Authentication Data v1.2.0 Updated 2025-12-28

Clerk

Complete user management for modern applications

3.5k 380k/week No known vulns 85kb gzip
83 /100
Strong pick High confidence (90%)

Quick Verdict

Best For

  • Teams wanting fastest time-to-auth
  • Startups with budget for SaaS
  • Projects needing polished auth UI
  • Teams without security expertise

Consider Alternatives If

  • Cost-sensitive applications at scale
  • Projects requiring full control
  • Privacy-focused self-hosted needs

Top Alternatives

Better Auth 84

Score Breakdown

6 dimensions evaluated with transparent methodology

Performance
85 −15

Fast authentication with edge-optimized infrastructure

  • Global edge network for auth
  • Efficient session management
  • Optimized pre-built components
Why not 100%:
  • −7 External service adds latency vs self-hosted
  • −7 Component bundle size adds to app size
Developer Experience
98 −2

Best-in-class DX with drop-in components

  • Pre-built, customizable UI components
  • Excellent framework integrations
  • Type-safe APIs and hooks
Why not 100%:
  • −1 Less flexibility than self-hosted solutions
  • −1 Customization has limits
Ecosystem
75 −25

Growing ecosystem focused on modern frameworks

  • First-class Next.js, Remix support
  • Growing framework support
  • Active community
Why not 100%:
  • −8 Smaller ecosystem than Auth0
  • −8 Some frameworks not yet supported
  • −8 Limited SSO provider options vs Auth0
Maintainability
90 −10

Managed service with strong company backing

  • VC-funded with dedicated team
  • Managed infrastructure
  • Regular updates and improvements
Why not 100%:
  • −5 Dependent on Clerk company
  • −5 Migration away requires effort
Cost Efficiency
60 −40

Free tier but costs grow with users

  • Generous free tier (10K MAUs)
  • Predictable per-MAU pricing
  • All features included in Pro
Why not 100%:
  • −10 Expensive at scale
  • −10 Enterprise tier very expensive
  • −10 No self-hosted option
Compliance
92 −8

Enterprise-ready with SOC 2 and GDPR compliance

  • SOC 2 Type II certified
  • GDPR compliant
  • SSO and MFA built-in
Why not 100%:
  • −4 HIPAA only on Enterprise
  • −4 Some compliance features require higher tiers

Compare Alternatives

How Clerk stacks up against similar technologies

TechnologyOverallPerfDXEcosystem
Current Clerk83859875
Better Auth Self-hosted, free, more control84———Compare →
Full comparison with Better Auth

Sources & Methodology

How we calculate these scores — transparent and reproducible

Deterministic Scoring

Same inputs always produce the same outputs. We use versioned lookup tables, not LLM opinions. Every score is explainable and reproducible.

Learn how it works →
primary

GitHub

Repository activity, stars, contributors, issue resolution time

primary

NPM Registry

Weekly downloads, package dependencies, version history

secondary

Bundlephobia

Bundle size, tree-shaking efficiency, dependency weight

secondary

OSV Database

Known vulnerabilities, security advisories, CVE tracking

contextual

Community Signals

Stack Overflow activity, Discord engagement, developer surveys

Data version: 1.2.0 Last updated: 2025-12-28 Confidence: 90%

Frequently Asked

Why doesn't Clerk score 100%?

No technology is perfect for every use case. Our scoring reflects real-world trade-offs. Clerk's main gaps are in cost efficiency, where expensive at scale.

What does confidence percentage mean?

Confidence (90%) indicates how much data we have to support the score. Higher confidence means more data points from multiple sources (GitHub activity, NPM downloads, security audits, community surveys).

How often are scores updated?

Scores are recalculated weekly using automated data pipelines. Major version updates trigger immediate recalculation. Last update: 2025-12-28.