Identity & Access Management · head to head
Clerk vs Kong Gateway
Clerk
Identity & Access Management
Drop-in user authentication and management for developers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Kong Gateway
API Management
Open-source and cloud API gateway for managing microservices traffic
- 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.; Kong Gateway the free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
- They diverge on capability: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Kong Gateway covers API request routing.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Clerk and Kong Gateway actually diverge.
| Attribute | Clerk | Kong Gateway |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | web, ios, android, api | web, linux, api |
| Category | Identity & Access Management | API Management |
| Founded | Unknown | 2017 |
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 Kong Gateway
- API request routing
- Plugin ecosystem
- Developer portals
- AI Gateway
- Analytics and observability
- SSO and audit logs
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 Kong Gateway
- B2B SaaS apps needing organizations and role-based accessnot Kong Gateway
- Startups wanting prebuilt UI instead of building auth in-housenot Kong Gateway
- Apps needing MFA and fraud detection out of the boxnot Kong Gateway
Kong Gateway
- Routing and securing traffic across microservicesnot Clerk
- Publishing internal or external developer portalsnot Clerk
- Managing rate limits and authentication at the API edgenot Clerk
- Gateway-level routing to multiple LLM providersnot 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.
Kong Gateway
- The free open-source gateway lacks the analytics, portals, and support of the paid Konnect tiers.
- Plus tier caps API requests at 1M/month before incurring per-million overage charges.
- Enterprise pricing is custom and not published, making budgeting harder without sales contact.
- Configuration and plugin management can require significant operational expertise to run at scale.
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
Kong Gateway
Free- Free TrialFree
- 30-day enterprise functionality trial
- Unlimited gateways
- 30-day analytics retention
- Plus$undefined/month
- Up to 5 serverless, 2 hybrid, 2 dedicated cloud gateways
- 1M API requests/month included
- Up to 2 developer portals
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Unlimited hybrid and dedicated cloud gateways
- Unlimited developer portals
- SSO and audit logs
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 Kong Gateway if
- You need api request routing.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, linux, api.
- You also want plugin ecosystem.
Questions people ask
- Is Clerk or Kong Gateway better?
- Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Clerk or Kong Gateway?
- Clerk starts at Free and Kong Gateway at Free.
- Does Clerk or Kong Gateway run on more platforms?
- Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. Kong Gateway runs on web, linux, 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 Kong Gateway is typically brought in for.
- What can Clerk do that Kong Gateway cannot?
- Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. Kong Gateway covers API request routing, Plugin ecosystem, Developer portals, AI Gateway.
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.
SourceKong Gateway: Is Kong Gateway free?
Kong's core gateway is open source and free to self-host. Kong Konnect, the managed cloud platform, offers a 30-day free trial before moving to paid Plus or custom Enterprise 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.
SourceKong Gateway: How is usage metered on the Plus plan?
The Plus plan includes 1M API requests per month, with additional usage billed at $200 per extra 1 million requests up to a 10M/month cap, plus per-gateway and per-LLM-model charges.
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.
SourceKong Gateway: What support is included?
Plus includes email support with a 2-business-day SLA, while Enterprise adds dedicated success managers and professional services.
SourceRelated pages
More on Kong Gateway
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