Software · head to head
Clerk vs Logto
Clerk
Software
Drop-in user authentication and management for developers
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
Logto
Software
Open-source identity and authentication infrastructure for apps and APIs
- 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.; Logto advanced features like RBAC, organizations, MFA, and enterprise SSO are billed as separate paid add-ons rather than included in Pro.
- They diverge on capability: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Logto covers Prebuilt sign-in UI.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Clerk and Logto actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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
- Social sign-on
- Billing
- Enterprise connections
Only in Logto
- Prebuilt sign-in UI
- Social connectors
- Role-based access control
- Machine-to-machine apps
- Audit logs
Both cover
- Multi-factor authentication
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 Logto
- B2B SaaS apps needing organizations and role-based accessnot Logto
- Startups wanting prebuilt UI instead of building auth in-housenot Logto
- Apps needing MFA and fraud detection out of the boxnot Logto
Logto
- Adding sign-in to a new SaaS productnot Clerk
- Implementing SSO for B2B customersnot Clerk
- Securing internal APIs with M2M tokensnot Clerk
- Adding RBAC and organizations to a multi-tenant appnot 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.
Logto
- Advanced features like RBAC, organizations, MFA, and enterprise SSO are billed as separate paid add-ons rather than included in Pro.
- Enterprise pricing is not published and requires contacting sales.
- Token-based billing can make cost forecasting harder than flat per-MAU pricing for high-traffic 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
Logto
Free- FreeFree
- Up to 50,000 MAU
- 50K tokens included
- 3 applications
- Pro$24/month
- Unlimited MAU and applications
- 3 included API resources
- Passkey sign-in
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 Logto if
- You need prebuilt sign-in ui.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on web, api.
- You also want social connectors.
Questions people ask
- Is Clerk or Logto better?
- Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and Logto at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Clerk or Logto?
- Clerk starts at Free and Logto at Free.
- Does Clerk or Logto run on more platforms?
- Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. Logto 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 Logto is typically brought in for.
- What can Clerk do that Logto cannot?
- Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Social sign-on, Billing. Logto covers Prebuilt sign-in UI, Social connectors, Role-based access control, Machine-to-machine apps. Both handle Multi-factor authentication.
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.
SourceLogto: What does Logto cost?
Logto offers a Free plan at $0/month, a Pro plan starting at $24/month with 50K free tokens included, and a custom-priced Enterprise plan. Extra add-ons like RBAC or MFA are billed separately on Pro.
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.
SourceLogto: Is there a free plan, and what are its limits?
Yes. The Free plan supports up to 50,000 monthly active users, 3 total applications, 1 machine-to-machine app, 3 social connectors, 1 webhook, and 3-day audit log retention.
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.
SourceLogto: How is usage metered?
Logto uses token-based billing: only access tokens issued for authentication and authorization activity are counted, rather than charging purely per MAU.
Source