Clerk Pricing - The Complete Guide

Introduction

Clerk has become one of the most developer-friendly authentication platforms in the modern React/Next.js ecosystem. Teams choose Clerk because it ships fully-styled UI components, admin dashboards, user and organization management, and seamless multi-tenant support. Its free tier---10,000 Monthly Active Users (MAUs) and 100 Monthly Active Organizations (MAOs)---makes it appealing for early-stage products. Beyond that, Clerk follows a pay-as-you-growmodel that scales with your user base.

This guide breaks down every part of Clerk pricing: free limits, per-user costs, B2B org charges, real-world cost examples, hidden fees, comparison with Auth0/Okta, and how to estimate your spend reliably.

What Is Clerk and How Does It Price?

Clerk is an authentication and identity platform offering:

• User management

• Organization and team management for B2B apps

• Social providers

• Multi-tenant support

• Custom domains

• Admin dashboards

• Embedded UI components

According to Reddit discussions, reviews on G2, and community writeups, Clerk is praised for its fast integration and modern DX---especially for Next.js---but also criticized for cost escalation at scale.

Clerk’s Pricing Model

Free Tier

• 10,000 MAUs

• 100 MAOs

• Includes essential auth, UI components, social logins

Pro Tier

• $0.02 per MAU beyond 10,000

• $1 per MAO beyond 100

• $100/mo for Enhanced Authentication add-on

• $100/mo for Admin add-on

This linear model is simpler than Auth0/Okta, though Clerk introduces unique MAO-based costs that catch teams by surprise.

A Breakdown of Clerk Pricing Tiers

Based on clerk.com/pricing:

Tier / Feature	Free	Pro
MAUs	10,000 included	$0.02 per MAU beyond 10K
MAOs (Organizations)	100 included	$1 per MAO beyond 100
SSO	Included	Included
Social logins	Included	Included
Custom Domain	Included	Included
Multi-tenant support	Included	Included
Enhanced Authentication (MFA, biometrics, passkeys)	Add-on $100/mo	Add-on $100/mo
Admin Dashboard	Add-on $100/mo	Add-on $100/mo
Dashboard seats	3 included	$10/mo per additional seat
SLA / Support	Shared support	Paid plans / Enterprise

What Does Clerk Actually Cost?

A large portion of online feedback---especially on Reddit and Hacker News---focuses on cost surprises. Let’s break down real examples.

Example 1: 15K MAUs and 80 Orgs

• Free MAUs: 10,000

• Billable MAUs: 5,000 × $0.02 = $100/mo

• Orgs < 100 → $0

• No add-ons

Total: $100/mo

Example 2: B2B at Scale (200 Orgs)

• Free MAOs: 100

• Billable MAOs: 100 × $1 = $100/mo

• With add-ons: Enhanced Auth + Admin = $200/mo

Total: $300/mo

Community Feedback

Quotes from Reddit, G2, and AppSumo consistently mention:

• “Clerk is expensive but their B2B features are hard to match.”

• “Pricing skyrockets once you grow past the free tier.”

• “Super clean developer experience---the cost is the trade-off.”

Hidden Costs to Watch Out For

While Clerk’s pricing page appears simple, real-world usage reveals additional charges.

1. Per-MAO Fees

Once you exceed 100 organizations, each one costs $1/mo.

For B2B SaaS, org counts scale faster than user counts---this becomes the most significant pricing lever.

2. Add-On Costs

Two add-ons, both $100/mo:

• Enhanced Authentication (MFA, biometrics, passkeys)

• Admin tools

If you need both, that’s $200/mo flat.

3. Dashboard Seats

Clerk includes 3 dashboard seats. Every additional seat costs $10/mo.

4. Support Responsiveness

Reviews on G2 and GetApp note:

• Slow response times

• Limited support unless on higher tiers

• Inconsistent SLA experience

This becomes a consideration for production systems requiring guaranteed uptime.

How Clerk Pricing Compares to Auth0 & Okta

Clerk has a more generous free tier but introduces org-based billing, which competitors typically avoid.

Feature & Pricing Comparison

Dimension	Clerk	Auth0	Okta
Free MAUs	10,000	7,000	~1,000
Free B2B orgs	100	None	None
Per-MAU pricing	$0.02 linear	Tiered + jumps	Tiered + enterprise
MAO / org pricing	$1 per org	Not charged	Not charged
MFA	Add-on	Paid tier	Paid tier
Admin features	Add-on	Paid tier	Paid tier
Developer experience	Excellent	Moderate	Enterprise-heavy

Summary: Clerk is cheaper at low scale but often more expensive beyond 10K MAUs or 100 orgs.

Why Teams Choose SuperTokens Over Clerk

Teams often migrate from Clerk to SuperTokens when they hit scaling thresholds.

Benefits of SuperTokens

• Self-hosted or managed, fully open-source

• Predictable pricing without per-user or per-org charges

• No add-ons---MFA, admin functionality, and SSO included

• Lower TCO at scale

• Better support responsiveness

This appeals especially to B2B companies with growing org bases.

Final Comparison

Clerk offers a modern developer experience, generous free tier, and built-in B2B capabilities. But costs rise quickly as MAUs and MAOs increase---especially when add-ons and dashboard seats are added.

Ideal for

• Early startups

• Teams that need fast B2B setup

• Products with fewer orgs and predictable usage

Before choosing Clerk

Estimate costs carefully, consider long-term org growth, and compare with alternatives like SuperTokens, which deliver predictable pricing and full feature access without per-user or per-org charges.

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