Clerk Pricing 2026: Free Tier, Pro Plan and Cost per User

Clerk is the drop-in authentication and user-management service many Next.js and React founders start with. Its pricing page lists four plans, a tiered per-user rate and several add-ons, and the billable unit is not the monthly active user most auth vendors meter. This page turns the published rates into a monthly cost at common user counts. To compare Clerk with alternatives, see Clerk vs Auth0 vs Supabase Auth pricing and, for B2B SSO, WorkOS vs Clerk vs Stytch.

1. Clerk plans and prices

Plan	Price	Included users	Key inclusions
Hobby	Free	50,000 MRU per app[1]	Unlimited apps, 3 dashboard seats, prebuilt sign-in UI, up to 3 social connections, 7-day fixed sessions
Pro	$25/mo, or $20/mo billed annually[1]	50,000 MRU per app, then from $0.02 each	MFA, passkeys, branding removal, custom session length, 1 SSO connection, 7-day logs
Business	$300/mo, or $250/mo billed annually[1]	Same as Pro	10 dashboard seats ($20/mo each extra), SOC 2 report, enhanced dashboard roles, 30-day logs
Enterprise	Custom, annual only[1]	Custom	99.99% uptime SLA, premium support, committed-use discounts

Every plan includes unlimited applications, and the 50,000-user allowance applies per application^[1]. The jump from Hobby to Pro is about features as much as volume: MFA, passkeys and the removal of the "Secured by Clerk" badge all require Pro.

2. What counts as a billable user?

Clerk bills on monthly retained users. A user counts as retained when they return to your app at least 24 hours after signing up; a user who signs up and never comes back is not counted^[1][2]. For products with heavy top-of-funnel sign-ups and modest retention, the billed number can sit well below the active-user count that other vendors charge on.

If returning users push an app past 50,000 MRU on Hobby, Clerk gives a one-month grace period so the app keeps running while you upgrade^[2].

3. What does Clerk cost at your user count?

Monthly Pro cost on monthly billing, computed from the published tiers: $25 base, 50,000 users included, $0.02 per user to 100,000, $0.018 to 1 million^[1]. Users below 50,000 could stay on the free Hobby plan if they do not need Pro features.

Monthly retained users	Clerk Pro per month	Cost per retained user
10,000	$25	$0.0025
50,000	$25	$0.0005
75,000	$525	$0.0070
100,000	$1,025	$0.0103
250,000	$3,725	$0.0149
500,000	$8,225	$0.0165
1,000,000	$17,225	$0.0172

The per-user cost falls slowly because the tiers are marginal: at 1 million retained users the first 50,000 are included, the next 50,000 cost $0.02 each and the remaining 900,000 cost $0.018. For comparison, Supabase Auth's Pro plan includes 100,000 monthly active users for $25 and then charges $0.00325 each, which is why Clerk becomes the expensive option at scale; the comparison page works that out side by side.

4. SSO, B2B and other add-ons

• Enterprise SSO (SAML, OIDC): 1 connection per app included on Pro and Business; extra connections cost $75 a month each (2-15) and $60 a month (16-100)^[1].
• Directory Sync (SCIM): 1 connection included; extra connections $75 a month each, with billing starting January 1, 2027^[1].
• B2B organizations: free on all plans for 100 monthly retained organizations per app with up to 20 members each. The Enhanced B2B add-on, $100 a month or $85 billed annually, removes the member limit, links enterprise connections to organizations and adds custom roles; extra organizations cost $1 a month each from 101 to 1,000^[1].
• Administration add-on: $100 a month ($85 annually) for unlimited user impersonation^[1].
• Usage-priced extras: SMS codes at $0.01 per message in the US and Canada; satellite domains at $10 a month each; API keys and machine-to-machine tokens beyond the included monthly creations and verifications^[1].
• Clerk Billing: 0.7% of billing volume on top of Stripe's processing fees, if you use Clerk to sell subscriptions^[1].

A B2B SaaS with eight enterprise customers on SSO pays $25 for Pro, $100 for Enhanced B2B and 7 × $75 = $525 for the extra connections: $650 a month before any user overage.

5. What changed in 2026

• Retained users, not active users. The current pricing page bills monthly retained users, which excludes sign-ups who never return^[1].
• SSO priced per connection on Pro. One enterprise connection is included per app and further connections have published prices, instead of enterprise SSO sitting only behind custom plans^[1].
• Directory Sync billing from 2027. Extra SCIM connections are listed at $75 a month, with billing starting January 1, 2027^[1].

6. Is Clerk worth it?

• Under 50,000 retained users, no MFA needed: Hobby is free and sufficient.
• Production app that needs MFA, passkeys or your own branding: Pro at $25 a month ($20 annually).
• B2B with enterprise customers: budget Pro plus Enhanced B2B plus $75 per extra SSO connection.
• Hundreds of thousands of active users on a tight budget: price Supabase Auth or WorkOS first; Clerk's per-user tiers add up.

Fold the auth line into your monthly stack with the AI stack cost calculator. Re-check clerk.com/pricing before committing, since tiers and add-on prices change.

All pricing figures verified against clerk.com/pricing on 2026-10-11.

Frequently asked questions

Is Clerk free?

Yes, for up to 50,000 monthly retained users per application on the Hobby plan, with unlimited applications and up to 3 dashboard seats. Hobby keeps Clerk branding on the sign-in screens, fixes sessions at 7 days and leaves out MFA, passkeys and enterprise SSO. Verified on clerk.com/pricing on 2026-10-11.

How much is Clerk Pro?

Clerk Pro costs $25 a month on monthly billing or $20 a month billed annually. It includes 50,000 monthly retained users per app, then charges $0.02 per retained user from 50,001 to 100,000, $0.018 to 1 million, $0.015 to 10 million and $0.012 beyond. Pro adds MFA, passkeys, branding removal and one enterprise SSO connection per app.

What is a monthly retained user in Clerk?

Clerk counts a user as retained when they come back to your app at least 24 hours after signing up. A user who signs up and never returns is not billed. If returning users push an app past 50,000, Clerk gives a one-month grace period before you need to move to a paid plan.

How much does Clerk cost for 100,000 users?

On Pro with monthly billing, 100,000 monthly retained users cost $1,025 a month: the $25 base plus 50,000 users at $0.02. At 250,000 retained users the bill is $3,725, because users above 100,000 are charged $0.018 each.