Free for the first 50,000 monthly retained users per app, with a custom domain included. Clerk is a hosted authentication and user management service. The Hobby plan is free with no credit card and covers the first 50,000 monthly retained users (MRUs) and 100 monthly retained organizations per app, with up to 3 dashboard seats, 5 user impersonations, a custom domain and most authentication features. Pro costs $20 a month billed annually or $25 monthly, includes 50K MRUs and one enterprise connection, then charges overage from $0.02 per MRU with volume discounts. Past 100 monthly retained organizations you need the B2B Authentication add-on. A G2 reviewer called the free tier generous and warned that costs rise at higher volumes, and Reddit threads on r/reactjs and r/nextjs repeat the pricing worry. G2 lists only 4 reviews, so most of the evidence is forum talk.
Free tier quotas
Monthly retained users
First 50,000 free per app, no credit card required
Monthly retained organizations
First 100 free
Dashboard seats
Up to 3
User impersonation
5 free, unlimited with Administration add-ons
Custom domain
Included
Authentication features
Most authentication features are included on Hobby
Past 50,000 MRUs
Move to Pro and pay overage from $0.02 per MRU a month
Past 100 organizations
Requires the B2B Authentication add-on
Last sniffed Oct 21, 2026. Always confirm on the official pricing page.
👍 Good boy
+Hobby covers the first 50,000 monthly retained users per app with no credit card, five times the 10,000 that Stytch and PropelAuth include.
+A custom domain is listed on the free plan. An HN commenter said they had coasted on Clerk's free tier with a custom domain for about two years.
+A G2 reviewer called Clerk one of the most developer-oriented authentication systems available, citing social login, Web3 and session management with minimal boilerplate.
+A poster in an r/nextjs thread on Clerk's pricing said a competitor's calculator showed $200 a month for 10,000 users while Clerk was free. That thread is older.
+Pro is $20 a month billed annually and already includes 50K MRUs and one enterprise connection, so the first paid step is small.
+Overage is published, starting at $0.02 per MRU with volume discounts at higher tiers, so you can model cost before you grow.
👎 Watch out
−Pricing at scale is the common complaint. The G2 reviewer warned that costs increase significantly at higher volumes or when advanced features are needed. An r/reactjs commenter said pricing can be crazy if you are not large enough to get custom pricing.
−Past 100 monthly retained organizations you are required to add B2B Authentication, and each extra user or organization is added to the monthly bill.
−Extra enterprise features are priced per connection. The pricing page lists additional SSO connections at $75 a month each and additional directory sync connections at $10 a month each.
−An r/reactjs commenter said Clerk's fine-grained authorization is poor compared with another tool (the excerpt cuts off before naming it).
−An older r/nextjs commenter complained that Clerk charged $100 a month for multi-factor auth in 2024. The current Hobby page says most authentication features are included, so check which MFA options apply to you.
−Hobby caps dashboard seats at 3 and user impersonation at 5, which matters for support-heavy teams.
−Review volume is thin: G2 lists only 4 reviews, so most opinions come from forum threads.
The catch
Hobby is generous on users (50,000 MRUs per app) and organizations (100), and it needs no card. The cap that bites first is usually organizations: past 100 monthly retained organizations you must add B2B Authentication, and every user or organization beyond the free allowance goes on the monthly bill.
Pro is $20 a month billed annually ($25 monthly) with overage from $0.02 per MRU. Extra SSO connections are listed at $75 a month each and extra directory sync connections at $10 each, so enterprise-heavy apps cost more than the headline price.
Pricing worries show up in G2 and Reddit, while older complaints about MFA pricing may no longer apply. I could not confirm commercial-use terms for Hobby from the pages I read.
What’s included
✓Hosted sign-in and user management
✓Most authentication features on Hobby
✓Custom domain
✓Organizations
✓User impersonation
✓SMS authentication available
✓Directory sync connections as paid add-ons
✓Enterprise SSO connections as paid add-ons
✓Onboarding and migration support listed on the pricing page
Free tier value
Generosity
A
Estimated value
50,000 monthly retained users per app, free
Feature parity
Pro ($20 a month billed annually) includes 50K retained users and one enterprise connection.
Screenshots
Clerk homepageClerk pricing page
Paid plans
Pro, $20 a month billed annually or $25 monthly
Includes 50K MRUs and one enterprise connection. Overage on MRUs above 50K starts at $0.02 per MRU a month with volume discounts.
Administration add-ons
Raise user impersonation from 5 free to unlimited.
B2B Authentication add-on
Required once you pass 100 monthly retained organizations. Each user or organization beyond the free allowance is added to the monthly bill.
Extra connections
Additional SSO connections are listed at $75 a month each. Additional directory sync connections are listed at $10 a month each.
Common questions
Is Clerk free?
Yes. Hobby is free with no credit card and covers the first 50,000 monthly retained users and 100 monthly retained organizations.
What is a monthly retained user?
Clerk bills on monthly retained users (MRUs), the term used on its pricing page, rather than plain monthly active users.
What does Pro cost?
$20 a month billed annually or $25 monthly, including 50K MRUs and one enterprise connection.
What are the free plan limits?
Up to 3 dashboard seats, 5 user impersonations, and the B2B Authentication add-on is required past 100 monthly retained organizations.
Why do some developers say it is expensive?
Reddit commenters and a G2 reviewer point to rising cost at higher volumes and extra charges for enterprise features.
Change history
Checked October 22, 2026
Pricing page read. G2 lists 4 reviews. Reddit and Hacker News comments read as excerpts; some are older. Commercial-use terms for Hobby not confirmed.
