# Clerk vs WorkOS

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/compare/clerk-vs-workos/

Every value below is read from Clerk's and WorkOS's own documentation. See https://inetgeek.com/methodology/ for how.

## At a glance

| Criterion | Clerk | WorkOS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Pricing model | A monthly base price plus per-user billing above the included 50,000, with enterprise connections, extra dashboard seats and satellite domains each priced as separate add-ons at $75, $20 and $10 a month. | No monthly platform fee and no per-user charge below a million: WorkOS gives user management away and bills per enterprise connection instead — SSO and Directory Sync at $125 each per month, audit log streaming at $125 per SIEM connection, event retention at $99 per million events. |
| Users included | 50,000 monthly retained users per app, on the free Hobby plan and on Pro alike. Beyond that, $0.02 each falling to $0.012 above 10 million. | 1,000,000 active users free on AuthKit, then $2,500 per additional million. Two orders of magnitude above the other free allowances here. |
| Price per SSO connection | One enterprise connection included on Pro, then $75/month each. | $125 per SSO connection per month for the first 15, falling to $100 at 16–30, $80 at 31–50 and $65 at 51–100. Directory Sync is priced on the same ladder, separately. |
| SAML single sign-on | Supported | Supported |
| Multi-factor authentication | Supported | Supported |
| Audit logs | Application logs with 1-day retention on the free Hobby plan; longer retention is a paid-plan feature Clerk lists without publishing the window. | Billed rather than bundled: $125 per month per SIEM connection for log streaming, plus $99 per month per million events stored. |

## Where they differ

### Pricing model

- Clerk: A monthly base price plus per-user billing above the included 50,000, with enterprise connections, extra dashboard seats and satellite domains each priced as separate add-ons at $75, $20 and $10 a month. ([source](https://clerk.com/pricing))
- WorkOS: No monthly platform fee and no per-user charge below a million: WorkOS gives user management away and bills per enterprise connection instead — SSO and Directory Sync at $125 each per month, audit log streaming at $125 per SIEM connection, event retention at $99 per million events. ([source](https://workos.com/pricing))

### Users included

- Clerk: 50,000 monthly retained users per app, on the free Hobby plan and on Pro alike. Beyond that, $0.02 each falling to $0.012 above 10 million. ([source](https://clerk.com/pricing))
- WorkOS: 1,000,000 active users free on AuthKit, then $2,500 per additional million. Two orders of magnitude above the other free allowances here. ([source](https://workos.com/pricing))

### Price per SSO connection

- Clerk: One enterprise connection included on Pro, then $75/month each. ([source](https://clerk.com/pricing))
- WorkOS: $125 per SSO connection per month for the first 15, falling to $100 at 16–30, $80 at 31–50 and $65 at 51–100. Directory Sync is priced on the same ladder, separately. ([source](https://workos.com/pricing))

### Audit logs

- Clerk: Application logs with 1-day retention on the free Hobby plan; longer retention is a paid-plan feature Clerk lists without publishing the window. ([source](https://clerk.com/pricing))
- WorkOS: Billed rather than bundled: $125 per month per SIEM connection for log streaming, plus $99 per month per million events stored. ([source](https://workos.com/pricing))

## Which should you choose?

Pick Clerk if Getting a complete, styled sign-in flow running quickly, with 50,000 users free before any bill starts.

Pick WorkOS if B2B products where the enterprise features are the product requirement — a million users cost nothing and you pay only for the connections your customers actually use.

Consider something else: Clerk — Enterprise connections are $75/month each after the first, so a B2B product selling to several SSO-using customers pays per logo.

Consider something else: WorkOS — Those connections are the most expensive here at $125 a month each, so a long tail of small SSO customers costs more than it does at Clerk or Better Auth.

## Documented by only one

- Entry paid plan: Clerk: $25/month for Pro, or $20/month billed annually. Business is $300/month.
- SCIM provisioning: WorkOS: Supported

## Questions this comparison answers

**Should I choose Clerk or WorkOS?**

Pick Clerk if Getting a complete, styled sign-in flow running quickly, with 50,000 users free before any bill starts.
Pick WorkOS if B2B products where the enterprise features are the product requirement — a million users cost nothing and you pay only for the connections your customers actually use.