Clerk vs Google Cloud Identity

Clerk provides full-stack authentication and user management for applications, including Organizations and Billing. Prebuilt components cover sign-up, sign-in, and user profiles, while Frontend, Backend, and Platform HTTP APIs support client-side, backend, and workspace operations. Clerk Billing handles subscription billing and charges 0.7% of billing volume in addition to Stripe fees. Its free B2B offering includes 100 monthly retained organizations per app and up to 20 members per Organization. Listed integrations include Convex, Firebase, Supabase, Shopify, Vercel Marketplace, and Google Analytics. Security practices include account lockout, bot protection, rate limiting, breached-password detection, and MFA enforcement. Clerk lists SOC 2 Type 2 and HIPAA certifications; SOC 2 reports are available on Business and above, while a HIPAA BAA is available on Enterprise. Data is hosted on US infrastructure, with no regional data residency. Clerk is available on Android, iOS, web, APIs, and extensions, and provides an iOS SDK for native Apple apps. Hobby is free; Pro costs $20/mo billed annually, and Business costs $250 per year billed annually.

Google Cloud Identity centrally manages users and groups as an Identity as a Service solution. It can federate identities between Google and providers such as Active Directory and Microsoft Entra ID, and provides single sign-on to thousands of SaaS applications, including Salesforce, SAP SuccessFactors, and Google Workspace. MFA choices include push notifications, Google Authenticator, Titan Security Keys, security keys, backup codes, SMS, voice calls, passkeys, and other TOTP code generators. Its console manages Android, iOS, and Windows devices, with tools to enforce policies, wipe company data, deploy apps, and view reports. Automated provisioning can create, update, or delete user profile information in third-party cloud applications. Directory Sync extends Active Directory users to the cloud, while Secure LDAP supports traditional applications and infrastructure. Free includes 50 user licenses by default; additional licenses can be requested at no cost. Premium costs $6 a month on an annual fixed-term plan, or $7.20 a month on a flexible plan billed monthly. Premium also lists a 99.9% SLA and 24x7 chat and email support.