# Clerk vs Firebase Authentication

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Clerk

| Attribute | Clerk | Firebase Authentication |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 71.4 (71% (medium)) | 54.9 (33% (low)) |
| content.faq | `[{"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}]` | `[{"answer":"Firebase Authentication is a managed identity service supporting phone-based SMS authentication, SAML, and OpenID Connect. It offers a free tier with a 50K monthly active user limit or pay-as-you-go usage-based billing. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://firebase.google.com/pricing","question":"What is Firebase Authentication?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Firebase Authentication offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans are also available: Spark and Blaze. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://firebase.google.com/pricing","question":"Is Firebase Authentication free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Firebase Authentication 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://firebase.google.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does Firebase Authentication support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Firebase Authentication, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://firebase.google.com/pricing","question":"Can Firebase Authentication be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 7 integrations for Firebase Authentication, including Google Cloud, Cloud Run, Cloud Build, Cloud Logging, Cloud Secrets Manager, BigQuery and Cloud SQL. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://firebase.google.com/pricing","question":"What does Firebase Authentication integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Firebase Authentication is available worldwide. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://firebase.google.com/pricing","question":"Where is Firebase Authentication available?","confidence":0.5}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | 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. | Firebase Authentication is a managed identity service supporting phone-based SMS authentication, SAML, and OpenID Connect. It offers a free tier with a 50K monthly active user limit or pay-as-you-go usage-based billing. |
| features.capabilities | `{"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}` | `{"oidc":true,"hosting":"cloud","saml_sso":true,"hosted_ui":"both","open_source":false,"passwordless":true,"social_login":true}` |
| integrations.count | 7 | 7 |
| integrations.list | `[{"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"}]` | `[{"name":"Google Cloud","native":true},{"name":"Cloud Run","native":true},{"name":"Cloud Build","native":true},{"name":"Cloud Logging","native":true},{"name":"Cloud Secrets Manager","native":true},{"name":"BigQuery","native":true},{"name":"Cloud SQL","native":true}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"web":true}` | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` |
| pricing | `{"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"]}` | `{"type":"hybrid","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Spark","description":"Free tier with usage limits","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"saml_oidc_users":"50","monthly_active_users":"50K"}},{"free":false,"name":"Blaze","description":"Pay-as-you-go with Spark free tier limits included, then usage-based billing","contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"saml_oidc_users":"50","monthly_active_users":"50K"}}],"summary":"Free Spark plan with 50K monthly active users. Blaze plan uses pay-as-you-go pricing.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://firebase.google.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:28:10.980Z","billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | low |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":20,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | - |
| reliability.status_page | yes | 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 | - |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

| Capability | Clerk | Firebase Authentication |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | 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 | Both | Both |
| **Access** |  |  |
| RBAC | ✓ | - |
| **Licensing** |  |  |
| Self-hostable OSS core | ✓ | ✗ |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-20T15:59:21.721Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*