Authentication · decision tool
What auth really costs at your scale
Every provider priced at YOUR monthly active users — free-tier ceilings, per-user overages and the cliffs between them, from verified pricing pages.
Prices verified 2026-07-15 against official pricing pages · fit weights are our estimates (see methodology) · share the URL to share your configuration
As of Jul 2026, with 150,000 monthly active users, a $50 budget for this slot, WorkOS ranks first for these inputs at 96% fit and a StackSays-estimated $0/month (Better Auth: 77% fit, $0/month). Fit weights are our estimates; prices trace to official pages. Change any input below and the verdict recomputes.
Your situation
The verdict updates as you move these.
Clear pick for your inputs
Free to 1M users; you pay per enterprise SSO connection instead
vs Better Auth: fit 96% against 77%, est $0 against $0 per month
The decision, in plain words
For a solo builder at 150,000 monthly active users and a $50.00/mo budget for the auth provider slot, WorkOS leads at 96% fit and $0/mo. The two rules doing the work: budget fit (Runs free at your usage — $0 vs your $50/mo budget); batteries included (Bundles prebuilt sign-in UI, organizations/teams, enterprise SSO — fewer services to glue at team size 1).
The gap to Better Auth (77% fit) is wide at these inputs — you'd need to change your requirements, not your taste, to flip it.
Ruled out entirely: Auth0 (your usage exceeds every published plan — enterprise/contact-sales territory); Firebase Auth (your usage exceeds every published plan — enterprise/contact-sales territory) — hard requirements, not scoring.
Honest weak spot of the pick: hosted user store — migrating away means a coordinated export (password hashes via support).
Generated from the calculation above — every number traces to the sourced data; nothing here is written by an AI making things up.
Why WorkOS scores 96%
How the $0/mo estimate is calculated
What could change this verdict
Cost risk
Official prices verified 2026-07-15; calculation is deterministic code over those prices.
At a glance
| Tool | Free tier | Paid entry | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clerk | 50,000 monthly retained users (MRU), full features | Pro $25/mo | 2026-07-15 |
| Better Auth | No free tier | — | 2026-07-15 |
| Auth0 | 25,000 MAU, no credit card | Essentials $35/mo | 2026-07-15 |
| Supabase Auth | 50,000 MAU on the Supabase free plan | Pro (platform) $25/mo | 2026-07-15 |
| Firebase Auth | 50,000 MAU at no charge | — | 2026-07-15 |
| Kinde | 10,500 MAU free forever | Pro $25/mo | 2026-07-15 |
| WorkOS | First 1,000,000 MAU free | — | 2026-07-15 |
Data sources
| Tool | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|
| Clerk | Clerk pricing page | 2026-07-15 |
| Better Auth | Better Auth pricing page | 2026-07-15 |
| Auth0 | Auth0 pricing page | 2026-07-15 |
| Supabase Auth | Supabase pricing page | 2026-07-15 |
| Firebase Auth | Firebase pricing page | 2026-07-15 |
| Kinde | Kinde pricing page | 2026-07-15 |
| WorkOS | WorkOS pricing page | 2026-07-15 |
A monitor re-checks these pages for changes; when a vendor moves a price, the date updates and every verdict recomputes.
People also ask
Is Clerk worth it?
If shipping this week matters, usually yes below ~50K users (free tier). The math flips as you grow: at 100K retained users Clerk is ~$1,025/mo while Better Auth in your own Postgres is ~$0/user. The calculator above prices both at your exact scale.
Can I use Clerk for free?
Yes — up to 50,000 monthly retained users with full features (verified 2026-07-15). Note the metric: Clerk counts retained users (MRU), not raw MAU. The Pro plan is $25/mo and adds $0.02 per user beyond 50K — at 100K users that's ~$1,025/mo.
Can I use Auth0 for free?
Yes — the free tier covers 25,000 MAU with no credit card (verified 2026-07-15). The catch is what comes after: paid plans start at $35/mo for only 500 MAU and bill in tier jumps, so crossing the free ceiling is a real cliff.