“Clerk makes it super easy to handle auth state in our app, handle user roles and permissions, and add the latest sign-in methods.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +2 · source ↗
Clerk
Hosted user management with drop-in sign-in UI components, sessions and organizations.
Works with AI agents:llms.txtMCPCLIBuilt into ReplitClerk is a hosted user-management service. Instead of writing sign-up, sign-in, password reset, MFA and profile screens yourself, you add Clerk's components to your app and Clerk stores the users, runs the flows and keeps the sessions.
Each Clerk application gets its own Frontend API instance, located through your publishable key, plus a Backend API you call with a secret key for admin work like listing or banning users. Sessions use a hybrid model: a long-lived client token sits on Clerk's domain, while your app receives a session JWT that lives only 60 seconds and that the frontend SDK refreshes in the background, so your server just verifies a signature on each request. Official SDKs cover Next.js, React, Expo, Astro, Nuxt, Vue, React Router, TanStack Start, native iOS and Android, with backend SDKs for Express, Fastify, Go, Python, Ruby and others.
For a small team the useful pieces are the prebuilt components (styleable with CSS, though their markup and flow order are fixed), Organizations with roles for B2B apps, enterprise SSO over SAML or OIDC with directory sync, and built-in bot protection, breached-password checks and account lockout. Clerk is cloud-only and runs in the US.
It is a poor fit if you need user data held in a specific region (Clerk does not offer data residency) or want users in your own database; you sync what you need through webhooks or the Backend API. Once or twice a year a maintenance window blocks new sign-ins while signed-in users keep access.
Where it fits
How Clerk itself is built
4 tools, from its own code, website and Product Hunt page.
Who uses it
307 makers' products, each linked to the source that shows it, and 11 open-source projects that declare it in their code.
“Auth done right. Drop it in, configure, move on. We never think about login flows.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +2 · source ↗“Auth is one of those things you cannot get wrong when you're plugged into a team's Salesforce and their data. Clerk let us get secure sign in and user management right from day one, without building it ourselves.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +2 · source ↗“We needed production-ready authentication without slowing the team down. Clerk let us ship securely from day one and stay focused on core product work. Setup was fast, UX is polished out of the box, and it scales cleanly without us constantly revisiting edge cases.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +2 · source ↗“We needed auth that handles both individual users and multi-tenant organizations out of the box. Clerk gave us JWT-based auth, org management, RBAC, and webhook sync — all with a clean React SDK and middleware for Next.js. We evaluated Auth0 (too complex for our stage), Supabase Auth (no native org support), and NextAuth (too much DIY). Clerk let us ship secure multi-tenant auth in days instead of weeks, so we could focus on the RAG pipeline instead of reinventing session management.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +2 · source ↗“Clerk helps us with handling the user and workspaces identities with beautiful components”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Authentication, sign-in/up, and user management”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Authentication is a breeze with this”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Even sitting on Supabase, I reached for Clerk because its prebuilt components got sign-in, sessions, and social login working in about an hour, and they look good out of the box. Auth0 is powerful but heavier than I needed for launch speed.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Authentication is one of those areas where mistakes can become security problems. Clerk allowed us to implement secure sign-in, session management, and user onboarding while keeping the experience smooth for developers using ZenVeil.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Fast and easy setup for auth and user management”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Clerk makes authentication a breeze and would recommend for all SaaS.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Auth that took an afternoon to wire up instead of a sprint. EmailTemple's free tier means thousands of signups need to just work — Clerk handles the whole sign-up / sign-in / webhook flow, and the server-side auth() API plays clean with Next.js App Router. Worth it for the time alone.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Clerk handled auth out of the box so we could focus on building the actual product. GitHub OAuth, session management, and user management all done in a day. For a small team shipping fast, that time saving was the deciding factor.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“I would ship as fast if I wasnt using Clerk. I use it for all my products, has a good free tier and it's customisation is so advanced as you want it to be, su all scenario's are achievable. Su”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Easy to set up and works great for the whole team to welcome and check on new users.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Easy setup! Generous plans!”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Has made our ability to manage onboarding super seamless - good out of the box functionality and ecosystem of integrations.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“It has a very straight forward interface and connectivity with backend is easy”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Easy to set up. Great for solo developers.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Clerk helps manage sign ups & secure authentication.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Clerk makes auth integration super simple. From magic links to social logins, it just works out of the box, saving us tons of time.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗“Used Clerk for authentication. It was seamless.”
AuthenticationMaker says so +1 · source ↗Open source: a project that declares Clerk as a dependency in its public code — verifiable, but not necessarily a live product.
What makers say
75 makers on why they use Clerk, in their own words on Product Hunt.
Quiver is multi-tenant from the first line: a workspace IS a Clerk Organization, not a row we invented. That removed a quarter of work. We never built an invites table, a roles system, or a members screen. OrganizationProfile is the team page, and seat limits are enforced by maxAllowedMemberships, so hitting a plan cap happens inside Clerk's own invite flow instead of a custom error page nobody reads. What actually decided it: Clerk is also an OAuth authorization server, with dynamic client registration and PKCE. That is what let Claude.ai connect to a customer's Quiver workspace as a custom connector. We pointed our MCP server at Clerk and shipped. Everything else we looked at would have meant standing up our own authorization server first.
Clerk makes authentication effortless, with a developer-friendly API and prebuilt UI components that save time. Unlike Auth0 or Firebase Auth, Clerk provides first-class support for modern frameworks like Next.js and integrates seamlessly with Supabase and Vercel. The built-in user management, multi-factor auth, and social logins simplify everything, while its flexible session management ensures security without complexity. For PullSense, it made user authentication seamless without the usual headaches.
Pull SenseSep 2026 ↗We initially began building user management in-house but quickly realized that creating a secure and seamless user experience involved more complexity than anticipated. It was clear that continuing down this path would pull valuable engineering resources away from our core product. Clerk provided a comprehensive solution, covering everything from account life cycle to payment integration. This shift allowed us to focus on our primary goals while still ensuring a great user experience.
AgentQLSep 2026 ↗We needed auth that handles both individual users and multi-tenant organizations out of the box. Clerk gave us JWT-based auth, org management, RBAC, and webhook sync — all with a clean React SDK and middleware for Next.js. We evaluated Auth0 (too complex for our stage), Supabase Auth (no native org support), and NextAuth (too much DIY). Clerk let us ship secure multi-tenant auth in days instead of weeks, so we could focus on the RAG pipeline instead of reinventing session management.
IgnitionRAGSep 2026 ↗We use Clerk to handle all our user sign-ups and auth flows so we didn't have to build auth logic from scratch. It gives us straightforward role and permission management out of the box, which keeps our app's access control clean. On top of that, the built-in user impersonation is great for me (as a non technical founder) we can jump directly into a user's account to see their exact view, reproduce bugs as them and (if we have the bandwidth) fix bugs in near real time as a byproduct.
OutcomeSep 2026 ↗Loved and watch-outs
Themes that recur in makers' words and Hacker News comments, each linked to what it summarises, with how Product Hunt tags its reviews.
- Sign-up, sign-in, sessions and social login get wired in an afternoon instead of a sprint. PHPH 2
- Organizations, roles and billing come built in, covering multi-tenant B2B apps without custom identity work. PHPH 2
- Prebuilt UI components, including profile and settings pages, look polished out of the box. PH
- Tight Next.js integration, with a server-side auth helper and middleware for the App Router. PH
Reliability and open issues
- minor Dashboard increased latency Oct 2026
- minor Development instances only - Apple rejecting emails Sep 2026
- minor Delays in webhook delivery Sep 2026
Who switches
Public pull requests on GitHub since Oct 2024 whose title says "X to Y" — real code changes moving a project from one tool to another, by developers in general. Open a row to see the pull requests.
Supabase → Clerk54 PRs
- Migrate SpendWise from Supabase to Neon and Clerkderlinromero/SpendWise · 2026-09-28
- feat: migrate authentication from Supabase Auth to Clerkfreathedge/operationshub · 2026-09-25
- Migrate Supabase Auth to Clerk AuthenticationArxov/farmer-procurement · 2026-09-19
- Switch auth from Supabase to Clerkjefebcn/hyroxsetup · 2026-09-10
- Migrate authentication from Supabase to Clerk with email OTPzarintasnimfema7/Campus_Path · 2026-09-03
- Migrate authentication from Supabase to Clerk with email OTPzarintasnimfema7/Campus_Path · 2026-09-03
- Migrate web auth from Supabase Auth to Clerk (keep Supabase DB)noahpeden/halteres.ai · 2026-08-30
- Migrate authentication from Supabase to ClerkSchroederNathan/Medley · 2026-08-07
- feat: migrate auth from Supabase Auth to Clerkvidhyaranganathan/myedbc-course-explorer · 2026-07-30
- Migrate authentication from Supabase Auth to Clerk (Phases 1-5)azhar-zuberi/digital-hangar-mobile · 2026-07-29
Firebase → Clerk9 PRs
- Migrate Google auth from Firebase to Clerk and remove Firebase artifactsYosserDerbali/AgriTech · 2026-04-29
- feat: migrate from Firebase to Clerk + SupabaseNeurogrowth-Labs/AfriSommelier- · 2026-04-25
- Switched from firebase auth to clerk auth. Logout now requires additional confirmationselimdilsadercan/togethr-frontend · 2025-12-09
- Migrate from Firebase to Clerk authenticationjhu-oose-f25/Team-Jay · 2025-12-01
- changed auth from firebase to clerkETLOnline/PromptCompetition2025 · 2025-11-23
- Complete firebase to hygraph and clerk migrationkn-ui/new-github-account-test · 2025-10-12
- Migrate backend from firebase to hygraph and clerkkn-ui/new-github-account-test · 2025-10-11
- Migrate authentication from firebase to clerkkn-ui/new-github-account-test · 2025-10-08
- Major update: changed the entire auth from Firebase to Clerk07sagarsaha/petConnect-React · 2025-04-02
Auth0 → Clerk6 PRs
- Add the Auth0 to Clerk migration field reportshane-kercheval/tiddly · 2026-08-06
- Migrate auth provider from Auth0 to Clerkwwchen/roadtrip · 2026-08-01
- Flip web frontend from Auth0 to Clerkshane-kercheval/tiddly · 2026-07-13
- feat(auth): migrate authentication from Auth0 to Clerkcodeweaves/codeweaves-platform · 2026-06-07
- Migrate admin app from Auth0 to ClerkRanidu-Ravishka/daylog-smart-diary · 2026-02-11
- changing auth0 to clerk and awaiting id's errorrpxexe/AssetsVista · 2026-02-09
Better Auth → Clerk4 PRs
- fix: migrate auth from Better Auth to Clerkmarcojsmith/AgriBid · 2026-09-05
- Migrate authentication from Better Auth to Clerkrobertguss/web-app-starter-kit · 2026-08-05
- refactor: migrate authentication from Better Auth to Clerkbashirahmedchandio1/workos-ai · 2026-07-21
- Auth: remove Better Auth and cut over to Clerkprazgaitis/march-fit · 2026-02-25
WorkOS → Clerk4 PRs
- Migrate auth from WorkOS to ClerkFRC4392/DeceptiveHours · 2026-07-07
- Migrate auth from WorkOS to Clerkdanielnogueira8/LinkedInViralPostsSwipeFile · 2026-05-20
- feat: Migrate auth from WorkOS to ClerkShimizu-Technology/cornerstone-payroll · 2026-02-24
- Refactor: Migrate from WorkOS to Clerk authflyweightdev/convex-paddle · 2026-02-09
Clerk → Supabase53 PRs
- Migrate customer web auth from Clerk to Supabaseevery1hatestaha-png/busniessOS · 2026-09-27
- Connect Clerk users to Supabase profileshimavolt3569-design/goreto · 2026-09-25
- Migrate from Clerk to Supabase AuthDRG-X/Vaulto · 2026-09-20
- Connect Clerk to Supabase via third-party auth and link profilesAadvait-Hirde/KTP-Indiana · 2026-09-09
- feat: migrate from Clerk+NeoDB to Supabase Auth+DBcrewcircle/crewRoster · 2026-07-23
- Migrate portal authentication from Clerk to Supabase Authtoddkidneyjourney1/lab-test · 2026-07-06
- Migrate auth from Clerk to native Supabase Authjonasbager/applicator-hub · 2026-06-18
- Migrate from Clerk to Supabase AuthMasterSoler/mcp-chat · 2026-06-11
- SCRUM-21 Sync Clerk Users to Supabase DatabaseAAK-Developers/centraleats-backend · 2026-06-08
- test(e2e): migrate auth mock from Clerk to Supabase AuthBonham-Technologies/ESCAPESUITE · 2026-06-08
Clerk → Better Auth33 PRs
- feat: migrate from Clerk to Better AuthGoogle-Developer-Group-on-Campus-CTU/gdg-ctu-website · 2026-09-23
- feat(auth): Clerk to self-managed Better Auth cutovercoderclub-team/pixaPOS · 2026-09-18
- refactor: migrate authentication from Clerk to Better Authnomtan/cat-sns-app · 2026-09-03
- Migrate authentication from Clerk to Better AuthRookledger/GroundworkOS · 2026-08-28
- Migrate authentication from Clerk to Better AuthRookledger/GroundworkOS · 2026-08-28
- feat(auth): migrate Tinlance from Clerk to Better Auth + NeonLloydCoder/Tinlance · 2026-08-17
- feat: migrate from Clerk to self-hosted Better Auth (ADR-031)woosung-dev/kairos · 2026-08-16
- Migrate authentication from Clerk to Better AuthDawnMD/tutor-os · 2026-08-09
- P0: migrate iOS auth from Clerk SDK to Jovie Better AuthJovieInc/LogYourBody · 2026-07-25
- Migrate auth from Clerk to Better Auth (passkeys + email OTP)g30r93g/ID-Game · 2026-07-10
Clerk → Firebase8 PRs
- Changed auth method from clerk to firebase and changed the sign in and sign up layoutHumairAli26/BizSync · 2026-07-19
- feat: migrate authentication from Clerk to Firebase and update user h…JayPanchal-15092005/Chat_App_Backend · 2026-06-17
- feat: migrate authentication from Clerk to FirebaseJayPanchal-15092005/Chat_App · 2026-06-17
- feat(auth): migrate from Clerk to Firebase authenticationSumitPatel-HQ/QueryCraft · 2026-04-01
- Switch from Clerk to FirebaseCarlo-Lepejian-Official/Calories-Tracker · 2025-11-26
- feat!: move clerk authentication to firebase authenticationpallabmaiti/expense-tracker · 2025-05-06
- Migrate from clerk to firebasewarrenrhodes/store · 2025-03-01
- Migration from Clerk to Firebasecode-techhb/goals_tracker · 2025-01-02
Clerk → WorkOS6 PRs
- feat: migrate auth from Clerk to WorkOS AuthKitddelvalfraire/poc-workout-tracker · 2026-08-20
- feat(auth): migrate from Clerk to WorkOS AuthKitthefappybird/gallurio · 2026-06-13
- Migrate auth from Clerk to WorkOS + nav & pricing improvementshimayat-commits/growth-hub · 2026-05-16
- attempt to convert from clerk to workosNathanGrace/barely-my-sveltekit-template · 2026-03-29
- attempt to convert from clerk to workosdavis7dotsh/my-sveltekit-template · 2026-03-29
- feat: Migrate authentication from Clerk to WorkOS AuthKitZapdev-labs/zapdev · 2025-11-28
Clerk → Auth03 PRs
- feat(auth): migrate authentication from Clerk to Auth0ShlokRamteke/cipherForms · 2026-08-22
- Migrate authentication from Clerk to Auth0jay-lchicken/ClassHomework · 2026-01-08
- feat: migrate from Clerk to Auth0 authenticationsuperset-sh/superset · 2025-12-13
Alternatives to Clerk
All alternatives by situation →On Product Hunt, people weigh it against: PropelAuth, WorkOS, Auth0, Stytch, Kinde, Hexclave (Stack Auth), Descope, BoxyHQ, Appwrite, Logto.
Questions makers ask about Clerk
Which frameworks and languages does Clerk support?
Clerk maintains SDKs for Next.js, React, Expo, Astro, Nuxt, Vue, React Router, TanStack Start, Chrome extensions, Electron, iOS and Android, plus backend SDKs for Express, Fastify, Go, Python, Ruby on Rails, Java, PHP and C#. SvelteKit, Angular, Hono and Flutter are covered by community-maintained SDKs. source ↗
Can I export my users if I leave Clerk?
Yes. Admins can export a CSV of all users from the dashboard, and the export includes password hashes so users can keep their passwords in the next system. source ↗
Can I import users from another auth provider?
Yes. You create users through the Backend API's CreateUser endpoint, passing existing password hashes and the algorithm used, or use Clerk's open-source migration tool that reads JSON or CSV. A gradual trickle migration is also documented. Existing sessions end at cutover, and users cannot be moved from a development instance to production. source ↗
Where is user data stored, and is it GDPR compliant?
Clerk is hosted in the US and does not offer regional data residency. EU, UK and Swiss data is transferred under the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework, and a DPA is published. source ↗
Is Clerk SOC 2 and HIPAA compliant?
Clerk has held SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA since May 2022. The SOC 2 report is available on the Business plan and above, and a HIPAA BAA is signed only on the Enterprise plan. source ↗
What happens to my app during Clerk maintenance?
Once or twice a year Clerk enters maintenance mode: signed-in users stay signed in and sessions keep refreshing, but new sign-ups, sign-ins and changes to user or organization data return a 503 error until it ends. source ↗
What are Clerk's API rate limits?
The Backend API allows 1,000 requests per 10 seconds on production instances and 100 on development instances, with tighter limits on some endpoints such as invitations. Sign-in and sign-up attempts from the frontend are limited per IP address. source ↗
Does Clerk support enterprise SSO?
Yes. It supports SAML and OIDC enterprise connections with providers such as Okta, Microsoft Entra ID and Google Workspace, along with just-in-time provisioning and SCIM directory sync. source ↗
Is Clerk free?
Yes — there is a free tier a small product can run on; paid use starts at $25/mo. source ↗
Is Clerk open source or self-hostable?
Not open source, and hosted only.
Can AI coding agents work with Clerk?
It serves an llms.txt docs index; it has an official MCP server (io.github.clerk/mcp-server); it has an official CLI (clerk); Replit set it up natively.
Who uses Clerk?
307 makers' products we track, each with a source, and 11 open-source projects declare it in their code. source ↗