Is Clerk or PostHog better?

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

Which is cheaper, Clerk or PostHog?

Clerk starts at Free and PostHog at Free.

Does Clerk or PostHog run on more platforms?

Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. PostHog runs on Web, Ios, Android, 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 PostHog is typically brought in for.

What can Clerk do that PostHog cannot?

Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. PostHog covers Product analytics, Session recording, Feature flags, A/B testing.

Identity & Access Management · head to head

Clerk vs PostHog

Clerk

Identity & Access Management

Drop-in user authentication and management for developers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

PostHog

Technology

The single platform to analyze, test, observe, and deploy new features

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.; PostHog the free tier covers 1M events, 5K web session recordings and 2.5K mobile recordings per month before usage-based billing starts
They diverge on capability: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, PostHog covers Product analytics.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clerk and PostHog actually diverge.

Attributes where Clerk and PostHog differ
Attribute	Clerk	PostHog
Pricing model	freemium	usage-based
Category	Identity & Access Management	Technology
Founded	Unknown	2020

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (web, ios, android, api), 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 PostHog

Product analytics
Session recording
Feature flags
A/B testing
Heatmaps
SQL access
Data warehouse
Apps platform

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

PostHog

Product analyticsnot Clerk
Feature experimentationnot Clerk
User behavior trackingnot Clerk
A/B testingnot Clerk
Debug production issuesnot 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.

PostHog

The free tier covers 1M events, 5K web session recordings and 2.5K mobile recordings per month before usage-based billing starts
Accounts without a card on file are limited to 1 project; adding one raises it to 6
Data retention is 1 year until a card is added, which extends it to 7 years
Support is community-only until the account is on a paid plan
Error tracking is capped at 100K exceptions and surveys at 1500 responses per month on the free tier

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

PostHog

Free

FreeFree
- 1M events/month
- 5K sessions/month
- Unlimited users
Paid$undefined/month
- $0.00031/event
- $0.005/session
- Advanced permissions
Enterprise$undefined/month
- SAML SSO
- Advanced security
- Dedicated 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 PostHog if

You need product analytics.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
You also want session recording.

PostHog review

Questions people ask

Is Clerk or PostHog better?: Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and PostHog at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clerk or PostHog?: Clerk starts at Free and PostHog at Free.
Does Clerk or PostHog run on more platforms?: Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. PostHog runs on Web, Ios, Android, 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 PostHog is typically brought in for.
What can Clerk do that PostHog cannot?: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. PostHog covers Product analytics, Session recording, Feature flags, A/B testing.

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 PostHog

Clerk

PostHog

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Clerk

Only in PostHog

What people use each for

Clerk

PostHog

Where each one falls short

Clerk

PostHog

Pricing, plan by plan

Clerk

PostHog

Which should you pick?

Choose Clerk if

Choose PostHog if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Clerk

More on PostHog

Keep looking

Other head to heads