Auth & Identity
Clerk vs Kinde
Side by side
- Pricing model
- ClerkHybrid
- KindePer monthly active user
- Starting price
- ClerkFreemium
- Kinde$25/mo
- Free tier
- ClerkYes
- KindeYes — 10,500 monthly active users free
- Availability
- ClerkGenerally available
- KindeGenerally available
- Last checked
- ClerkOct 12, 2026
- KindeOct 12, 2026
| Fact | Clerk | Kinde |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Hybrid | Per monthly active user |
| Starting price | Freemium | $25/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes — 10,500 monthly active users free |
| Availability | Generally available | Generally available |
| Last checked | Oct 12, 2026 | Oct 12, 2026 |
When each one fits
Choose Clerk when…
Next.js and React developers who need auth, user management, and organization features with minimal setup
Look past Clerk if…
Teams that need fully self-hosted auth or already have mature auth infrastructure
Clerk strengths
Pre-built UI components
Multi-factor auth
Organization management
Social login
SAML SSO
Webhooks
Choose Kinde when…
Startups needing affordable auth + flags
Generous free tier plus product primitives
SaaS wanting auth that grows with them
MAU pricing with room to scale
Kinde strengths
Very generous free tier
Startup-friendly extras
Clean developer experience
Trade-offs
Known weaknesses from each tool’s record. Sourced ones link to where they came from.
Clerk
The Hobby plan restricts session lifetime to a fixed 7 days, preventing customization for security or UX requirements.
The Hobby plan limits application logs to 1 day of retention, hindering debugging and audit capabilities.
The Hobby plan restricts user impersonation to 5 per month, limiting developer testing and support workflows.
The B2B Authentication add-on limits organizations to 20 members by default, requiring an additional paid tier for larger teams.
Kinde
SCIM support is not yet available on the Scale plan
Free plan has strict limits on custom roles and permissions
Free plan limits the number of environments