Authentication Data v1.2.0 Updated 2025-12-28

Clerk

Complete user management for modern applications

1.6k 582k/week Unknown N/A
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% Metrics: 26/01/2026

Frequently Asked