WorkOS vs Clerk vs Stytch 2026 Compared

Auth bills get decided by which of two meters a vendor leans on: the number of users you have, or the number of enterprise SSO connections you run. WorkOS, Clerk, and Stytch all do sign-in, sessions, and SSO, but they weight those two meters very differently, and picking the wrong one means your bill either scales with free users or jumps the day an enterprise customer asks for single sign-on. This article puts the verified prices side by side and matches each to a business model.

1. Headline prices and free tiers

Prices verified against each vendor's pricing page as of May 26, 2026.

Provider	Free tier	Paid base	SSO connection
WorkOS	AuthKit free to 1M MAU[1]	$2,500 per extra 1M MAU[1]	$125/connection (volume discounts)[1]
Clerk	50K MAU free[2]	Pro $25/mo + per-MAU overage[2]	Via B2B/enterprise tiers[2]
Stytch	10K MAU + 5 SSO/SCIM[3]	$0 base, pay-as-you-go[3]	$125/connection (beyond 5)[3]

The free tiers tell the story. WorkOS gives away user management up to 1M MAU and monetizes SSO connections; Clerk gives 50K MAU then charges per MAU above it; Stytch gives 10K MAU plus five SSO connections free^[1][2][3]. So WorkOS is cheapest for a low-SSO, high-MAU app, while Clerk and Stytch price more on user growth.

2. The two cost drivers: MAU and SSO

Every auth bill comes down to two meters, and the providers weight them differently:

• Monthly active users (MAU): Clerk charges per MAU above 50K (Pro overage tiers from $0.02 down to $0.012 at scale); Stytch meters MAU above its 10K free tier; WorkOS gives 1M MAU free, then $2,500 per additional million^[1][2][3].
• SSO/SCIM connections: WorkOS and Stytch both charge $125 per connection (WorkOS with volume discounts down to $50); Clerk folds enterprise SSO into its higher tiers^[1][3].

The decision is which meter dominates your app. A consumer product with millions of users and almost no SSO pays mostly on MAU, where WorkOS's 1M free tier is hard to beat. A B2B SaaS with modest user counts but many enterprise SSO connections pays mostly on connections, where per-connection pricing maps cleanly to enterprise deals you can bill for.

3. B2B SSO economics

For B2B SaaS, the SSO model is the whole game. WorkOS's $125-per-connection pricing is designed so you only pay when an enterprise customer demands SSO, and that cost can be passed through in your enterprise tier^[1][4]. Stytch matches the $125 connection rate with five free, which suits early B2B with a handful of enterprise logos^[3]. Clerk bundles B2B and SSO into its Business tier ($300/month) and a B2B add-on, so the cost is more of a flat platform fee than a per-connection charge^[2].

The practical implication: if you sell to enterprises and charge them for SSO, WorkOS's connection-based pricing lines up with revenue. If you want a flat, predictable B2B platform cost, Clerk's Business tier is simpler. Price your enterprise tier to cover the SSO connection cost; the SaaS pricing strategy calculator can help set that margin.

4. Worked cost example

A B2B SaaS with 30,000 MAU and 8 enterprise SSO connections, auth cost only:

Provider	MAU cost	SSO cost (8 connections)	Approx monthly
WorkOS	$0 (under 1M free)[1]	8 × $125 = $1,000[1]	~$1,000
Clerk	$0 (under 50K free) + $25 Pro[2]	Via Business/B2B tier[2]	$25 + enterprise tier
Stytch	30K MAU bills overage above the 10K free tier[3]	3 × $125 = $375 (5 free)[3]	~$375 + MAU overage

The arithmetic: WorkOS is $0 on MAU (well under 1M free) plus 8 × $125 = $1,000 in SSO connections. Stytch includes the first 5 SSO free, so only 3 × $125 = $375 in connections, plus MAU overage above its 10K free tier (30K MAU bills the extra 20K). Clerk's 30K MAU is under its 50K free tier, so the MAU side is just the $25 Pro base, with enterprise SSO routed through its Business tier. The ranking depends heavily on how many SSO connections you run: Stytch's five free connections make it cheapest at low SSO counts, while WorkOS's free MAU dominates once user counts are large.

5. Decision guidance

• Consumer app, many users, little SSO: WorkOS AuthKit, free to 1M MAU.
• Early B2B, a handful of enterprise logos: Stytch, with 5 SSO connections and 10K MAU free.
• B2B selling SSO to enterprises, want it to track deals: WorkOS per-connection at $125 each.
• Want a flat, predictable B2B platform fee: Clerk Business at $300/mo.
• Small app under free limits: any of them at $0 to start; pick on developer experience.

Re-verify each pricing page before committing; auth pricing and free-tier MAU limits change. To fold auth into your wider tooling spend, use the AI stack cost calculator, and for the broader auth comparison see Clerk vs Auth0 vs Supabase Auth pricing.

All pricing figures verified against official pricing pages as of 2026-05-26.

Frequently asked questions

Which auth provider is cheapest for a B2B SaaS in 2026?

For a B2B SaaS that needs enterprise SSO, WorkOS is often cheapest at the start because AuthKit is free up to 1M monthly active users, and you only pay $125 per SSO connection when an enterprise customer needs it, all verified May 2026. Clerk charges a $25 Pro base plus per-MAU overage above its free 50K MAU, with a B2B add-on, so cost scales with users. Stytch is free to 10K MAU with 5 SSO connections included, then $125 per extra connection. If your model passes SSO cost to enterprise buyers, WorkOS's per-connection pricing maps cleanly to revenue. For consumer apps with many users, the MAU model matters more than SSO.

How does WorkOS pricing differ from Clerk and Stytch?

WorkOS prices the enterprise plumbing: AuthKit is free up to 1M MAU, and you pay per SSO or Directory Sync connection ($125 each, with volume discounts). Clerk prices the full user-management product per MAU, with a $25 Pro base and overage above 50K MAU. Stytch is pay-as-you-go from a $0 base with 10K MAU and 5 SSO connections free, then per-MAU and $125 per extra connection. So WorkOS shifts cost onto enterprise SSO needs, while Clerk and Stytch tie more of the cost to user count. The right model depends on whether your spend should track users or enterprise deals.

Do I pay per user or per SSO connection?

It depends on the provider and your app. Clerk and Stytch primarily meter monthly active users, so a high-traffic consumer app pays mostly on user count, with SSO as an add-on. WorkOS flips this: AuthKit user management is free to 1M MAU and the meaningful cost is per SSO/SCIM connection at $125 each. For a B2B SaaS selling to enterprises, per-connection pricing lets you charge enterprise customers for SSO and pass the cost through. For a consumer product with millions of free users and rare SSO, per-MAU pricing can dominate, making WorkOS's free MAU tier attractive.