Head to head
Clerk vs WorkOS
As a authentication & identity API, WorkOS rates higher on the APIbenchmarks Index, 86.5 to 85.2, a 1.3-point gap. Here is how they compare on each criterion.
Criterion by criterion
| Criterion | Clerk | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | ||
| Reliability | ||
| Ecosystem & SDKs | ||
| Accessibility | ||
| APIbenchmarks Index | 85.2 | 86.5 |
Specifications
| Clerk | WorkOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Embeddable auth UI for React/Next.js | Enterprise SSO & SCIM for B2B |
| Free tier | 50k MAU (monthly retained users) | Up to 1M MAU on AuthKit; $125/connection for SSO/SCIM |
| Pricing | MAU-based | Per connection / MAU-based |
| Official SDKs | 12 languages | 12 languages |
Is Clerk better than WorkOS?
On the APIbenchmarks Index, WorkOS rates higher (86.5 vs 85.2). 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
WorkOS leads by 1.3 points (86.5 vs 85.2) and wins 2 of 4 criteria; Clerk wins 2.
Winner by criterion
| Criterion | Winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Documentation & DX | 91 | 90 | |
| Reliability | 78 | 84 | |
| Ecosystem & SDKs | 80 | 82 | |
| Accessibility | 92 | 90 |
Choose Clerk if… / choose WorkOS if…
- →documentation & dx matters most to you (91 vs 90)
- →accessibility matters most to you (92 vs 90)
- →your use case matches its focus: embeddable auth ui for react/next.js
- →reliability matters most to you (84 vs 78)
- →ecosystem & sdks matters most to you (82 vs 80)
- →your use case matches its focus: enterprise sso & scim for b2b
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
- Per connection / MAU-based
- Free tier
- Up to 1M MAU on AuthKit; $125/connection for SSO/SCIM
- Pay as You GoUsage-based
- Annual Credits (Enterprise)Custom
- AuthKit (User Management)Free up to 1M MAUs, then $2,500/mo per additional 1M MAUs
- Single Sign-On / Directory Sync$125 per connection/mo (volume discounts to $50 at 101–200)
- Audit Logs$125/mo per SIEM stream + $99/mo per 1M events retained
- Radar (Bot & Fraud Protection) / Custom DomainRadar: free first 1k checks then $100/50k; Custom Domain $99/mo
Vendor-published pricing, verified 2026-06-27 (Clerk) and 2026-06-27 (WorkOS).
SDK and language coverage
Both · 4
JavaScript (Backend/Node)GoPythonRuby
Only Clerk · 8
Next.jsReactRemixAstroNuxtExpo / React NativeiOSAndroid
Only WorkOS · 8
Node.jsPHPPHP (Laravel)JavaKotlin.NETElixirAuthKit for React / Next.js / Remix / React Router
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
- +First 1 million AuthKit MAUs are free, one of the most generous free tiers in the auth market
- +Excellent, developer-friendly documentation repeatedly praised in G2 reviews
- +Admin Portal lets customers' IT admins self-serve their own SSO/SCIM setup, cutting vendor support load
- –Per-connection SSO/Directory Sync pricing ($125/connection/mo) scales with customer count, not revenue, the most common complaint
- –A single SSO customer can cost more than a SaaS vendor's own lowest-tier plan, blocking SSO-on-all-tiers strategies
- –Surrounding features, SDKs and docs described as having 'paper cuts', less mature than Auth0/Okta in places
Clerk vs WorkOS: questions
- Which has better documentation, Clerk or WorkOS?
- Clerk scores higher on documentation and developer experience: 91 vs 90 out of 100.
- Which is more reliable, Clerk or WorkOS?
- WorkOS scores higher on reliability: 84 vs 78 out of 100.
- Do Clerk and WorkOS have a free tier?
- Clerk: yes (50k MAU (monthly retained users)). WorkOS: yes (Up to 1M MAU on AuthKit; $125/connection for SSO/SCIM).
- How are Clerk and WorkOS priced?
- Clerk: MAU-based. WorkOS: Per connection / MAU-based.
- Which has more official SDKs?
- Both list 12 official SDKs.