Is Clerk or KeystoneJS better?

Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and KeystoneJS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Clerk or KeystoneJS?

Clerk starts at Free and KeystoneJS at Free.

Does Clerk or KeystoneJS run on more platforms?

Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. KeystoneJS runs on Node.js, Self-hosted.

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 KeystoneJS is typically brought in for.

What can Clerk do that KeystoneJS cannot?

Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. KeystoneJS covers REST API, GraphQL API, Admin interface, Node.js.

Identity & Access Management · head to head

Clerk vs KeystoneJS

Clerk

Identity & Access Management

Drop-in user authentication and management for developers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

KeystoneJS

API Management

Powerful Node.js headless CMS framework and API platform

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

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.; KeystoneJS database support is limited to PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite
They diverge on capability: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, KeystoneJS covers REST API.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clerk and KeystoneJS actually diverge.

Attributes where Clerk and KeystoneJS differ
Attribute	Clerk	KeystoneJS
Pricing model	freemium	open-source
Platforms	web, ios, android, api	Node.js, Self-hosted
Category	Identity & Access Management	API Management
Founded	Unknown	2016

Identical on both: starting price (Free), 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 KeystoneJS

REST API
GraphQL API
Admin interface
Node.js
Next.js
React
Databases
Node.js support

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 KeystoneJS
B2B SaaS apps needing organizations and role-based accessnot KeystoneJS
Startups wanting prebuilt UI instead of building auth in-housenot KeystoneJS
Apps needing MFA and fraud detection out of the boxnot KeystoneJS

KeystoneJS

Building a headless CMS with a GraphQL API from a TypeScript schemanot Clerk
Generating a configurable Admin UI for editorsnot Clerk
Adding structured rich text content with the document fieldnot 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.

KeystoneJS

Database support is limited to PostgreSQL, MySQL and SQLite
Keystone 5 is a separate legacy product documented on a different site and is not covered by the Keystone 6 docs
Upgrading requires following a dedicated Migrate to 8.0.0 guide, so major versions are not drop-in
Free support is a community Slack; enterprise-grade consulting and support is a separate paid engagement with Thinkmill and no published price

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

KeystoneJS

Free

Open SourceFree
- Full KeystoneJS
- Community support

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.

Clerk review

Choose KeystoneJS if

You need rest api.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Node.js, Self-hosted.
You also want graphql api.

KeystoneJS review

Questions people ask

Is Clerk or KeystoneJS better?: Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and KeystoneJS at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clerk or KeystoneJS?: Clerk starts at Free and KeystoneJS at Free.
Does Clerk or KeystoneJS run on more platforms?: Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. KeystoneJS runs on Node.js, Self-hosted.
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 KeystoneJS is typically brought in for.
What can Clerk do that KeystoneJS cannot?: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. KeystoneJS covers REST API, GraphQL API, Admin interface, Node.js.

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.

Source

Clerk: 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.

Source

Clerk: 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.

Source

Clerk vs KeystoneJS

Clerk

KeystoneJS

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Clerk

Only in KeystoneJS

What people use each for

Clerk

KeystoneJS

Where each one falls short

Clerk

KeystoneJS

Pricing, plan by plan

Clerk

KeystoneJS

Which should you pick?

Choose Clerk if

Choose KeystoneJS if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Clerk

More on KeystoneJS

Keep looking

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