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Cybersecurity · head to head

Clerk vs ThetaRay

Clerk logo

Clerk

Cybersecurity

Drop-in user authentication and management for developers

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
ThetaRay logo

ThetaRay

Cybersecurity

Unsupervised AI transaction monitoring for cross-border and correspondent banking

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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.; ThetaRay unsupervised models are harder to justify to an examiner than explicit rules, and some regulators still expect documented threshold logic, which can force you to run both systems.
  • They diverge on capability: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, ThetaRay covers Unsupervised detection.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clerk and ThetaRay actually diverge.

Attributes where Clerk and ThetaRay differ
AttributeClerkThetaRay
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiWeb

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 ThetaRay

  • Unsupervised detection
  • Cross-border focus
  • Sanctions screening
  • Alert triage
  • Customer risk scoring
  • Cloud native

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

ThetaRay

  • A correspondent bank that cannot see the ultimate originator and needs behavioural signals rather than counterparty listsnot Clerk
  • A cross-border payments fintech whose rules engine produces more alerts than its compliance team can clearnot Clerk
  • A bank under a regulatory consent order needing demonstrable improvement in detection within a fixed periodnot Clerk
  • A payment institution entering a high-risk corridor where existing thresholds were calibrated on domestic trafficnot 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.

ThetaRay

  • Unsupervised models are harder to justify to an examiner than explicit rules, and some regulators still expect documented threshold logic, which can force you to run both systems.
  • The alert reduction claim depends heavily on your data, so a parallel run is essential and adds months and cost before you can decommission the incumbent.
  • Coverage is strongest in cross-border and correspondent flows; institutions whose risk is domestic retail fraud will find the fit weaker than a general-purpose monitoring platform.
  • It is a smaller vendor than the incumbents, so integration connectors into legacy core banking systems are often bespoke work rather than a supported adapter.
  • Model retraining and tuning are vendor-led, which means changing detection behaviour is a support conversation rather than something your own analysts can do that afternoon.

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

ThetaRay

On request
  • ThetaRay Sonar$undefined/year
    • Priced by monitored transaction volume and number of monitored entities
    • SaaS on Azure with regional data residency options
    • Parallel run and model tuning included in onboarding

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 ThetaRay if

  • You need unsupervised detection.
  • You also want cross-border focus.
ThetaRay review

Questions people ask

Is Clerk or ThetaRay better?
Neither clearly leads. Clerk starts at Free and ThetaRay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Clerk or ThetaRay?
Clerk has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Clerk and On request for ThetaRay.
Does Clerk or ThetaRay run on more platforms?
Clerk runs on web, ios, android, api. ThetaRay runs on Web.
Can I use Clerk for free?
Yes. Clerk has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. ThetaRay starts at On request.
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 ThetaRay is typically brought in for.
What can Clerk do that ThetaRay cannot?
Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Organization management, Multi-factor authentication, Social sign-on. ThetaRay covers Unsupervised detection, Cross-border focus, Sanctions screening, Alert triage.

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
ThetaRay: Does it replace a rules engine entirely?

Rarely on day one. Most institutions run it alongside existing rules during a parallel period, and some keep specific regulator-mandated rules permanently.

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
ThetaRay: Where is the data processed?

SaaS runs on Microsoft Azure with regional deployment options, which is the mechanism for meeting data residency conditions in regulated markets.

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
ThetaRay: Is sanctions screening included?

Screening is available on the same platform but licensed as part of the commercial package rather than bundled by default. Confirm it is in your quote.

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