comparing full-service companies, our Nomad vs. Belong comparison covers Belong's fees and guarantee.

Does Doorstead still offer guaranteed rent?

No, Doorstead no longer offers guaranteed rent. Doorstead retired its Rent Guarantee in 2025 and now offers two plans: Place, for tenant placement, and Manage, for full-service property management.

What are Doorstead's fees?

Doorstead Place costs 50% of one month's rent, with a $1,000 minimum, due when the lease is signed. Doorstead Manage adds 5% of monthly rent, with a $100 minimum. Doorstead lists no platform or termination fee (doorstead.com, October 2026).

Does Doorstead charge 8%?

Doorstead no longer charges 8%. 8% was the monthly fee on Doorstead's Rent Guarantee plan, which it retired in 2025. Doorstead Manage is 5% of monthly rent ($100 minimum), plus a placement fee of 50% of one month's rent ($1,000 minimum).

Is Doorstead cheaper than Nomad?

Whether Doorstead is cheaper than Nomad depends on the plan and how you handle showings. At $2,500 a month, Doorstead Place costs $1,250 to place a tenant, and Nomad costs $1,299 for year one if you show the home yourself, including guaranteed rent and rent collection. Doorstead Manage and Nomad with agent-led tours both come to about $2,750 to $2,800 in year one.

Where does Doorstead operate?

Doorstead operates in nine states: California, Florida, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Do I choose the tenant with Doorstead or Nomad?

You choose the tenant on both Doorstead and Nomad. Doorstead recommends a tenant and you approve them before lease signing. On Nomad, you review screened applicants and choose the tenant yourself.

Is Nomad a full-service property management company?

No. Nomad is software that owners use to lease and manage their own homes. You set the rent, choose the tenant and approve repairs; the platform handles syndication, screening, the lease, rent collection and maintenance triage, with guaranteed rent included. If you're comparing it with other landlord software, see how Nomad compares with Avail and with TurboTenant. For all five comparisons in one table, see how Nomad compares.

Does Nomad guarantee rent if my tenant stops paying?

Yes, Nomad guarantees rent if your tenant stops paying. Nomad pays rent on the 5th of each month during the lease whether or not the tenant pays. If a tenant stops paying, Nomad pays the first two months, then payments pause, and eviction costs for non-payment are reimbursed up to $5,000.

How were these costs calculated?

These year-one costs use each company's published rates:

• Nomad: 4% of the 12-month lease ($1,200), plus the $99 onboarding fee, plus the showing option ($0, $900 or $1,500). Paying monthly instead costs 6% of rent with a $75 minimum.

• Doorstead Place: 50% of one month's rent, with a $1,000 minimum. At $2,500 rent, that's $1,250. Below $2,000 rent, the $1,000 minimum applies.

• Doorstead Manage: the Place fee, plus 5% of monthly rent with a $100 minimum. At $2,500 rent, that's $125 a month ($1,500 a year). Below $2,000 rent, the $100 minimum applies.

• Neither total includes repair costs, optional photography, or fees renters pay. Doorstead says it charges nothing at renewal.