Is Clerk or Mullvad VPN better?

Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and Mullvad VPN at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Clerk or Mullvad VPN?

Clerk has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Clerk and $5/month for Mullvad VPN.

Does Clerk or Mullvad VPN run on more platforms?

Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. Mullvad VPN runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.

Can I use Clerk for free?

Yes. Clerk has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mullvad VPN starts at $5/month.

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 Mullvad VPN is typically brought in for.

What can Clerk do that Mullvad VPN cannot?

Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. Mullvad VPN covers Flat single pricing, Account-number signup, Cash and crypto payments, WireGuard support.

Cybersecurity · head to head

Clerk vs Mullvad VPN

Clerk

Cybersecurity

Drop-in user authentication and management for developers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Mullvad VPN

Cybersecurity

Privacy-first VPN with one flat price and no email required to sign up

From: $5/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Only Clerk has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
Each has a real cost: Clerk pricing scales with monthly retained users, which can grow expensive quickly for consumer apps with large user bases.; Mullvad VPN offers no free trial or free tier, unlike several consumer VPN competitors.
They diverge on capability: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Mullvad VPN covers Flat single pricing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clerk and Mullvad VPN actually diverge.

Attributes where Clerk and Mullvad VPN differ
Attribute	Clerk	Mullvad VPN
Starting price	Free	$5/month
Pricing model	freemium	subscription
Free tier	Yes	No
Platforms	web, ios, android, api	windows, mac, linux, ios, android
Founded	Unknown	2009

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Cybersecurity).

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 Mullvad VPN

Flat single pricing
Account-number signup
Cash and crypto payments
WireGuard support
Independent audits

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

Mullvad VPN

Paying for a VPN anonymously with cash or cryptocurrencynot Clerk
Avoiding tiered upsells with a single flat-rate plannot Clerk
Signing up without providing an email addressnot Clerk
Verifying a provider's privacy claims via independent auditsnot 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.

Mullvad VPN

Offers no free trial or free tier, unlike several consumer VPN competitors.
Lacks a bundled tiered structure, so there is no cheaper limited plan for occasional users.
Server network and streaming-unblocking performance is smaller than large mainstream VPN providers.
No annual discount, meaning long-term subscribers pay the same monthly rate as short-term users.

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

Mullvad VPN

$5/month

Mullvad VPN$5/month
- Flat rate regardless of subscription length
- 5 simultaneous devices
- No email required

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 Mullvad VPN if

You need flat single pricing.
You work on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
You also want account-number signup.

Mullvad VPN review

Questions people ask

Is Clerk or Mullvad VPN better?: Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and Mullvad VPN at $5/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clerk or Mullvad VPN?: Clerk has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Clerk and $5/month for Mullvad VPN.
Does Clerk or Mullvad VPN run on more platforms?: Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. Mullvad VPN runs on windows, mac, linux, ios, android.
Can I use Clerk for free?: Yes. Clerk has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Mullvad VPN starts at $5/month.
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 Mullvad VPN is typically brought in for.
What can Clerk do that Mullvad VPN cannot?: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. Mullvad VPN covers Flat single pricing, Account-number signup, Cash and crypto payments, WireGuard support.

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 Mullvad VPN

Clerk

Mullvad VPN

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Clerk

Only in Mullvad VPN

What people use each for

Clerk

Mullvad VPN

Where each one falls short

Clerk

Mullvad VPN

Pricing, plan by plan

Clerk

Mullvad VPN

Which should you pick?

Choose Clerk if

Choose Mullvad VPN if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Clerk

More on Mullvad VPN

Keep looking

Other head to heads