# Better Auth vs Clerk

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Clerk

| Attribute | Better Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 64.4 (39% (low)) | 71.4 (71% (medium)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 100 | - |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 210 | - |
| adoption.github_stars | 30,292 | - |
| adoption.package_downloads_weekly | 11,857,147 | - |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Better Auth is an open-source framework for building authentication directly into TypeScript applications using code-based configuration. It provides 50+ authentication methods and integrates with 20+ JavaScript frameworks, supporting features like social login, passkeys, multi-factor authentication, and enterprise capabilities such as SAML and SCIM. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"What is Better Auth?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Better Auth is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the MIT licence. A commercial or hosted edition starts at $20 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"Is Better Auth free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Better Auth. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does Better Auth support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Better Auth can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"Can Better Auth be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 21 integrations for Better Auth, including Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, Hono, Google, GitHub and Apple, plus 13 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"What does Better Auth integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Better Auth is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth","question":"Is Better Auth open source?","confidence":0.99},{"answer":"Better Auth is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","question":"Where is Better Auth available?","confidence":0.5}]` | `[{"answer":"A unified platform providing authentication, user profile management, and billing integration through pre-built components and APIs, enabling developers to implement secure user systems without building them from scratch. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"What is Clerk?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Clerk is a paid product; published pricing starts at $12 per user per month. There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"How much does Clerk cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Clerk supports the web, iOS, Android and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"What platforms does Clerk support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Clerk, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"Can Clerk be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 5 integrations for Clerk, including Google OAuth, GitHub OAuth, Google Workspace, Convex and MCP. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"What does Clerk integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2, HIPAA and GDPR for Clerk. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Clerk not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://clerk.com/components/pricing-table","question":"What security certifications does Clerk have?","confidence":0.6}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | An open-source authentication framework that provides multiple authentication methods including social login, passkeys, passwordless auth, and enterprise features like SSO and directory sync, with optional managed cloud infrastructure for auditing and security monitoring. | Provides embeddable components and APIs for adding authentication, profile management, organizations, and subscription billing to applications. Supports enterprise features like SAML, SCIM provisioning, and multi-tenancy. |
| features.capabilities | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"both","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"headless","open_source":true,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"cloud","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":true,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true,"b2b_multi_tenant":true,"passkeys_webauthn":true,"scim_provisioning":true}` |
| integrations.count | 4 | 7 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Next.js"},{"name":"Nuxt"},{"name":"SvelteKit"},{"name":"Astro"},{"name":"Hono"},{"name":"Google"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Apple"},{"name":"Discord"},{"name":"Passkey Authentication"},{"name":"Magic Link Authentication"},{"name":"Email OTP Authentication"},{"name":"Two Factor Authentication"},{"name":"Username Authentication"},{"name":"One Tap Authentication"},{"name":"Phone Number Authentication"},{"name":"Anonymous Authentication"},{"name":"Bearer Authentication"},{"name":"Generic OAuth"},{"name":"One Time Token Authentication"},{"name":"SIWE Authentication"},{"name":"Cloudflare","native":true,"category":"social"},{"name":"Microsoft Entra ID","native":true,"category":"social"},{"name":"Yandex","native":true,"category":"social"}]` | `[{"name":"Google OAuth"},{"name":"GitHub OAuth"},{"name":"Google Workspace"},{"name":"Convex"},{"name":"MCP"},{"name":"Stripe","native":true,"category":"payments","direction":"bidirectional"},{"name":"Okta Workforce","native":true,"category":"sso","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Microsoft Entra ID","native":true,"category":"sso","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Google","native":true,"category":"social_login","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"GitHub","native":true,"category":"social_login","direction":"inbound"},{"name":"Facebook","native":true,"category":"social_login","direction":"inbound"}]` |
| language.primary | TypeScript | - |
| license.spdx | MIT | - |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"web":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Starter","summary":"Free","features":["User management","Audit log","Security detection","Abuse protection","Email templates","Community support"],"minSeats":1,"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For evaluation and side projects","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"dashboard_seats":"1","audit_logs_per_month":"10,000","audit_log_retention_days":"1","security_detections_per_month":"1,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$20/month base, plus per-usage overages","features":["Unlimited seats","User management","Audit log with overage","Security detection with overage","Transactional Email & SMS","Self-service SSO","Directory Sync","Dashboard RBAC","Email support","Slack support"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For production teams running auth in the critical path","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"dashboard_seats":"Unlimited","audit_logs_per_month":"20,000","audit_log_retention_days":"7","security_detections_per_month":"10,000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["Custom usage and retention","Custom domain for Dashboard","Log drain","Dashboard RBAC","Custom MSA and DPA","Slack support","Implementation assistance"],"description":"For organizations with bespoke security or volume needs","contactSales":true}],"addOns":[{"name":"Custom domain for Dashboard","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Log drain","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":25,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"SSO connection (additional)","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Directory Sync connection (additional)","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":50,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"Free tier available. Pro from $20/month. Enterprise custom pricing.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://better-auth.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T12:12:32.259Z","startingPrice":{"amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Free","summary":"Free, up to 50K MRU","features":["Social authentication (Google, GitHub, Facebook)","Email/password authentication","Magic links","Organizations","Multifactor authentication","Basic billing features"],"description":"Up to 50,000 monthly retained users","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"mru":"50000/mo"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$20/mo billed annually (includes 50K MRU + 1 enterprise connection)","features":["50K monthly retained users included","1 enterprise SSO connection included","Custom session lifetime","Clerk branding removal","Directory sync","Team dashboard","API keys","Events stream","Premium support SLA","99.99% Uptime SLA"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"For growing applications","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"mru":"50000/mo","enterprise_sso_connections":"1"}}],"addOns":[{"name":"Additional Monthly Retained Users","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"mru"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.02,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Additional Enterprise SSO Connection","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":75,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Directory Sync","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":75,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"MFA Connection","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":10,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"SMS Authentication","components":[{"per":{"qty":1,"unit":"sms"},"kind":"metered","amount":0.01,"currency":"USD"}]},{"name":"Clerk Billing with Stripe","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","plus":{"amount":0.3,"currency":"USD"},"rate":2.9},{"of":"billing_volume","kind":"percentage","rate":0.7}]}],"summary":"Free up to 50K MRU. Pro from $20/mo billed annually (includes 50K MRU + 1 enterprise connection). Add-ons available.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://clerk.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T12:35:42.526Z","startingPrice":{"amount":20,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | mid |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":20,"currency":"USD"}` | `{"amount":20,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 2 | - |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.8","date":"2026-10-14T17:50:35Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.8"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.7","date":"2026-09-30T21:29:00Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.7"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.6","date":"2026-09-24T15:56:41Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.5","date":"2026-09-14T22:10:06Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.33","date":"2026-09-14T22:04:45Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.33"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.32","date":"2026-09-14T18:45:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.32"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.4","date":"2026-09-10T11:34:11Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.31","date":"2026-09-10T09:19:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.31"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.3","date":"2026-09-06T03:02:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.2","date":"2026-08-26T19:03:29Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.1","date":"2026-08-18T18:51:23Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.0","date":"2026-08-18T00:23:22Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.7.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.30","date":"2026-08-17T19:09:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.30"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.0-rc.6","date":"2026-08-14T18:19:37Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.7.0-rc.6"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.29","date":"2026-08-14T18:18:49Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.29"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.28","date":"2026-08-13T22:39:16Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.28"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.0-rc.5","date":"2026-08-11T22:16:46Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.7.0-rc.5"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.27","date":"2026-08-11T17:59:52Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.27"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.7.0-rc.4","date":"2026-08-05T00:26:40Z","type":"prerelease","version":"v1.7.0-rc.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/better-auth/better-auth/releases/tag/v1.6.26","date":"2026-08-04T21:19:46Z","type":"stable","version":"v1.6.26"}]` | - |
| reliability.sla_pct | - | 99.99 |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.certifications | - | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | - | yes |
| security.gdpr | - | yes |
| security.hipaa | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | - | yes |
| security.trust_center | https://better-auth.com/blog/security-update-june-2026 | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=auth&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | - |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

| Capability | Better Auth | Clerk |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud + self-hosted | Cloud only |
| **Methods** |  |  |
| Social login | ✓ | ✓ |
| Passwordless | ✓ | ✓ |
| Passkeys / WebAuthn | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-factor auth | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Enterprise** |  |  |
| SAML SSO | ✓ | ✓ |
| SCIM provisioning | ✓ | ✓ |
| B2B / multi-tenancy | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Standards** |  |  |
| OpenID Connect provider | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Delivery** |  |  |
| Hosted UI | Headless | Both |
| **Access** |  |  |
| RBAC | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Self-hostable OSS core | ✓ | ✓ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T07:56:03.819Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*