Clerk vs Stack Auth.
Last verified 2026-05-07
When Clerk wins
- Clerk has SOC 2 Type II; Stack Auth does partially
- Clerk has auth: sms otp; Stack Auth does not
- Clerk has SAML SSO; Stack Auth does partially
- Clerk has auth: step up auth; Stack Auth does partially
- Clerk has user mgmt: progressive profiling; Stack Auth does not
- Clerk has bot detection; Stack Auth does not
When Stack Auth wins
- Stack Auth has local emulator for development; Clerk does not
Both win
- Both support WebAuthn passkeys natively
- Both support social login at scale
Pricing comparison
| MAU band | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 MAU | $25/mo | $0/mo |
| 100,000 MAU | $800/mo | $290/mo |
| 500,000 MAU | $2,800/mo | $1,300/mo |
| 1,000,000 MAU | $5,500/mo | $2,600/mo |
Side-by-side capability matrix
| Capability | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Password authentication | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Social login | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Magic links | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SMS OTP | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Email OTP | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| TOTP (authenticator app) | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Push MFA | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| WebAuthn / passkeys | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Biometric | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Hardware security keys | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SAML SSO | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| OIDC SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| OAuth 2.0 SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Enterprise federation | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Passwordless-only flows | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Adaptive MFA | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Step-up auth | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| RBAC | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| ABAC | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| ReBAC | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| FGA engine | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| API authorization | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Fine-grained permissions | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service registration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Progressive profiling | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Self-service account | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Bulk user import | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Admin user search | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Custom user metadata | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Organizations / tenants | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Multi-tenancy | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GraphQL API | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| SDKs | 9 listed | 4 listed |
| CLI | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Terraform provider | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Local emulator | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| Extension model | Webhooks + JWT templates | Server functions + webhooks |
| Capability | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Bot detection | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Breached password detection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Brute-force protection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Anomaly detection | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Log streams | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Audit logs | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GDPR data export | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| PII minimization | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Post-quantum roadmap | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Capability | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| MCP support | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| OAuth 2.1 | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Dynamic client registration | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Agent vs human token separation | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Web Bot Auth | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Capability | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| ISO 27001 | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| ISO 27018 | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| HIPAA | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| PCI DSS | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| GDPR | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| CCPA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| FedRAMP | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| EU data residency | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Clerk | Stack Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Consent management | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Preference center | ~ Partial | ✕ No |
| Purpose-specific consent | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Integrates with CMPs | n/a | n/a |
FAQ
- How does Clerk compare to Stack Auth on pricing?
- Clerk prices on tiered-mau; Stack Auth prices on tiered-mau. See the pricing comparison table on this page for our editorial estimates at 10k / 100k / 500k / 1M MAU using the standard methodology assumptions.
- Should I switch from Clerk to Stack Auth?
- Switching is a 60–90 day exercise in either direction once SDK rewrites and hooks/Actions migration are accounted for. If your team is hitting cost or feature ceilings on Clerk, evaluate Stack Auth on the specific axes flagged in the "When Stack Auth wins" list. If you're operating well within Clerk, the switching cost rarely pays back.
- Do Clerk and Stack Auth both support passkeys?
- Both Clerk and Stack Auth support WebAuthn passkeys natively per public documentation. Adoption rates depend on orchestration quality (device-aware prompting, conditional UI), not raw protocol support, see the passwordless guide for the orchestration question.
This comparison is auto-generated from the underlying capability matrix and pricing data on each vendor's profile. Editorial verdict lists below are seeded heuristically from the matrix diff; a maintainer review refines them before the page goes public.