Auth0 vs Clerk
Auth0 and Clerk both give a free plan with hosted login, but they define a billable user differently. Clerk counts only retained users, meaning someone who returns at least 24 hours after signing up, and its Hobby plan allows 50,000 of them per app. Auth0's free plan allows 25,000 monthly active users, and its paid plans are priced from 500 users upward. Auth0 belongs to Okta, Inc., while the Clerk pages we read name Clerk, Inc. under Delaware law. Clerk is the cheaper entry point for apps with many one-time visitors.
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Choose Auth0 ifyou need enterprise connections, custom database connections or a 99.99% SLA path, and you accept paid tiers that start at 500 users. You also want a bulk export that includes password hashes through a support case.
Choose Clerk ifyou run a web app where many visitors sign up once and never return, so retained-user billing keeps the invoice low. You can live with three dashboard seats and a fixed seven-day session on the free plan.
Auth0 and Clerk side by side
| Auth0 | Clerk | |
|---|---|---|
| Our customer identity and access management software rank | #12 of 15 | #8 of 15 |
| Established in | United States | United States |
| List price, 7 November 2026 | Free to 25,000 MAUs; Essentials from $35 a month (B2C) at 500 MAUs; Professional from $240; Enterprise on request | Billed per retained user: Hobby free to 50,000, Pro $20 a month on annual billing ($25 monthly), Business $250 ($300 monthly) |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Self-hostable | — | — |
| Built for | Developer teams wanting hosted customer login with many ready connections | Web app teams that want finished login screens and few engineering hours |
| Not for | Consumer apps with large user bases and thin margins | Organisations needing a directory for staff rather than app users |
Both are reviewed in full in our customer identity and access management software ranking: Auth0 and Clerk.
Where they differ
Auth0 1 · Clerk 3 · open 2- 01
Retained users against monthly actives
Clerk bills on retained users, not monthly active users, and a user counts as retained only when they come back 24 or more hours after signing up. Hobby includes 50,000 of them per app, and Pro adds users beyond that at $0.02 each. Auth0's free plan stops at 25,000 monthly active users per tenant. A consumer app with high sign-up churn will therefore sit inside Clerk's free allowance much longer than inside Auth0's, and that gap widens with every extra thousand drive-by sign-ups.
Edge: Clerk
- 02
The first paid step: $35 against $25
Auth0 Essentials starts at $35 a month for B2C or $150 for B2B at 500 monthly active users, and Professional starts at $240 or $800. Clerk Pro is $25 a month, or $20 billed annually, and Business is $300 monthly or $250 annually. Auth0 yearly billing equals eleven times the monthly price. Both pages show a dollar sign without a currency code. The entry price favours Clerk, although Auth0's tiers are tied to a small user count.
Edge: Clerk
- 03
Enterprise single sign-on connections
Auth0's free plan includes one enterprise connection, and Essentials B2B includes three SSO connections, with extra ones at $100 a month each up to 30. Professional B2B includes five. A footnote says you must upgrade to B2B to keep enterprise connections, self-service SSO and SCIM. Clerk Pro includes one SSO connection and charges $75 a month for each additional one, and Directory Sync connections cost $75 a month from 1 January 2027. Auth0 offers more connections per tier.
Edge: Auth0
- 04
Taking your user data with you
Profile data leaves Auth0 in bulk, as JSON or CSV, through the dashboard or a Management API job. Password hashes and MFA secrets leave only as a PGP-encrypted file that you request through a support case. Clerk lets admins download a CSV of users with hashed passwords from the dashboard, and offers an open-source migration tool, but users in a development instance cannot be moved to production. Clerk's export is self-service, which makes leaving easier for a team in a hurry.
Edge: Clerk
- 05
Hosting and where the code runs
Auth0's features page lists cloud deployments with Deploy on Azure and Deploy on AWS links, and it names no private cloud, self-hosted route or open-source release. Clerk's production guide creates an instance through the dashboard or CLI and names Vercel, AWS, GCP, Heroku and Render as deployment targets. The Clerk docs do not say whether a self-hosted option exists. Neither vendor documents running its own identity server on your hardware, so this round is a draw.
Depends on the buyer
- 06
Parent company and legal entity
Auth0 pages carry the Okta, Inc. copyright for 2026, and the Okta privacy notice names Okta, Inc., including its subsidiary Auth0 LLC, at 100 First Street, San Francisco. Clerk's terms are between Clerk, Inc. and the customer under Delaware law, and its data processing addendum gives 660 King Street, San Francisco. The about page says investors include Andreessen Horowitz, CRV and Madrona, but names no parent company. Clerk is the independent one here, while Auth0 sits inside a larger group.
Depends on the buyer
When neither fits
Consider Logto if you want an open-source-leaning alternative to a hosted login service. Kinde is a lighter option for small teams that want billing and auth in one place. Organisations wanting a directory for staff rather than app users will find neither Auth0 nor Clerk the natural fit.
Auth0 or Clerk: questions
3 answersIs the Auth0 free tier really larger than Clerk's?
No, on the numbers we read it is smaller. Auth0 free covers up to 25,000 MAUs with five organisations, one tenant and one custom domain, while Clerk Hobby covers 50,000 retained users per app. The two units differ, so compare against your own return-visit rate.
Does Clerk offer a trial of its paid features?
Clerk has no traditional free trial. The pricing page says Pro features are available to try in the development instance of your application. Auth0's pricing page does not mention a free trial either, but it does list a free plan with no credit card.
Which plan do I need for SOC2 and uptime guarantees?
Clerk Business adds a SOC2 report, 30 days of logs and priority support, and Enterprise adds a 99.99% uptime SLA and HIPAA compliance with a BAA.
Auth0 lists a 99.99% SLA under Enterprise, with custom MAU and connection tiers. Both Enterprise routes need a conversation with sales.
Sources
Checked 7 November 2026- Auth0 pricing: Free allowance, Essentials and Professional starting prices, B2B connection counts and the SSO upgrade footnote.
- Auth0 features: Cloud deployment links for Azure and AWS, with no private cloud or self-hosting named.
- Auth0 bulk user exports: Bulk profile export, dashboard or API job.
- Auth0 password hash export: PGP-encrypted hash and MFA secret file requested via support case.
- Okta privacy policy: Okta, Inc. naming Auth0 LLC as subsidiary, with a San Francisco address.
- Clerk pricing: Retained-user definition, Hobby and Pro limits, SSO connection add-on, Business SOC2 and Enterprise SLA.
- Clerk production deployment guide: Dashboard or CLI production setup and the named deployment platforms.
- Clerk migration overview: CSV export with hashed passwords and the development-instance restriction.
- Clerk standard terms: Contract between Clerk, Inc. and the customer under Delaware law.
- Clerk data processing addendum: Clerk, Inc. San Francisco address.
- Clerk about page: Named investors and the absence of a parent company.