All comparisons
Nomad vs hiring a consultant

You do not need a $10,000 firm to finally move.

The plan and sequencing a relocation consultant would hand you, as software. Visas, taxes, and logistics ordered around your dates, from free to $99 a month, with vetted human specialists for the steps that truly need one.

Updated July 2026

The sticker shock

What consultants actually charge.

Full-service relocation firms were built for corporations, and they are priced like it.

Commonly quoted ranges run $5,000 to $25,000.

Commonly quoted figures for managed international moves land in that band, as of mid-2026. For a corporate transferee whose employer pays, that is fine. For you, it is the price of the move itself, again.

The quote is opaque.

Most firms price by custom quote after a sales call, so you cannot compare until you are already in the funnel, and what is actually included varies firm to firm.

What you are buying

What a consultant actually does.

Fair is fair: good firms earn their fee for the clients they were built for.

White-glove coordination.

A human manages the timeline, chases the vendors, and answers the phone. For corporate transfers on a company clock, that hand-holding is the product.

Vendor relationships.

Movers, temporary housing, destination services. A firm that moves a hundred families a year has contacts you do not.

You still do the personal work.

Even at full service, the documents are yours to gather: your bank letters, your apostilles, your signature at the consulate. The firm coordinates. It cannot be you.

The alternative

What a sequenced plan does instead.

Most individual moves do not fail for lack of a coordinator. They fail for lack of order. That part is software now.

The same sequencing, in about 90 seconds.

Answer a few questions and get a step-by-step plan for your exact move: visas, taxes, and logistics ordered by dependency, with guidance on every step, across 41+ destination corridors.

Everything a consultant would map, visible up front.

Which visa route fits how you earn. When to time the tax exit. What has to happen before the lease, the shipment, the bank account. The plan is the deliverable, not a sales call.

Human expertise, only where it counts.

The Concierge tier adds vetted attorney and CPA intros and document review for the steps that genuinely warrant a professional, at $99 a month instead of a five-figure retainer.

Honest scope

When you should still hire a professional.

Complex immigration cases.

A refusal on your record, unusual income, sponsorship gone sideways. Nomad is not a law firm and does not file petitions for you. Cases like these warrant an immigration attorney, and Concierge introduces you to vetted ones.

Corporate transfers.

If your employer offers a managed relocation package, take it. The firm's coordination is exactly right for a company-clock move, and someone else is paying.

When you want one person on the hook end to end.

Some people want a single accountable human managing everything, whatever it costs. That is a legitimate preference, and it is what full-service firms sell.

Side by side

The comparison, in one table.

A managed relocation firm compared with Nomad's tiers, as of mid-2026
Full-service consultantWanderer (free)Nomad ($49/mo)Concierge ($99/mo)
PriceCommonly quoted at $5,000 to $25,000 per move$0$49 per month$99 per month
What you getA managed timeline and vendor coordinationThe full step-by-step plan for one country, with the task systemPlans for unlimited countries, plus Mira, your AI conciergeEverything in Nomad, plus human specialists
PersonalizationHigh, via calls and a custom quoteBuilt from your answers, one countryBuilt from your answers in about 90 seconds, unlimited countriesBuilt from your answers, with specialist review
Who answers your questionsA dedicated coordinatorSelf-serveMira, your AI concierge (human specialists on Concierge tier)Vetted attorney and CPA intros, document review
Who gathers documentsYou do, with remindersYou doYou do, with each step sequenced and explainedYou do, with specialist review before you file
Best forCorporate transferees with an employer payingRunning your first move to a single destinationPlanning and running moves across any number of countriesMoves with real legal or tax complexity
Which one?

So which is it, for your move?

Hire a firm when the situation calls for it.

Your employer is paying, your case has real legal complexity, or you want a dedicated coordinator whatever the cost. Those are the moves full-service firms were built for.

Run the plan when the move is yours.

You are moving on your own decision and your own budget, and what has kept you stuck was never a missing coordinator. It was the order of operations. That is what the plan gives you.

FAQ

Answers, in plain English.

Anything we did not cover, write us. Real humans answer.

hello@nomadlifestyle.io

Is Nomad a relocation agency?

No. Nomad is software. You answer a few questions and get a personalized step-by-step relocation plan in about 90 seconds, covering visas, taxes, and logistics in dependency order. The Concierge tier adds vetted attorney and CPA intros and document review when a step needs a licensed human.

Can software really replace a $10,000 consultant?

For most individual moves, what the fee mostly buys is a plan and a sequence, and that part is software now. What software does not replace is licensed work: complex immigration filings still belong with an attorney, which is exactly what Concierge intros are for.

What does the Concierge tier actually add?

Human specialists. Vetted attorney and CPA introductions and document review, on top of the full plan and Mira, your concierge. It is the consultant moment of a move, priced at $99 a month instead of a retainer.

What if my employer offers a relocation package?

Take it. Corporate packages exist because managed moves suit company timelines, and the employer pays. Nomad is built for people moving on their own decision and their own budget.

Do consultants really charge $5,000 to $25,000?

Commonly quoted figures for managed international moves fall in that range, as of mid-2026, and most firms quote custom pricing after a sales call. Even the low end costs more than four years of Nomad's top tier.

Keep the five figures. Make the move anyway.

Answer a few questions and see the whole move, sequenced, in about 90 seconds. Free to start, no card.

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