Software Development · head to head
Amp vs Clerk
Clerk
Identity & Access Management
Drop-in user authentication and management for developers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Clerk has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Amp purchased credits expire 12 months after purchase and subscription usage expires monthly, and Enterprise workspaces are billed at a 50 percent markup over individual and team rates, as of August 2026.; Clerk pricing scales with monthly retained users, which can grow expensive quickly for consumer apps with large user bases.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Amp and Clerk actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Amp
Nothing recorded that Clerk does not also cover.
Only in Clerk
- Prebuilt UI components
- Organization management
- Multi-factor authentication
- Social sign-on
- Billing
- Enterprise connections
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Amp
No use cases recorded yet. See the Amp review.
Clerk
- Adding sign-in and user profiles to a web or mobile app quicklynot Amp
- B2B SaaS apps needing organizations and role-based accessnot Amp
- Startups wanting prebuilt UI instead of building auth in-housenot Amp
- Apps needing MFA and fraud detection out of the boxnot Amp
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Amp
- Purchased credits expire 12 months after purchase and subscription usage expires monthly, and Enterprise workspaces are billed at a 50 percent markup over individual and team rates, as of August 2026.
Clerk
- Pricing scales with monthly retained users, which can grow expensive quickly for consumer apps with large user bases.
- Enterprise SSO connections beyond the first are billed as add-ons, adding cost for larger organizations.
- The Business tier's extra dashboard seats cost $20/month each, which adds up for larger teams.
- Enterprise-tier features like the 99.99% uptime SLA require annual contracts rather than flexible monthly billing.
Pricing, plan by plan
Amp
On requestNo published plan breakdown. See the Amp review.
Clerk
Free- HobbyFree
- 50,000 MRU limit per app
- Up to 3 dashboard seats
- Unlimited applications
- Pro$25/month
- 50,000 MRUs included, $0.02/MRU overage
- Up to 3 dashboard seats
- 1 Enterprise Connection included
- Business$300/month
- 50,000 MRUs included with volume pricing
- 10 dashboard seats included
- SOC2 report and priority support
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom pricing, annual billing
- 99.99% uptime SLA
- HIPAA available, dedicated Slack channel
Which should you pick?
Choose Amp if
Nothing in the data separates Amp from Clerk on the points above - pick on price and on how each one feels to use.
Choose Clerk if
- You need prebuilt ui components.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, ios, android, api.
- You also want organization management.
Questions people ask
- Is Amp or Clerk better?
- Neither clearly leads. Amp starts at On request and Clerk at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Amp or Clerk?
- Clerk has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for Amp and Free for Clerk.
- Does Amp or Clerk run on more platforms?
- Amp runs on Web. Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api.
- Can I use Clerk for free?
- Yes. Clerk has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Amp starts at On request.
- What can Amp do that Clerk cannot?
- Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Clerk: What does Clerk cost?
Clerk's Hobby plan is free with a 50,000 MRU limit; Pro is $25/month ($20/month billed annually), Business is $300/month ($250 annually), and Enterprise uses custom annual pricing.
SourceClerk: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?
Yes, the Hobby plan is free with a 50,000 monthly retained user (MRU) limit per app, up to 3 dashboard seats, and unlimited applications, with no credit card required.
SourceClerk: How is usage metered?
Clerk meters by monthly retained users (MRUs) — users who return to the app at least a day after signing up — with overage billed at $0.02 per MRU beyond the included 50,000 on paid plans.
SourceRelated pages
Other head to heads
- Amp vs Cursor
- Amp vs Windsurf
- Amp vs Zed
- Amp vs Codacy
- Amp vs DeepSource
- Amp vs Augment Code
- Amp vs Drizzle ORM
- Amp vs Flagsmith
- Amp vs Unleash
- Amp vs Baseten
- Amp vs Braintrust
- Amp vs Bun
- Amp vs Cline
- Amp vs Devin
- Amp vs Factory
- Amp vs Humanloop
- Amp vs Langfuse
- Amp vs LangSmith
- Amp vs Frontegg
- Amp vs Logto
- Amp vs Ory
- Amp vs Speakeasy
- Clerk vs Cursor
- Clerk vs Windsurf
- Clerk vs Zed
- Clerk vs Codacy
- Clerk vs DeepSource
- Clerk vs Augment Code
- Clerk vs Drizzle ORM
- Clerk vs Flagsmith
- Clerk vs Unleash
- Clerk vs Baseten
- Clerk vs Braintrust
- Clerk vs Bun
- Clerk vs Cline
- Clerk vs Devin
- Clerk vs Factory
- Clerk vs Humanloop
- Clerk vs Langfuse
- Clerk vs LangSmith
- Clerk vs Frontegg
- Clerk vs Logto
- Clerk vs Ory
- Clerk vs Speakeasy