SuperTokens vs Clerk

Side-by-side — pricing, strengths, tradeoffs, and fit.

SuperTokens

Open-source authentication you can self-host, with prebuilt UI and session management.

Clerk

The most comprehensive user management platform

At a glance

Open SourceFree TierEnterprise
● Established·From $0 self-hosted
Free TierEnterprise
· Not enough data·From Freemium

Overview

One-liner

Open-source authentication you can self-host, with prebuilt UI and session management.

One-liner

The most comprehensive user management platform

Maturity

Established

Maturity

Not enough data

Open source

✓ Yes

Open source

✕ No

Pricing

Free tier

✓ Available

Self-hosted is free; managed has a free tier to 5,000 MAU

Free tier

✓ Available

Starts at

$0 self-hosted

Starts at

Freemium

Model

Flat rate

Model

Hybrid

Enterprise

✓ Available

Enterprise

✓ Available

Best for

✓ Best for

Teams wanting open-source, self-hosted authNo vendor lock-in or per-user fees
Data-residency / privacy-sensitive appsKeep user data in your own infrastructure

✓ Best for

Next.js and React developers who need auth, user management, and organization features with minimal setup

Not ideal for

✕ Not for

—

✕ Not for

Teams that need fully self-hosted auth or already have mature auth infrastructure

Strengths

↑ Strengths

Open source and self-hostable
Prebuilt UI + session management
Transparent pricing

↑ Strengths

Pre-built UI components
Multi-factor auth
Organization management
Social login

Weaknesses

↓ Weaknesses

Smaller ecosystem than Auth0/Clerk
Self-hosting adds ops burden

↓ Weaknesses

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.
Full SuperTokens profile →Full Clerk profile →