Clerk vs Descope
Answer: As of 2026-10-31: Clerk and Descope tie at $0 for 1k users · no SSO; Clerk wins 10k users · 1 SSO at $25/mo ($2,688/yr less than Descope); Clerk wins 50k users · 5 SSO at $325/mo ($20,688/yr less than Descope); Clerk wins 100k users · 10 SSO at $1,700/mo ($34,188/yr less than Descope).
Cost by MAU (no SSO)
| Monthly users | Clerk | Descope |
|---|---|---|
| 10k users | $0 Hobby | $249 Pro |
| 50k users | $0 Hobby | $2,049 Growth |
| 100k users | $1,025 Pro | $4,549 Growth |
With enterprise SSO
| Scenario | Clerk | Descope |
|---|---|---|
| 1k users · no SSO | $0 Hobby | $0 Free Forever |
| 10k users · 1 SSO | $25 Pro | $249 Pro |
| 50k users · 5 SSO | $325 Pro | $2,049 Growth |
| 100k users · 10 SSO | $1,700 Pro | $4,549 Growth |
Cheapest verified plan per vendor, monthly USD list price. SSO users: Amazon Cognito, Supabase Auth and Firebase Auth / Identity Platform bill SAML/OIDC per SSO user, not per connection (first 50 free, then $0.015 per SSO user a month). Their SSO results here assume 200 SSO users per connection (5 connections = 1,000 SSO users). See how 1,000 or 2,000 per connection changes the result or set your own. How we calculate this.
Clerk
Hobby free to 50k MRU/app. Pro $25/mo ($20 annual) with 50k MRU + 1 SSO + 1 Directory Sync. Extra SSO $75 (2–15) then $60 (16–100) and $48 (101–250). Directory Sync billed from 2027-01-01.
Source: clerk.com/pricing · 2026-10-31
Descope
Free Forever $0: 7,500 MAU, 10 tenants, 3 SSO connections, no overages. Pro starts at $249/mo billed annually: 10,000 MAU then $0.05/MAU, 35 tenants then $1, 5 SSO then $50/connection. Growth starts at $799/mo: 25,000 MAU then $0.05/MAU, 100 tenants, 10 SSO then $50, SCIM. Enterprise: contact sales.
Source: www.descope.com/pricing · 2026-10-31
Also see: Clerk alternatives · Descope alternatives · all vendors by MAU · vs self-hosting (Better Auth / Auth.js)
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