Clerk

What it is for

Clerk is a hosted auth-component desk: you drop a Sign-in UI, and Hobby is $0 (50,000 MRUs / app, 3 dashboard seats, no card). Use it when the job is sign-in you start at $0, not when you need a $20 chat seat.

What makes it unique: the cover is the official Clerk Sign in component (locked-account banner, Continue with Google, email + CONTINUE) from the docs still — not a pricing card. The form itself is ops of Sign-in. Clerk bills Monthly Retained Users (return after the first 24 hours), not raw MAU.

Key features

• Sign-in / sign-up UI — a prebuilt (or custom) form you mount (Sign in still; pricing APIs and prebuilt UIs). One composer. Social connections, email codes, magic links, passwords, usernames, and Web3 wallets are options of this. MFA, passkeys, and biometrics print on Pro.
• Users — a retained identity Clerk stores (pricing Monthly Retained User). A person, not a form. Hobby / Pro / Business include 50,000 MRUs / app; Pro overage starts at $0.02/MRU. First day is free.
• Organizations — a tenant with members (pricing B2B Authentication). A box, not a user. Every plan includes 100 MROs and 20 members / org. Enhanced B2B add-on is $100/month ($85 yearly) for unlimited members, custom roles, and verified domains.
• Sessions — a signed-in device window (pricing Session management). A window, not a user. Hobby is fixed 7 days. Custom lifetime and satellite domains ($10/month each) print on Pro.
• Control-plane plans — Hobby / Pro / Business / Enterprise seats and compliance (pricing Platform pricing). A bill, not a form. Hobby $0. Pro $25/month ($20 yearly). Business $300/month ($250 yearly). Dashboard seats: Hobby/Pro 3; Business 10 included then $20/seat.

SSO and Directory Sync connections are Pro+ (1 included / app, then $75/month). Machine API keys / M2M tokens have creation and verification meters — they are not a sixth desk. Administration impersonation add-on is $100/month ($85 yearly).

Who it's for

Best fit: 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.

Pricing

Verified 2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) from clerk.com/pricing. Tiles print Free / $25 / $300 monthly and $20 / $250 yearly.

• Hobby — $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.
• Pro — $25/month, or $20/month yearly. 50,000 MRUs included then $0.02 (volume steps to $0.012). Remove branding. MFA. Passkeys. 1 SSO connection ($75 extra). 1 Directory Sync (billing from 2027-01-01). Satellite domains $10. SMS US/Canada $0.01. Logs 7 days.
• Business — $300/month, or $250/month yearly. 10 dashboard seats ($20 extra). SOC2 report. Enhanced dashboard roles. Workspace SSO. Priority support. Logs 30 days.
• Enterprise — Custom, annual only. 99.99% SLA, HIPAA/BAA, log sinks. Do not invent an Enterprise dollar.
• B2B Enhanced add-on — $100/month ($85 yearly). Unlimited org members. 100 MROs included then $1 (volume to $0.60). Custom roles, verified domains.
• Administration Enhanced add-on — $100/month ($85 yearly). Unlimited impersonations.

Confirm checkout; taxes follow your location. Exceeding 50,000 Hobby MRUs (or 100 MROs without the B2B add-on) gets a one-month grace on the page.

Limitations / costs

• Hobby MFA / passkeys / no-branding are Pro. The Sign-in form looks similar; the ceiling is not.
• MRU is not MAU. A user who never returns after day one is $0; a returning user past 50k is $0.02.
• B2B Enhanced is $100/month. The free org path caps at 20 members.
• An auth desk, not a full IdP you self-host. For SuperTokens’ $0 core see SuperTokens. For FusionAuth’s download see FusionAuth.

Alternatives

• SuperTokens — OSS auth when you will self-host the core instead of buying Clerk MRUs.
• FusionAuth — downloadable auth when you want a Community / paid ladder you run.
• Logto — OSS OIDC when you want a cheaper self-host identity, not Clerk components.

Official tutorial

Official Clerk channel video: Be enterprise ready with B2B Authentication (oEmbed author: Clerk). First-party product walkthrough; the docs Sign-in still is the cover.

Written path: clerk.com/pricing plus the docs.

Website

https://clerk.com

Repository

https://github.com/clerk

Source

Catalog row curated for AI Tools Nav. Cover is the official Clerk Sign-in component from the docs still. Dollars checked on clerk.com/pricing (Hobby $0; Pro $25 / $20 yearly; Business $300 / $250 yearly; B2B Enhanced $100 / $85). Tutorial oEmbed author: Clerk.

Last verified

2026-10-23 (Asia/Shanghai) editorial check.