Clerk vs Descope pricing: which is cheaper for your team?
Clerk's cheapest paid tier (Pro) lists at $20/month, which beats the other on entry pricing. Mid-tier and enterprise math can flip the answer — use the per-tier table below to see the real cost for your team size at each tier.
Calculate the cost for your team
Clerk pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hobby | $0 | $0 | month | Up to 50,000 MRUs, 3 dashboard seats |
| Pro | $25 | $20 | month | 50,000 MAUs included, then tiered overage |
| Business | $300 | $250 | month | Higher allowances and B2B features |
Descope pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | $0 | $0 | month | 7,500 MAUs, 10 tenants, 3 SSO connections |
| Pro | $249 | $249 | month | 10,000 MAUs, 35 tenants, 5 SSO connections |
| Growth | $799 | $799 | month | 25,000 MAUs, 100 tenants, 10 SSO connections |
Feature by feature
The non-pricing differences that drive the real decision.
| Capability | Clerk | Descope |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | month | month |
| Pricing model | Flat tier plus MRU and SMS usage | Tiered MAU and connection allowances |
| Cheapest paid tier | Pro at $20/month | Pro at $249/month |
| Mid-tier benchmark | Business at $250/month | Growth at $799/month |
| Total paid tiers published | 2 | 2 |
| Last verified | 2026-05-17 | 2026-05-17 |
Best for…
Hand-picked use cases mapped to the winner.
| Use case | Winner |
|---|---|
| Lowest entry price (10-person team) | Clerk Pro |
| Most pricing tiers (room to grow) | Clerk (2 tiers) |
| Predictable per-seat billing | Neither (both flat/usage) |
| Most recently verified pricing | Clerk |
Choose Clerk when
- Developer-first auth with generous free MAU allowance.
- Entry tier (Pro) at $20/month is your budget ceiling.
- Enterprise tier annual-only with custom MAU allocation, negotiated SMS pricing, and dedicated support. Pricing is quote-only.
Choose Descope when
- Tier-based CIAM with included MAU, tenant, and SSO connection allowances.
- Entry tier (Pro) at $249/month is your budget ceiling.
- Enterprise includes custom MAU/tenant/connection limits, bot protection, SCIM provisioning, custom deployments, and unlimited test users. Tiered volume discounts.
Switching considerations
Watch the hidden fees on both sides. Clerk: MAU overage: $0.02/MAU above 50,000, scaling down to $0.012 at 10M+ Descope: Usage-based overages on MAUs above tier allowance Always confirm with the vendor before purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper for a 10-person team, Clerk or Descope?
At entry tier and 10 seats on annual billing: Clerk Pro comes to $20/mo; Descope Pro comes to $249/mo. Clerk is the cheaper entry-tier choice at this team size.
Does Clerk have more pricing tiers than Descope?
Both publish 2 paid tiers. The mid-tier benchmark is Business for Clerk and Growth for Descope.
Which pricing was verified more recently?
Clerk's pricing was last verified 2026-05-17; Descope's on 2026-05-17. Both pages link to the vendor's official pricing source so you can re-check before committing.