NextAuth vs Clerk: Complete Comparison Guide
Compare NextAuth (Auth.js) and Clerk on Next.js integration, user management, pricing, and flexibility. Discover which authentication solution best fits your Next.js project.
NextAuth (Auth.js)
An open-source authentication library that natively integrates with Next.js (and now other frameworks as Auth.js). NextAuth is completely free, supports dozens of OAuth providers, database adapters for Prisma, Drizzle, and more, and offers full flexibility in managing sessions via JWT or database strategies. It is the most widely used auth library in the Next.js ecosystem.
Clerk
A managed authentication service with beautiful pre-built UI components for Next.js. Clerk offers a complete user management dashboard, built-in components for sign-in/sign-up/profile management, webhooks for event-driven architecture, and a serverless-first design. The platform manages the full user lifecycle including email verification and password reset.
Comparison table
| Feature | NextAuth (Auth.js) | Clerk |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Completely free and open-source — no limits on users | Free up to 10,000 MAU, then $0.02/MAU |
| UI components | No built-in UI — you build your own forms | Pre-built SignIn, SignUp, UserButton, UserProfile components |
| User management | Authentication only — user management via your own database | Full dashboard with user management, impersonation, and analytics |
| Flexibility | Maximum flexibility: own database, custom providers, full control | Opinionated but fast: works out-of-the-box with limited customization |
| Framework support | Next.js (native), SvelteKit, Nuxt, Express, Remix via Auth.js | Next.js, React, Remix, Expo — focus on React ecosystem |
| Maintenance | You manage updates, security patches, and database migrations yourself | Clerk manages everything — zero maintenance for auth infrastructure |
Verdict
NextAuth and Clerk represent two philosophies: build it yourself versus outsource it. NextAuth is ideal if you want full control, zero authentication costs, and have the technical expertise to maintain auth flows yourself. Clerk saves enormous development time with pre-built components and managed infrastructure, but comes with costs and vendor lock-in. For most commercial projects, Clerk wins on time-to-market; for budget-sensitive or privacy-critical projects, NextAuth offers ultimate flexibility.
Our recommendation
At MG Software, we use both NextAuth and Clerk depending on the project. For client projects where speed and user experience are priorities, we choose Clerk for its pre-built components and managed dashboard. For projects with specific privacy requirements, complex custom auth flows, or limited budgets, we deploy NextAuth with a dedicated database. Both solutions integrate excellently with our Next.js stack, and we have extensive experience setting up secure authentication in both systems.
Frequently asked questions
Related articles
Auth0 vs Clerk: Complete Comparison Guide
Compare Auth0 and Clerk on authentication, developer experience, UI components, and enterprise features. Discover which auth platform best fits your web application.
What is OAuth? - Definition & Meaning
Learn what OAuth is, how this authorization protocol works, and why OAuth is the standard for secure access to APIs and third-party applications.
Single Sign-On Examples - Inspiration & Best Practices
Discover single sign-on examples and learn how organisations implement SSO for secure and seamless authentication. SAML, OAuth, and OIDC in practice.
Next.js vs Nuxt: Which Meta-Framework Fits Your Project?
Compare Next.js and Nuxt on server-side rendering, developer experience, and ecosystem. Find out which meta-framework is the best fit for your needs.