Comparison

Clerk vs Zitadel

On the evidence we track, Clerk leads this comparison with a composite score of 72/100. Scores are only directly comparable because these tools share a category; the full breakdown and every source is below.

Machine formatsJSONMarkdownGraphQLor send Accept: application/json
Clerk72
Zitadel65
Score
Vioscale score
Clerk72 / 100medium · 71%
Zitadel65 / 100low · 46%
Pricing
Free tier
Clerk
Zitadel
Model
Zitadelfreemium
Price level
Clerklow
Zitadelhigh
Transparent
Clerk
Zitadel
Integrations
Count
Clerk5
Zitadel12
Security
Disclosure policy
Clerk
Zitadel
Gdpr
Clerk
Zitadel
Hipaa
Clerk
Zitadel
Soc2
Clerk
Zitadel
Reliability
Sla pct
Clerk99.99
Zitadel99.99
Status page
Clerk
Zitadel
Adoption
Dependent repos
Clerk
Zitadel0
Github stars
Clerk
Zitadel14,862
Activity
Commits last 30d
Clerk
Zitadel42
Release
Cadence days
Clerk
Zitadel5
History
Clerk
Zitadel20 items
License
Spdx
Clerk
ZitadelAGPL-3.0
Language
Primary
Clerk
ZitadelGo

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for auth & identity software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Hosting
ClerkCloud only
ZitadelCloud + self-hosted
Methods
Social login
Clerk
Zitadel
Passwordless
Clerk-
Zitadel
Passkeys / WebAuthn
Clerk-
Zitadel
Multi-factor auth
Clerk
Zitadel
Enterprise
SAML SSO
Clerk
Zitadel
SCIM provisioning
Clerk-
Zitadel
B2B / multi-tenancy
Clerk
Zitadel
Standards
OpenID Connect provider
Clerk
Zitadel
Delivery
Hosted UI
ClerkBoth
ZitadelBoth
Access
RBAC
Clerk
Zitadel
Licensing
Self-hostable OSS core
Clerk
Zitadel

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Clerk

Leader

A cloud-based authentication and user management platform offering prebuilt UI components, APIs, and dashboards to implement user sign-in, profile management, organizations, and billing features.

Independently observed

Zitadel

A multi-tenant, API-first identity and access management platform offering single sign-on, multi-factor authentication, passkeys, and complete audit trails. Available as a managed cloud service or self-hosted deployment, designed for developers building secure SaaS and B2B applications.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Clerk

Leader
from $0.02/moSubscriptionFree tier

From $25/month. Free tier with 10,000 MAUs.

  • FreeFree
    • Sign-in and sign-up
    • Customizable sign-in pages
    • Custom domain
    • Profile management
    • Social login
  • Pro$25/month plus $0.02 per additional MAU
    • All Free features
    • Remove Clerk branding
    • Custom session duration
    • Password complexity requirements
    • User ban/unban
    • +4 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
as of verify ↗

Zitadel

from $100/moHybridFree tier

Free tier available. Pro plan from $100/month with 25,000 DAU included. Usage-based overage pricing for additional capacity.

  • FreeFree
    • 100 daily active users
    • 3 external identity providers
    • 5,000 management API requests
    • Community support
    • 1 management instance
  • Pro$100/month including 25,000 DAU and 500,000 API requests; overage pricing available
    • 25,000 daily active users
    • 500,000 management API requests
    • 3 external identity providers
    • Multifactor authentication
    • Passkeys/WebAuthn
    • +5 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Custom scaling
    • Custom compliance
    • Custom security questionnaires
    • Custom contract and MSA
    • Up to 99.99% availability SLA
    • +1 more
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Clerk
Zitadel
iOS
Clerk
Zitadel
Android
Clerk
Zitadel
CLI
Clerk
Zitadel
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Clerk
Zitadel
Self-hosted
Clerk
Zitadel
Hybrid
Clerk
Zitadel

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

Clerk

Leader
5 total
  • Google OAuth
  • GitHub OAuth
  • Google Workspace
  • Convex
  • MCP
Independently observed

Zitadel

12 total
  • Google
  • Microsoft
  • GitHub
  • LDAP
  • SAML 2.0
  • SCIM 2.0
  • OpenID Connect
  • gRPC
  • connectRPC
  • REST API
  • Webhooks
  • Actions
Independently observed

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.