Pick Clerk if
next.js / SaaS teams who will stay on Hobby at $0 (50,000 MRUs, 3 seats) while they ship a first Sign-in, then buy Pro at $20/month billed yearly ($25 monthly) when they need MFA, passkeys, and branding removed.
Read the Clerk pageClerk vs FusionAuth
Our take
Pick Clerk if next.js / SaaS teams who will stay on Hobby at $0 (50,000 MRUs, 3 seats) while they ship a first Sign-in, then buy Pro at $20/month billed yearly ($25 monthly) when they need MFA, passkeys, and branding removed. Pick FusionAuth if app teams who will stay on Community at $0 (self-host, unlimited MAUs, forum support) while they open a first Users table, then buy Starter at $162/month billed annually
Clerk
hosted auth-component desk
FusionAuth
auth admin desk
Best for
Clerk Sign-in you start at $0
FusionAuth Users you start at $0
Free plan
Clerk $0 · no card. 50,000 MRUs / app. 3 dashboard seats. Unlimited applications. Custom domain. Session 7 days. Logs 1 day. API keys: 1,000 creations / 100,000 verifications. M2M: 2,500 / 100,000. Up to 5 impersonations. Up to 3 social connections
FusionAuth $0 · self-hosted. Unlimited. Core authentication. Community support (forums, GitHub). Passkeys / biometrics need a Free License. No FusionAuth Cloud hosting on this card
Lowest paid
Clerk Pro $25/mo
FusionAuth Essentials $2/mo
Next step up
Clerk B2B Enhanced add-on $100/mo
FusionAuth Starter $162/mo yearly
Runs where
Clerk Local or hosted
FusionAuth Local or hosted
Watch out
Clerk Hobby MFA / passkeys / no-branding are Pro
FusionAuth $162 / $2,970 are the 1,000-MAU tiles
Last checked
Clerk 2026-10-23 · clerk.com/pricing
FusionAuth 2026-10-23 · fusionauth.io/pricing
Which one, then?
Pick FusionAuth if
app teams who will stay on Community at $0 (self-host, unlimited MAUs, forum support) while they open a first Users table, then buy Starter at $162/month billed annually (1,000 MAU slider) when they need Cloud hosting, advanced MFA, and application themes.
Read the FusionAuth page