WorkOS vs Clerk pricing: which is cheaper for your team?
WorkOS's cheapest paid tier (AuthKit Tier 1) lists at $1/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
WorkOS pricing tiers
| Tier | Monthly | Annual (eq) | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AuthKit Tier 1 | $1 | $1 | month | First 1M MAUs free, no charge for AuthKit baseline |
| SSO 1-15 connections | $125 | $125 | connection/month | $125 per SSO/SCIM connection in first tier |
| SSO 16-30 connections | $100 | $100 | connection/month | 20% volume discount band |
| SSO 31-50 connections | $80 | $80 | connection/month | 36% volume discount band |
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 |
Feature by feature
The non-pricing differences that drive the real decision.
| Capability | WorkOS | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| Billing model | month | month |
| Pricing model | Per-connection plus usage | Flat tier plus MRU and SMS usage |
| Cheapest paid tier | AuthKit Tier 1 at $1/month | Pro at $20/month |
| Mid-tier benchmark | SSO 16-30 connections at $100/connection/month | Business at $250/month |
| Total paid tiers published | 4 | 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) | WorkOS AuthKit Tier 1 |
| Most pricing tiers (room to grow) | WorkOS (4 tiers) |
| Predictable per-seat billing | Neither (both flat/usage) |
| Most recently verified pricing | WorkOS |
Choose WorkOS when
- Pay-per-connection model for SSO and Directory Sync.
- Entry tier (AuthKit Tier 1) at $1/month is your budget ceiling.
- Annual Credits plan offers pre-pay discounts, 99.99% SLA, and migration assistance. 200+ connections priced by quote.
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.
Switching considerations
Watch the hidden fees on both sides. WorkOS: Audit Logs: $125/month per SIEM connection plus $99/month per 1M events Clerk: MAU overage: $0.02/MAU above 50,000, scaling down to $0.012 at 10M+ Always confirm with the vendor before purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper for a 10-person team, WorkOS or Clerk?
At entry tier and 10 seats on annual billing: WorkOS AuthKit Tier 1 comes to $1/mo; Clerk Pro comes to $20/mo. WorkOS is the cheaper entry-tier choice at this team size.
Does WorkOS have more pricing tiers than Clerk?
WorkOS publishes more paid tiers (4 vs 2). More tiers usually means more granular ways to grow without re-platforming.
Which pricing was verified more recently?
WorkOS's pricing was last verified 2026-05-17; Clerk's on 2026-05-17. Both pages link to the vendor's official pricing source so you can re-check before committing.