Head to head
Clerk vs Stytch
As a authentication & identity API, Clerk rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 85.2 to 82.3, a 2.9-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Clerk | Stytch |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 85.2 | 82.3 |
Specifications
| Clerk | Stytch | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Embeddable auth UI for React/Next.js | Passwordless & B2B auth, no feature gates |
| Free tier | 50k MAU (monthly retained users) | 10k MAU + 5 SSO/SCIM connections |
| Pricing | MAU-based | Usage-based (MAU + connections) |
| Official SDKs | 12 languages | 9 languages |
Is Clerk better than Stytch?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Clerk rates higher (85.2 vs 82.3). It leads on the four weighted criteria, but price is reported separately, so the best choice still depends on your budget.
Verdict in one line
Clerk leads by 2.9 points (85.2 vs 82.3) and wins 3 of 4 criteria.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 91 | 86 | |
| Reliability | 78 | 78 | Tie |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 80 | 76 | |
| Accessibility | 92 | 90 |
Choose Clerk if… / choose Stytch if…
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (91 vs 86)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (80 vs 76)
- →accessibility matters most to you (92 vs 90)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (12 official SDKs vs 9)
- →your use case matches its focus: embeddable auth ui for react/next.js
- →your use case matches its focus: passwordless & b2b auth, no feature gates
Pricing side by side
- Model
- MAU-based
- Free tier
- 50k MAU (monthly retained users)
- Hobby (Free)$0/mo
- Pro$25/mo ($20/mo annual)
- Business$300/mo ($250/mo annual)
- EnterpriseCustom (annual only)
- B2B Authentication add-on$100/mo ($85/mo annual)
- Administration / Billing add-ons$100/mo admin · 0.7% of billing volume
- Model
- Usage-based (MAU + connections)
- Free tier
- 10k MAU + 5 SSO/SCIM connections
- Pay as You Go (B2B & Consumer)$0/mo base
- SSO/SCIM connection add-on$125 per connection
- Brand customization / remove Stytch branding$99 (one-time, all projects)
- Device fingerprinting (fraud)$0.005 per fingerprint
- EnterpriseCustom (contact sales)
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Clerk) and 2026-06-27 (Stytch).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 6
Next.jsReactJavaScript (Backend/Node)GoPythonRuby
Only Clerk · 6
RemixAstroNuxtExpo / React NativeiOSAndroid
Only Stytch · 3
Node.jsJavaREST API
Strengths and weaknesses
- +Drop-in prebuilt, fully styled UI components (SignIn, UserProfile, OrganizationSwitcher) drastically cut auth build time
- +Very generous free tier, first 50,000 monthly retained users free in every paid app
- +Excellent, framework-specific documentation and quickstarts praised by developers
- –Reliability track record is a real concern, notable Sept 2025 outage and a March 2026 postmortem, plus many logged status events
- –Security-adjacent and B2B features (org management, unlimited impersonation, admin) gated behind $100/mo add-ons
- –Deep component/hosted-session coupling creates meaningful vendor lock-in and migration friction
- +Transparent usage-based pricing with a large 10,000-MAU free tier and no hard pricing cliffs
- +No feature gating: SSO, SCIM, RBAC, MFA, passkeys, and M2M available even on the free plan
- +Highly rated developer experience and SDK quality, repeatedly cited by Auth0 migrators
- –Integrating with legacy/on-prem identity providers is difficult and sometimes impractical
- –Several reviewers report relying on support more often than they'd like for non-trivial setups
- –Removing Stytch branding on certain emails is a paid ($99) add-on that annoys some developers
Clerk vs Stytch: questions
- Which has better documentation, Clerk or Stytch?
- Clerk scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 91 vs 86 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Clerk or Stytch?
- Clerk and Stytch score the same on reliability (78).
- Do Clerk and Stytch have a free tier?
- Clerk: yes (50k MAU (monthly retained users)). Stytch: yes (10k MAU + 5 SSO/SCIM connections).
- How are Clerk and Stytch priced?
- Clerk: MAU-based. Stytch: Usage-based (MAU + connections).
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Clerk lists 12 official SDKs, Stytch lists 9.