# Clerk vs Zitadel

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Clerk

| Attribute | Clerk | Zitadel |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 71.4 (71% (medium)) | 56.1 (43% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | - | 32 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | - | 0 |
| adoption.github_stars | - | 15,201 |
| 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":"An open-source identity platform providing multi-tenant architecture with support for passwordless authentication, social logins, multi-factor authentication, single sign-on, and enterprise integrations via standardized protocols like OIDC, SAML, and SCIM. It is indexed under Auth & Identity Software.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What is Zitadel?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Zitadel is open source, so it can be self-hosted and used at no licence cost. It is released under the AGPL-3.0 licence. A commercial or hosted edition starts at $100 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://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Is Zitadel free to use?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Zitadel. 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://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What platforms does Zitadel support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zitadel can be deployed cloud / SaaS, hybrid and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Can Zitadel be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 12 integrations for Zitadel, including Google, Microsoft, GitHub, LDAP, SAML 2.0, SCIM 2.0, OpenID Connect and gRPC, plus 4 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"What does Zitadel integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed GDPR for Zitadel. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Zitadel not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing/detail","question":"What security certifications does Zitadel have?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Yes. Zitadel is published under the AGPL-3.0 licence, a copyleft licence, so check its terms before embedding it in a closed-source product. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.","source":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel","question":"Is Zitadel open source?","confidence":0.95},{"answer":"Zitadel is available in the United States, Australia and Switzerland. Its primary markets are the United States, Australia and Switzerland.","source":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","question":"Where is Zitadel available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":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. | Zitadel is an identity and access management platform that provides API-first authentication, authorization, and user management. It supports multiple deployment models (cloud and self-hosted), comprehensive authentication methods including passwordless and passkeys, and is designed for B2B multi-tenant applications. |
| 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}` | `{"mfa":true,"oidc":true,"rbac":true,"hosting":"both","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 | 7 | 3 |
| 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"},{"name":"Microsoft"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"LDAP"},{"name":"SAML 2.0"},{"name":"SCIM 2.0"},{"name":"OpenID Connect"},{"name":"gRPC"},{"name":"connectRPC"},{"name":"REST API"},{"name":"Webhooks"},{"name":"Actions"}]` |
| language.primary | - | Go |
| license.spdx | - | AGPL-3.0 |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":[],"availabilityScope":"regional","availableCountries":["US","AU","CH","EU"],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"ios":true,"web":true}` | `{"web":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":"Free","summary":"$0/month","features":["All security features","Data Residency: EU, US, Switzerland, Australia","Store unlimited Users","Unlimited Organizations","100 Daily Active Users","Service Users / Agents","3 identity providers","Custom workflows"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":0,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"100"}},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$100/month","features":["Everything in Free","25,000 Daily Active Users per month included","3 identity providers included","Custom domain included","99.5% uptime guarantee","1h response SLO"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"contactSales":false,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"25000"}},{"free":false,"name":"Enterprise","summary":"Custom pricing","features":["Cloud or own infrastructure","Unlimited Daily Active Users","Custom Support SLA","Technical Account Manager","Volume discounts","Commercial license","Custom Security Questionnaires","99.99% uptime guarantee","Custom contract/MSA"],"contactSales":true,"includedLimits":{"daily_active_users":"Unlimited"}}],"summary":"Free plan, Pro from $100/month, Enterprise custom pricing","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://zitadel.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-10-05T10:09:39.266Z","startingPrice":{"amount":100,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | freemium | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | mid | high |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":20,"currency":"USD"}` | `{"amount":100,"currency":"USD"}` |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| release.cadence_days | - | 3 |
| release.history | - | `[{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.4","date":"2026-10-01T13:03:38Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.4"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.3","date":"2026-09-29T16:16:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.2","date":"2026-09-28T06:27:26Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.1","date":"2026-09-23T16:33:07Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.19.0","date":"2026-09-23T05:36:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.19.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.18.0","date":"2026-09-21T11:56:42Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.18.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.3","date":"2026-09-04T06:44:05Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.2","date":"2026-08-31T09:04:57Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.1","date":"2026-08-14T06:41:55Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.15","date":"2026-08-14T07:59:53Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.17.0","date":"2026-08-12T08:37:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.17.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.3","date":"2026-08-07T17:10:12Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.2","date":"2026-07-29T05:55:47Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.14","date":"2026-07-29T07:30:54Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.1","date":"2026-07-17T08:44:37Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.13","date":"2026-07-17T09:07:58Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.16.0","date":"2026-07-10T05:56:50Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.16.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.15.3","date":"2026-06-22T11:46:24Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.15.3"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v4.15.2","date":"2026-06-17T04:21:59Z","type":"stable","version":"v4.15.2"},{"url":"https://github.com/zitadel/zitadel/releases/tag/v3.4.12","date":"2026-06-17T07:09:32Z","type":"stable","version":"v3.4.12"}]` |
| reliability.sla_pct | 99.99 | 99.5 |
| reliability.status_page | yes | yes |
| security.certifications | `[{"name":"SOC 2 Type II","level":"Type II","status":"active"}]` | `[{"name":"OpenID Connect certified","status":"active"}]` |
| security.disclosure_policy | yes | yes |
| security.gdpr | yes | yes |
| security.hipaa | yes | - |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |
| security.vulnerabilities | - | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=helm&package_name=zitadel%2Fzitadel&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Auth & Identity Software)

| Capability | Clerk | Zitadel |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Hosting | Cloud only | Cloud + self-hosted |
| **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 2026-10-16T21:42:31.331Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*