Overview
Clerk is a hosted auth service built around prebuilt UI components for sign-in, sign-up, user profile and organization management, with SDKs for Next.js, React, Expo, Astro, React Router and TanStack Start. It also offers subscription billing components and machine authentication (API keys and M2M tokens).
The free Hobby plan is generous on volume: 50,000 monthly retained users per application and unlimited applications. Clerk only counts a user once they come back at least a day after signing up, so drive-by sign-ups cost nothing. The catch is that several security features, including MFA, passkeys, user bans and custom session lifetimes, need the Pro plan.
Pro is $25 a month and keeps 50,000 included retained users per app, then charges $0.02 per extra user with volume discounts. One SAML or OIDC enterprise connection is included and each additional one is $75 a month. Business at $300 a month adds the SOC 2 report, more dashboard seats and priority support; HIPAA with a BAA and an uptime SLA are Enterprise-only.
Clerk is closed source and cannot be self-hosted, and user data lives in Clerk's infrastructure, so plan for webhooks if you need user records in your own database.
Pricing and plans
Free tier · no card
Hobby plan: 50,000 monthly retained users per app, unlimited apps, up to 3 social connections, 3 dashboard seats; no MFA, passkeys or branding removal
At the limit Not stated Past 50,000 retained users you get a one-month grace period, then must upgrade to Pro.
Their branding| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Hobby | Free | 50,000 MRU per app, 3 dashboard seats, Clerk branding, 7-day fixed sessions |
| Pro | $25/mo | $20/mo annually; 50,000 MRU included then $0.02 each; MFA, passkeys, 1 enterprise connection |
| Business | $300/mo | $250/mo annually; 10 seats, SOC 2 report, priority support, 30-day logs |
| Enterprise | Custom | Annual only; 99.99% SLA, HIPAA BAA, log sinks, migration support |
What it does
- Prebuilt components
- Drop-in sign-in, sign-up, user profile and organization switcher components, plus hooks for building custom flows.
- Retained-user billing
- Users are only billed if they return 24 hours or more after signing up, which keeps costs down for apps with many one-time visitors.
- B2B organizations
- Multi-tenant organizations with custom roles, invitations, auto-join by domain and enterprise SAML/OIDC connections.
- Machine authentication
- User-issued API keys and M2M tokens, with 1,000 key creations and 100,000 verifications a month on the free plan.
- Billing
- Subscription plans and gated access managed alongside user data, without writing payment UI.
- Abuse protection
- Bot protection, brute-force lockout, disposable email blocking and leaked-password checks on every plan.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- 50,000 retained users per app free, with unlimited apps
- First-day-free counting avoids paying for sign-ups that never return
- Polished UI components for Next.js and React save weeks of front-end work
- Organizations, billing and API keys in the same product
Limitations
- MFA, passkeys and branding removal are not available on the free plan
- Closed source with no self-hosting option
- Each extra enterprise SSO connection costs $75/mo on Pro and Business
- SOC 2 report needs Business ($300/mo) and HIPAA needs Enterprise
Who it suits
Good for
- Next.js and React apps that want prebuilt auth UI
- Consumer apps with many one-time sign-ups
- B2B SaaS that needs organizations and a first SSO customer
Look elsewhere if
- Teams that must self-host or keep identity data on their own servers
- Apps selling to many enterprises that each need SSO, where per-connection fees add up
Pricing history
-
Clerk raises free tier to 50,000 retained users, new plans
Announced 2026-02-05: free users per app go from 10,000 to 50,000 monthly retained users, unlimited apps on every plan, MFA moves into Pro and the Enhanced Authentication add-on is dropped. Enterprise connections become metered, 4+ dashboard seats and SOC 2/HIPAA artifacts now need Business. Source ↗
Alternatives to Clerk
| Tool | From | Free option | Stages |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kinde Hosted auth with billing and feature flags | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Supabase Managed Postgres backend platform | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Nhost Postgres + GraphQL backend platform | $25/mo | Free tier | |
| Logto Open-source OIDC auth (cloud or self-hosted) | $24/mo | Free tier | |
| Hanko Open-source passkey-first auth | $29/mo | Free tier | |
| Asgardeo Hosted CIAM (with open-source self-hosted option) | $20/mo | Free tier |
Questions
Is Clerk free?
Yes. The Hobby plan is free with up to 50,000 monthly retained users per app and no credit card, but MFA and passkeys need Pro.
How does Clerk count users?
Clerk bills monthly retained users: people who use the app at least one day after signing up. Users who never return after day one are not counted.
How much does SAML SSO cost on Clerk?
Pro and Business include one enterprise connection per app; each additional connection is $75 a month, with volume discounts.
Can I self-host Clerk?
No. Clerk is a hosted service only.
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