Clerk
Cheaper for 10 people
From$25/mo
10 people: $25 a month · $300 a year
- Free plan (Hobby)
- No yearly discount listed
- No startup credits listed
- 3 plans · priced per plan
Clerk vs Descope: pricing compared
Plans, list prices and what a team of 5, 10 or 25 pays on each, from Surba's catalog of Engineering tools. Updated for 2026.
At a glance
Side by side
Clerk starts at $25/mo (Pro) and Descope at $249/mo (Pro). For 10 people that's $25 vs $249 a month: Clerk is $224 a month (90%) cheaper than Descope on list price.
Descope
Engineering
From$249/mo
10 people: $249 a month · $2,988 a year
- Free plan
- No yearly discount listed
- No startup credits listed
- 2 plans · priced per plan
Plans
Clerk and Descope plans
Every plan with a public price, in US dollars.
Clerk
Hobby
50,000 monthly retained users/app · Up to 3 dashboard seats · Unlimited applications
Free
Pro
50,000 MRUs included per app · MFA and passkeys · Remove Clerk branding
$25/mo
Business
10 dashboard seats · SOC 2 report · Enhanced dashboard roles
$300/mo
Monthly-billing prices; annual billing is $20/mo Pro (20% off) and $250/mo Business (~17% off). Usage overage per monthly retained user beyond 50,000: $0.02 (to 100K), $0.018 (to 1M), $0.015 (to 10M), $0.012 above. Add-ons: SSO or Directory Sync connection $75/mo each, satellite domains $10/mo, SMS $0.01 (US/CA), B2B Enhanced and Administration Enhanced $100/mo each, Billing 0.7% of volume. Enterprise: contact sales.
Prices from Clerk's pricing page, checked 26 Oct 2026.
Descope
Free Forever
7,500 MAUs · All auth methods incl. MFA · RBAC and session management
Free
Pro
10,000 MAUs included · Custom domain · Google One Tap and custom OIDC
$249/mo
Pro is 'from $249/mo billed annually' (no monthly option), recorded as $2,988/yr. Overage is charged per MAU above the allocation, but the rate is not published. Growth (from $799/mo billed annually, 25,000 MAUs, SCIM, bot protection) and Enterprise: contact sales. Free Pro for one year via startup program.
Prices from Descope's pricing page, checked 26 Oct 2026.
Team cost
What each costs your team
Entry paid plans, per month and per year at list price.
| Team | Clerk (Pro) | Descope (Pro) | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 people | $25/mo$300/yr a year | $249/mo$2,988/yr a year | Clerk $224 less a month |
| 10 people | $25/mo$300/yr a year | $249/mo$2,988/yr a year | Clerk $224 less a month |
| 25 people | $25/mo$300/yr a year | $249/mo$2,988/yr a year | Clerk $224 less a month |
Clerk is priced per plan. Descope is priced per plan. Per-user prices are multiplied by the team; per-plan prices aren't. Before tax; yearly discounts not applied.
FAQ
Clerk vs Descope: questions
Which is cheaper, Clerk or Descope?
Clerk starts at $25/mo (Pro) and Descope at $249/mo (Pro). For 10 people that's $25 vs $249 a month: Clerk is $224 a month (90%) cheaper than Descope on list price. Compare features too: the cheaper plan isn't always the closer match.
Do Clerk and Descope have free plans?
Clerk has a free plan (Hobby). Descope has a free plan (Free Forever).
More comparisons
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Paying for Clerk or Descope? Track it in Surba.
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