Identity & Access Management · head to head
Clerk vs Humanloop
Clerk
Identity & Access Management
Drop-in user authentication and management for developers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Humanloop
Software Development
The LLM evals platform for enterprises
- 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.; Humanloop the free plan caps at 2 members, 50 eval runs, and 10,000 logs per month; every tier above that requires contacting sales, with no self-serve paid plan published, as of August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Clerk and Humanloop actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), 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 Clerk
- Prebuilt UI components
- Organization management
- Multi-factor authentication
- Social sign-on
- Billing
- Enterprise connections
Only in Humanloop
Nothing recorded that Clerk does not also cover.
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 Humanloop
- B2B SaaS apps needing organizations and role-based accessnot Humanloop
- Startups wanting prebuilt UI instead of building auth in-housenot Humanloop
- Apps needing MFA and fraud detection out of the boxnot Humanloop
Humanloop
No use cases recorded yet. See the Humanloop review.
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.
Humanloop
- The free plan caps at 2 members, 50 eval runs, and 10,000 logs per month; every tier above that requires contacting sales, with no self-serve paid plan published, as of August 2026.
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
Humanloop
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Humanloop review.
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.
Questions people ask
- Is Clerk or Humanloop better?
- Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and Humanloop at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Clerk or Humanloop?
- Clerk starts at Free and Humanloop at Free.
- Does Clerk or Humanloop run on more platforms?
- Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. Humanloop runs on Web.
- 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 Humanloop is typically brought in for.
- What can Clerk do that Humanloop 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
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