Supabase Auth vs Clerk.
Last verified 2026-05-07
When Supabase Auth wins
- Supabase Auth has HIPAA; Clerk does partially
- Supabase Auth has authz: fine grained permissions; Clerk does partially
- Supabase Auth has Terraform provider; Clerk does not
- Supabase Auth has local emulator for development; Clerk does not
- Supabase Auth has security: log streams; Clerk does partially
When Clerk wins
- Clerk has SAML SSO; Supabase Auth does partially
- Clerk has OIDC SSO; Supabase Auth does partially
- Clerk has auth: step up auth; Supabase Auth does partially
- Clerk has authz: rbac; Supabase Auth does partially
- Clerk has user mgmt: progressive profiling; Supabase Auth does not
- Clerk has B2B Organizations / multi-tenant model; Supabase Auth does not
Both win
- Both support WebAuthn passkeys natively
- Both support social login at scale
- Both have SOC 2 Type II
Pricing comparison
| MAU band | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| 10,000 MAU | $25/mo | $25/mo |
| 100,000 MAU | $100/mo | $800/mo |
| 500,000 MAU | $600/mo | $2,800/mo |
| 1,000,000 MAU | $1,500/mo | $5,500/mo |
Side-by-side capability matrix
| Capability | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| Password authentication | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Social login | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Magic links | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| SMS OTP | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| 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 | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| OIDC SSO | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| OAuth 2.0 SSO | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Enterprise federation | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Passwordless-only flows | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Adaptive MFA | ✕ No | ~ Partial |
| Step-up auth | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| RBAC | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| ABAC | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| ReBAC | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| FGA engine | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| API authorization | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Fine-grained permissions | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Capability | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| Self-service registration | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Progressive profiling | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| Self-service account | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Bulk user import | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Admin user search | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Custom user metadata | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Organizations / tenants | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| Multi-tenancy | ~ Partial | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| REST API | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GraphQL API | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| SDKs | 14 listed | 9 listed |
| CLI | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Terraform provider | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Local emulator | ✓ Yes | ✕ No |
| Extension model | PostgreSQL Row-Level Security + Edge Functions for Auth Hooks | Webhooks + JWT templates |
| Capability | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| Bot detection | ✕ No | ✓ Yes |
| Breached password detection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Brute-force protection | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Anomaly detection | ✕ No | ~ Partial |
| Log streams | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| Audit logs | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| GDPR data export | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| PII minimization | ~ Partial | ~ Partial |
| Post-quantum roadmap | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Capability | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| SOC 2 Type II | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| ISO 27001 | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| ISO 27018 | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| HIPAA | ✓ Yes | ~ Partial |
| PCI DSS | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| GDPR | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| CCPA | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| FedRAMP | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| EU data residency | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Capability | Supabase Auth | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| Consent management | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Preference center | ✕ No | ~ Partial |
| Purpose-specific consent | ✕ No | ✕ No |
| Integrates with CMPs | n/a | n/a |
FAQ
- How does Supabase Auth compare to Clerk on pricing?
- Supabase Auth prices on tiered-mau; Clerk 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 Supabase Auth to Clerk?
- 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 Supabase Auth, evaluate Clerk on the specific axes flagged in the "When Clerk wins" list. If you're operating well within Supabase Auth, the switching cost rarely pays back.
- Do Supabase Auth and Clerk both support passkeys?
- Both Supabase Auth and Clerk 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.