WorkOS vs Clerk vs Stytch Pricing 2026: SSO and MAU

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 on 2026-10-11.

Provider	Free tier	Paid base	SSO connection
WorkOS	AuthKit free to 1M users[1]	$2,500/mo per extra 1M users[1]	$125 (1-15), $100 (16-30), $80 (31-50), $65 (51-100)[1]
Clerk	50,000 retained users free[2]	Pro $25/mo ($20 annual) + $0.02 per extra user[2]	1 included on Pro; $75 (2-15), $60 (16-100)[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 1 million users and monetizes connections; Clerk gives 50,000 retained users and one connection on Pro; Stytch gives 10,000 MAU plus five connections free^[1][2][3]. WorkOS is cheapest for a high-user, low-SSO app; Stytch is cheapest for a small app with a few enterprise logos. For Clerk's full price list, see Clerk pricing 2026.

2. The two cost drivers: MAU and SSO

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

• Users: Clerk charges per retained user above 50,000 (from $0.02 down to $0.012 at scale); Stytch meters MAU above its 10,000 free tier; WorkOS gives 1 million users free, then $2,500 a month per additional million^[1][2][3].
• SSO and SCIM connections: WorkOS charges $125 per connection with volume discounts to $65; Stytch charges $125 after five free; Clerk charges $75 after one included on Pro, $60 from the 16th^[1][2][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 now prices connections too: one is included on Pro, extra ones cost $75 a month each, and linking enterprise connections to customer organizations needs the Enhanced B2B add-on at $100 a month ($85 annually)^[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 the lowest per-connection rate below 16 connections, Clerk's $75 is the cheapest of the three after Stytch's free five. 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 + $100 Enhanced B2B[2]	1 included + 7 × $75 = $525[2]	$650
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 users plus 8 × $125 = $1,000 in connections. Clerk is $25 for Pro, $100 for the B2B add-on and 7 × $75 = $525 for the connections beyond the one included, so $650. Stytch includes five connections, so 3 × $125 = $375, plus its metered charge for the 20,000 users above the free 10,000. Stytch's five free connections make it cheapest at low SSO counts; WorkOS's free users dominate once user counts are large.

5. Decision guidance

• Consumer app, many users, little SSO: WorkOS AuthKit, free to 1 million users.
• 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 prebuilt B2B components and cheap extra connections: Clerk Pro with the Enhanced B2B add-on, $75 per connection after the first.
• 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 on 2026-10-11.

Frequently asked questions

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

It depends on how many enterprise SSO connections you run. Stytch includes five SSO or SCIM connections free, so it is cheapest for a handful of enterprise customers. Clerk Pro includes one connection and charges $75 a month for each additional one up to 15, plus $100 a month for the Enhanced B2B add-on that links SSO to organizations. WorkOS charges $125 per connection but gives AuthKit user management free up to 1 million users. Verified on each vendor's pricing page on 2026-10-11.

How does WorkOS pricing differ from Clerk and Stytch?

WorkOS prices the enterprise plumbing: AuthKit is free up to 1 million users, then $2,500 a month per additional million, and you pay per SSO or Directory Sync connection at $125 each for the first 15, falling to $65 at 51-100. Clerk prices users above 50,000 retained users at $0.02 each and enterprise connections at $75 each after the first. Stytch is pay as you go from $0 with 10,000 MAU and five connections free, then $125 per extra connection plus a metered per-user rate.

Do I pay per user or per SSO connection?

Both, with different weights. Clerk and Stytch meter users above their free tiers and also charge per extra SSO connection ($75 at Clerk after the first, $125 at Stytch after five). WorkOS flips the weight: AuthKit user management is free to 1 million users and the meaningful cost is per SSO or 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-user pricing dominates, which makes WorkOS's free 1-million-user tier attractive.