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Cybersecurity · head to head

Clerk vs Zencity

Clerk logo

Clerk

Cybersecurity

Drop-in user authentication and management for developers

From
Free
Free plan
Yes
Full reviewWebsite
Zencity logo

Zencity

Government

Resident sentiment analysis combining organic social listening with representative surveys

From
On request
Free plan
No
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.; Zencity social listening is structurally biased toward residents who post, so a city using the listening product without the survey product will consistently mistake volume for consensus.
  • They diverge on capability: Clerk covers Prebuilt UI components, Zencity covers Organic social listening.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Clerk and Zencity actually diverge.

Attributes where Clerk and Zencity differ
AttributeClerkZencity
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreemiumquote
Free tierYesNo
Platformsweb, ios, android, apiWeb
CategoryCybersecurityGovernment

Identical on both: 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 Zencity

  • Organic social listening
  • Representative surveys
  • Community trust surveys
  • Topic and sentiment analysis
  • Service request integration
  • Leadership reporting

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

Zencity

  • A city manager deciding whether a social media outcry reflects a representative viewnot Clerk
  • A police department measuring community trust with a sampled instrument rather than complaint volumenot Clerk
  • A communications team wanting early warning on a service issue before it reaches councilnot Clerk
  • A council needing resident input on a policy without running its own survey operationnot 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.

Zencity

  • Social listening is structurally biased toward residents who post, so a city using the listening product without the survey product will consistently mistake volume for consensus.
  • Government analysis of residents' public speech, particularly by police departments, has drawn civil liberties criticism and records request scrutiny in United States cities, and agencies need a public answer ready before signing.
  • Sentiment classification of local slang, sarcasm and non English posts is imperfect, and a misclassified theme presented in a leadership briefing can be acted on before anyone checks the underlying posts.
  • Survey sample sizes at neighbourhood level are often small, so the district level breakdowns that councils most want are the least reliable numbers in the report.
  • It reports on opinion without connecting to service delivery systems, so acting on a finding remains a separate manual process in whatever operational software the agency runs.

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

Zencity

On request
  • Zencity$undefined/year
    • Quoted annually by population served and module scope
    • Survey programmes priced separately from the listening platform
    • Police community trust surveying sold as its own line

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 Zencity if

  • You need organic social listening.
  • You also want representative surveys.
Zencity review

Questions people ask

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

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
Zencity: Is this surveillance of residents?

It analyses publicly posted content and aggregated survey responses rather than private accounts, but the distinction has been contested publicly, especially for police use. Prepare an explanation before procurement.

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
Zencity: Why pair listening with surveys?

Because the people who post are not representative of the people who live there. The gap between the two datasets is often the most useful output.

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
Zencity: What did Zencity acquire?

Elucd, in 2021, which brought community trust survey methodology used with police departments.

Zencity: Can residents find out what our city bought?

Yes. These are public contracts and several have been obtained and published through records requests.

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