Clerk vs Pomerium: Features, Pricing and User Reviews 2026
Compare features, pricing, reviews, and more to make an informed decision
Clerk
Clerk is a developer-friendly authentication platform with pre-built components, flexible APIs, and admin dashboards for complete user management.
Pomerium
Pomerium is an open-source zero trust access proxy that replaces VPNs with secure, identity-based application access without client software.
Clerk
Clerk is a developer-friendly authentication platform with pre-built components, flexible APIs, and admin dashboards for complete user management.
Pomerium
Pomerium is an open-source zero trust access proxy that replaces VPNs with secure, identity-based application access without client software.
Clerk
Pre-built authentication components and user interfaces
20+ social login providers including Google and GitHub
Multi-factor authentication with SMS and authenticator apps
Password authentication with automatic breach detection
Organizations with roles and permissions for teams
Enterprise SSO with SAML and OAuth support
Session management and device tracking
Webhooks and API access for custom integrations
SOC 2 and HIPAA compliance
Free tier with 10,000 monthly active users
Pomerium
Zero trust architecture with continuous verification
VPN replacement with clientless browser access
Support for Google, Okta, Azure, GitHub, and more identity providers
Self-hosted proxy keeps data private
Kubernetes native integration and API security
Context-aware policies using identity, device, and location
Real-time access decisions for every request
Open source with active community
JWT-based authentication and authorization
Single sign-on across applications
Clerk
Clerk offers flexible pricing to support projects of all sizes. The free plan includes 10,000 monthly active users with all core features, pre-built components, and custom domain support. Users who sign up but never return are completely free.
The Pro plan charges just $0.02 per monthly active user after your first 10,000 free users. Pro includes removing Clerk branding, allowlist and blocklist features, and customizable session duration.
For advanced needs, add-ons cost $100 per month each. The Enhanced Authentication add-on provides multi-factor auth, device tracking, and enterprise SSO. The Enhanced Administration add-on includes user impersonation and audit logs.
Organizations start at $1 per monthly active organization after your first 100 free, with unlimited members per organization in Pro.
Enterprise plans offer custom pricing with 99.99% uptime guarantees, support SLAs, HIPAA compliance, dedicated Slack support, and onboarding assistance. Startup discounts are available through partners like Y Combinator and Stripe Atlas.
Pomerium
Pomerium offers three pricing tiers to fit different needs.
The Zero Personal plan is completely free for individuals and hobbyists. It includes secure remote application access with a managed control plane and self-hosted reverse proxy. This option is perfect for personal projects or learning how Pomerium works.
Zero for Business costs $7 per user per month when billed annually, or $9 per month when billed monthly. This plan includes increased limits compared to the personal plan, self-hosted data plane for complete data control, and a hosted control plane to simplify setup. It is designed for teams and companies replacing VPNs.
Enterprise pricing is custom and requires contacting sales. This fully self-hosted solution includes complete on-premise deployment, full API access, priority support, no usage limits, and is ideal for large organizations needing maximum control and scalability.
All plans include the core zero trust features with self-hosted data to keep information private.