Find the best authentication for your workload
Start with the priced options, then check capabilities, limits and commitments. We do not score qualities we have not measured.
What this comparison covers
Consumer email/social authentication for one application. No SMS, enterprise SSO, directory sync, custom email delivery or advanced security add-ons. Clerk bills retained users, not all active users. Enter that ratio explicitly.
Evaluating 4 products from 4 published in this category. USD monthly equivalents, before tax. Features and service compatibility need separate evaluation.
- Monthly active users
- 10,000 users / month
- Returning after the first day
- 60 % of active users
Choose the fit, then compare the bill
- Confirm the product supports your requirements. “Not modeled” does not mean a vendor cannot support them.
- Compare included usage, hard limits and paid extras at your expected volume.
- Account for annual commitments, migration effort and the exclusions shown below.
Priced options to evaluate
4 eligible products. Quote-only, expired and unsupported configurations are excluded from cost rankings.
Clerk
Authentication priced by users who return after signup day.
$0 / month
Hobby
Official pricing · Checked 2026-10-05
Cost breakdown and exclusions
- Monthly subscription: $0
- Retained users return at least 24 hours after signup. Hobby has feature and dashboard-seat limits.
- SMS, enterprise SSO, directory synchronization, custom domains, custom email delivery and optional security add-ons.
Hobby: $0/month at reference usage.
Supabase Auth
Authentication bundled with a PostgreSQL backend.
$0 / month
Free · auth allowance
Official pricing · Checked 2026-10-05
Cost breakdown and exclusions
- Monthly subscription: $0
- Assumes auth data and traffic stay within Free database and egress allowances. Inactive free projects can pause.
- SMS, enterprise SSO, directory synchronization, custom domains, custom email delivery and optional security add-ons.
- SMTP delivery and usage beyond bundled database, storage and transfer allowances.
Free · auth allowance: $0/month at reference usage.
WorkOS AuthKit
Consumer authentication with a large free active-user allowance.
$0 / month
AuthKit
Official pricing · Checked 2026-10-05
Cost breakdown and exclusions
- Monthly subscription: $0
- Additional active-user blocks (1,000,000 included): $0
- First 1 million monthly active users included. Additional capacity is sold per million users. Custom domain costs extra.
- SMS, enterprise SSO, directory synchronization, custom domains, custom email delivery and optional security add-ons.
AuthKit: $0/month at reference usage.
Auth0
Enterprise-grade identity and access management with extensive integrations.
$665.00 / month
B2C Essentials
Official pricing · Checked 2026-10-05
Cost breakdown and exclusions
- Monthly subscription: $35.00
- Additional active users (1,000 included): $630.00
- Includes 1,000 monthly active users, custom domains, and MFA. B2B enterprise federation sold separately.
- Enterprise SLA, external database migration scripts, and dedicated tenant isolation.
B2C Essentials: $665.00/month at reference usage.
Questions before you decide
Which Authentication product is cheapest?
Clerk has a lowest modeled cost among the eligible products shown at reference usage. Ties share a rank. This is not a claim about every vendor or workload.