Head to head
Clerk vs Supabase Auth
As a authentication & identity API, Clerk rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 85.2 to 82.2, a 3-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Clerk | Supabase Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 85.2 | 82.2 |
Specifications
| Clerk | Supabase Auth | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Embeddable auth UI for React/Next.js | Postgres-native auth in an OSS BaaS |
| Free tier | 50k MAU (monthly retained users) | 50k MAU (Free plan) |
| Pricing | MAU-based | MAU-based (+ platform fee) |
| Official SDKs | 12 languages | 6 languages |
Is Clerk better than Supabase Auth?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, Clerk rates higher (85.2 vs 82.2). 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 3 points (85.2 vs 82.2) and wins 3 of 4 criteria.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 91 | 84 | |
| Reliability | 78 | 76 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 80 | 80 | Tie |
| Accessibility | 92 | 90 |
Choose Clerk if… / choose Supabase Auth if…
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (91 vs 84)
- →reliability matters most to you (78 vs 76)
- →accessibility matters most to you (92 vs 90)
- →you need broad SDK coverage (12 official SDKs vs 6)
- →your use case matches its focus: embeddable auth ui for react/next.js
- →your use case matches its focus: postgres-native auth in an oss baas
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
- MAU-based (+ platform fee)
- Free tier
- 50k MAU (Free plan)
- Free$0/mo
- Pro$25/mo
- Team$599/mo
- EnterpriseCustom
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Clerk) and 2026-06-27 (Supabase Auth).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 1
Python
Only Clerk · 11
Next.jsReactRemixAstroNuxtExpo / React NativeiOSAndroidJavaScript (Backend/Node)GoRuby
Only Supabase Auth · 5
JavaScript / TypeScriptFlutter / DartSwiftKotlinC# (.NET)
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
- +Deep Postgres Row-Level Security integration: JWT claims are usable directly inside SQL policies for DB-layer authorization
- +Very generous free tier (50,000 MAU) and low overage pricing ($0.00325/MAU) versus Auth0/Okta
- +Broad auth methods out of the box: password, magic link, OTP, phone, anonymous, dozens of social OAuth providers, plus TOTP/phone MFA
- –B2C-first: no first-class Organizations model and no SCIM provisioning for B2B tenancy
- –SAML/OIDC support is comparatively immature; SSO gated to Pro and above
- –No adaptive/risk-based MFA or bot-detection capabilities
Clerk vs Supabase Auth: questions
- Which has better documentation, Clerk or Supabase Auth?
- Clerk scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 91 vs 84 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Clerk or Supabase Auth?
- Clerk scores higher on reliability: 78 vs 76 out of 100.
- Do Clerk and Supabase Auth have a free tier?
- Clerk: yes (50k MAU (monthly retained users)). Supabase Auth: yes (50k MAU (Free plan)).
- How are Clerk and Supabase Auth priced?
- Clerk: MAU-based. Supabase Auth: MAU-based (+ platform fee).
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Clerk lists 12 official SDKs, Supabase Auth lists 6.