WorkOS vs Clerk Pricing (2026)

Price is one row. To weigh the features too, use our feature comparison template →

Which one is cheaper?

One or both use custom pricing, so it depends on your specific needs.

Can I use either one for free?

Both offer free plans, so you can try each without paying. Start with whichever fits your workflow better and upgrade when you hit the limits.

How do they charge?

Different approach here. WorkOS uses usage-based pricing, while Clerk goes with hybrid. That changes the math depending on your team size and usage.

Which one is a better deal?

Depends on what you need. WorkOS: WorkOS undercuts traditional IAM vendors by giving away the auth layer entirely and only charging once you need enterprise-grade plumbing like SSO or audit logs — that's a deliberate wedge to win developers early and monetize later when B2B customers show up. It's not trying to be the cheapest at scale; the volume discounts (up to 48% off) suggest they expect — and want — high-connection customers to negotiate down. Clerk: Clerk isn't the cheap auth API (that's more like Supabase Auth or raw Firebase) — it's priced as a premium, dev-experience-first product competing with Auth0 and WorkOS for teams who'll pay more to ship faster. The free tier is generous enough to hook indie devs, but the real target is funded startups who'll outgrow Hobby fast and don't blink at $300+/mo once they're making money.

Still deciding? See the best WorkOS alternatives or the best Clerk alternatives, ranked with verified pricing.