Is Firebase better than Clerk for user authentication?

Firebase offers a more generous free tier with 50,000 monthly active users (MAUs) compared to Clerk’s 10,000 MAUs. Firebase also has a lower starting cost per MAU after the free tier and supports a wide range of authentication methods, including social identity providers and two-factor authentication. Clerk, on the other hand, provides a wide range of official SDKs for various frameworks and languages and offers additional features such as enhanced authentication and admin add-ons for an extra cost. If cost and initial free tier usage are your primary concerns, Firebase may be the better choice. However, if you need more extensive SDK support and advanced features, Clerk might be more suitable.

Which is more cost-effective for large-scale applications, Clerk or Firebase?

Firebase is generally more cost-effective for large-scale applications. Firebase's pricing starts at $0.0055 per monthly active user (MAU) and decreases to as low as $0.0025 per MAU as you scale to millions of users. Clerk, on the other hand, charges $0.02 per MAU after the free tier. Therefore, Firebase can be more economical as your application scales up.

Which authentication solution offers better SDK support, Clerk or Firebase?

Clerk offers official SDKs for a wide range of frameworks and languages including Next.js, React, JavaScript, Node.js, Remix, Go, Gatsby, and Ruby on Rails, as well as many community SDKs. Firebase also supports multiple platforms but is particularly strong in mobile app development with excellent support for Android and iOS. If you need extensive SDK support for web frameworks, Clerk might be the better option. For mobile app development, Firebase could be more advantageous.

Which authentication solution is easier to use, Clerk or Firebase?

Firebase is generally considered easier to use, especially for developers already familiar with Google’s ecosystem. It provides a comprehensive app development platform that integrates smoothly with other Google services. Firebase's user authentication setup is straightforward and well-documented. Clerk also offers a user-friendly experience but might require more effort to integrate additional features such as enhanced authentication and admin add-ons. If ease of use is a primary concern, Firebase may be the better choice.

What are the main features of Clerk?

Clerk offers embeddable UIs, APIs, and admin dashboards for user management. It provides official SDKs for Next.js, React, JavaScript, Node.js, Remix, Go, Gatsby, and Ruby/Rails, along with community SDKs for other frameworks and languages. Clerk also includes features such as SMS authentication, device tracking and revocation, simultaneous sessions, and SAML authentication.

What are the pricing tiers for Clerk?

Clerk has a free tier that supports up to 10,000 Monthly Active Users (MAUs). The Pro tier costs $25 per month with an additional charge of $0.02 per MAU. Enhanced authentication features and an admin add-on each cost an additional $100 per month.

What is the cost of enhanced authentication features in Clerk?

Enhanced authentication features in Clerk, which include SMS authentication, device tracking and revocation, simultaneous sessions, and SAML authentication, cost an additional $100 per month.

What is included in the admin add-on for Clerk?

The admin add-on for Clerk includes features such as user impersonation and enhanced roles. This add-on costs an additional $100 per month.

Firebase is Google's app development platform that offers a comprehensive suite of features, including storage, cloud functions, monitoring, and user authentication. It supports multiple authentication methods such as email and password, phone authentication, magic links, two-factor authentication, and social identity providers like Google, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, GitHub, and OAuth access tokens.

What are the pros and cons of Firebase?

Pros of Firebase include its ease of use, low price per monthly active user, a generous free tier, and easy SMS authentication. Currently, there are no user-generated cons for Firebase.

What is the free tier limit for Firebase?

The free tier for Firebase includes 50,000 monthly active users (MAUs). Beyond that, pricing starts at $0.0055 per MAU and can go as low as $0.0025 per MAU as you scale to millions of users.

Clerk vs. Firebase

Q: What frameworks and languages does Clerk support?

Clerk supports a variety of frameworks and languages through official SDKs, including Next.js, React, JavaScript, Node.js, Remix, Go, Gatsby, and Ruby/Rails. There are also many community SDKs available for other frameworks and languages.

Clerk

Clerk is a comprehensive authentication and user management platform. It comes with embeddable UIs, APIs and admin dashboards for user management. Clerk offers official SDKs for Next.js, React, JavaScript, Node.js, Remix, Go, Gatsby, and Ruby / Rails. There are many more community SDKs for other frameworks and languages. They have a free tier of 10,000 MAUs and a $25/month Pro tier with $0.02/MAU. Enhanced authentication, with SMS auth, device tracking and revocation, simultaneous sessions and SAML authentication costs additional $100/month. Admin add-on, with user impersonation and enhanced roles is another $100/month.

Firebase

Google's Firebase is an entire app development platform that's packed with features.It comes with storage, cloud functions, monitoring and, of course, user authentication. The free tier comes with 50,000 MAUs. Beyond that pricing start at $0.0055/MAU and goes down to as low as $0.0025/MAU as you scale to millions of users. Firebase authentication supports email and password auth, phone auth, magic links, two-factor authentication and social identity providers - mainly Google, Google Play Games, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft, Twitter, GitHub and OAuth access tokens.