Software · head to head
Clerk vs Frontegg
Clerk
Software
Drop-in user authentication and management for developers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Frontegg
Software
Customer identity and access management platform for SaaS applications
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Clerk pricing scales with monthly retained users, which can grow expensive quickly for consumer apps with large user bases.; Frontegg detailed per-unit pricing beyond the free tier is not published, requiring use of an online calculator or sales contact to estimate costs.
- They diverge on capability: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Frontegg covers Hosted login.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Clerk and Frontegg actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Clerk
- Prebuilt UI components
- Organization management
- Multi-factor authentication
- Social sign-on
- Billing
- Enterprise connections
Only in Frontegg
- Hosted login
- Enterprise SSO/SCIM
- Multi-tenant organizations
- Custom domains
- M2M tokens
- Fraud protection
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Clerk
- Adding sign-in and user profiles to a web or mobile app quicklynot Frontegg
- B2B SaaS apps needing organizations and role-based accessnot Frontegg
- Startups wanting prebuilt UI instead of building auth in-housenot Frontegg
- Apps needing MFA and fraud detection out of the boxnot Frontegg
Frontegg
- Adding enterprise SSO/SCIM to a B2B SaaS productnot Clerk
- Multi-tenant customer identity managementnot Clerk
- White-labeled, custom-domain login experiencesnot Clerk
- Securing AI agent access to a SaaS product via Agen.conot Clerk
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
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.
Frontegg
- Detailed per-unit pricing beyond the free tier is not published, requiring use of an online calculator or sales contact to estimate costs.
- Advanced fraud protection and multiple environments are Enterprise-only, unavailable on the Pay As You Go plan.
- The 7,500 free monthly active users is comparatively modest next to some competitors' free tiers.
- As a broader CIAM platform, it can be more complex to integrate than lighter-weight developer-first auth tools for smaller apps.
Pricing, plan by plan
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
Frontegg
Free- Pay As You GoFree
- 7,500 monthly active users included
- 5 enterprise connections (SSO/SCIM)
- Unlimited organizations
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom pricing
- Multiple environments
- Advanced fraud protection
Which should you pick?
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.
Choose Frontegg if
- You need hosted login.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want enterprise sso/scim.
Questions people ask
- Is Clerk or Frontegg better?
- Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and Frontegg at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Clerk or Frontegg?
- Clerk starts at Free and Frontegg at Free.
- Does Clerk or Frontegg run on more platforms?
- Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. Frontegg runs on web, api.
- Can I use Clerk for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Clerk best used for?
- Clerk is most often used for adding sign-in and user profiles to a web or mobile app quickly, b2b saas apps needing organizations and role-based access, startups wanting prebuilt ui instead of building auth in-house, apps needing mfa and fraud detection out of the box. Of those, adding sign-in and user profiles to a web or mobile app quickly and b2b saas apps needing organizations and role-based access are not what Frontegg is typically brought in for.
- What can Clerk do that Frontegg cannot?
- Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. Frontegg covers Hosted login, Enterprise SSO/SCIM, Multi-tenant organizations, Custom domains.
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.
SourceFrontegg: What does Frontegg cost?
Frontegg's Pay As You Go plan is free up to 7,500 monthly active users, after which pricing scales with users, enterprise connections and M2M tokens via an online calculator; Enterprise pricing is custom.
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.
SourceFrontegg: Is there a free plan and what are its limits?
Yes, the free Pay As You Go plan includes 7,500 monthly active users, 5 enterprise SSO/SCIM connections, unlimited organizations, and a custom domain.
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.
SourceFrontegg: How is usage metered?
Pricing is consumption-based, driven by monthly active users, monthly enterprise connections (SSO/SCIM), and monthly M2M tokens, with customers paying only for usage beyond the free 7,500-user threshold.
Source