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Clerk vs Supabase Auth
Use Clerk when sign-in is the piece you want done, and the database lives somewhere else. Use Supabase Auth when you already chose Supabase for the data, because auth is part of that project. Clerk Hobby includes 50,000 monthly retained users and cannot remove branding. Supabase Free includes 50,000 monthly active users. Those are not the same unit, so do not treat the caps as equal.
Honest pick if you only need login components: Clerk. Honest pick if the users and the rows should live in one Supabase project: Supabase Auth.
Prices were checked October 15, 2026 on the official pages linked in the table. A number that was not printed there stays TBD. Pair pages that repeat a full guide are not listed here. Those guides stay the canonical page.
Comparison
Prices checked on the official pages linked in the cells.
| Tool | Best for | Free | Paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clerk (opens in a new tab) | Sign-in UI, with the database elsewhere | Hobby is free and does not need a credit card. Up to 50,000 monthly retained users per app, 3 dashboard seats, and up to 3 social connections. A custom domain is included. Branding cannot be removed. MFA, passkeys, SMS, and SSO connections are not included. Session lifetime is fixed at 7 days. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://clerk.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). | Pro is $25 a month, or $20 a month billed annually. It includes 50,000 monthly retained users, then $0.02 a month each. One SSO connection is included, then $75 a month each. Pro can remove branding and adds MFA and passkeys. Business is $300 a month, or $250 billed annually. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://clerk.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). |
| Supabase Auth (opens in a new tab) | Login that sits on the Supabase project | $0, included with the Supabase project. 50,000 monthly active users. The free project also includes a 500 MB database and pauses after 1 week idle. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://supabase.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). | Supabase Pro starts at $25 a month and includes 100,000 monthly active users, then $0.00325 each. The $25 also covers the database compute credit for one Micro project. Checked October 15, 2026 on https://supabase.com/pricing (opens in a new tab). |
Who each tool is for
Clerk
You want hosted sign-in, user buttons, and social login, and you will keep Postgres, Convex, or another database as a separate choice.
Supabase Auth
You already picked Supabase for the tables, and you want email login or OAuth in that same project.
One downside each
- Clerk. Hobby shows Clerk branding, and MFA is not on that plan. A monthly retained user is someone who comes back after the day they signed up. That is not the same count as a monthly active user.
- Supabase Auth. You build more of the sign-in screen yourself. The auth quota is tied to the project, so an idle free project still pauses after a week.
Questions
Is 50,000 on Clerk the same as 50,000 on Supabase?
No. Clerk Hobby counts monthly retained users: a user who visits at least one day after signing up. The first day is not counted. Supabase Free counts monthly active users. Do not convert one number into the other. Both caps were checked October 15, 2026.
Can I use Clerk and Supabase together?
Yes. Clerk handles sign-in, and Supabase holds the rows. You then have two bills once you leave the free plans: Clerk Pro at $25 a month and Supabase Pro at $25 a month. If the only reason you wanted Supabase was login, you may not need both.
Which free plan lets me remove branding?
Neither, for the thing people mean by branding. Clerk Hobby cannot remove branding. Supabase does not add a Clerk-style auth badge in the pricing table we checked. Lovable and Bolt badges are a different product and are covered on https://buildstackweekly.com/best-ai-landing-page-builder (opens in a new tab).
What does SSO cost?
Clerk Pro includes 1 SSO connection, then $75 a month each. SSO is not on Clerk Hobby. A separate Supabase SSO price was not the number we used for this page, so a Supabase-only SSO add-on stays TBD. The Pro plan price that includes auth capacity is $25 a month.
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