A coating device includes a coating member, a nip forming member, a pair of conveying members, and circuitry. The nip forming member forms a coating nip together with the coating member. The pair of conveying members is opposed each other to nip and convey a recording medium to the coating nip. The circuitry is configured to cause the pair of conveying members to release nipping of the recording medium at timing when a leading end of the recording medium reaches the coating nip.