Casdoor vs Clerk

An open-source alternative to Clerk

Clerk is a proprietary user-management service built around drop-in React and Next.js components, priced by monthly retained users. Casdoor is an open-source identity provider for apps in any language: self-host it for free, or let us run a dedicated instance for a flat price.

See Casdoor Cloud pricing Self-host for free

Casdoor and Clerk at a glance

	Casdoor	Clerk
Source code	Open source (Apache-2.0)	Proprietary
Where it runs	Casdoor Cloud, or your own servers with Docker or Kubernetes	Clerk's cloud service
Pricing	From $24.17/month billed yearly per dedicated instance, with no per-user fees; self-hosting is free	Free for 50,000 monthly retained users per app; Pro is $25 per month ($20 billed yearly), then $0.02 per retained user
Enterprise SSO	SAML and OIDC enterprise connections on every plan, with no per-connection fee	Enterprise SSO connections and directory sync are $75 each per month

Information about Clerk is from its public website as of October 2026 (Clerk pricing) and may have changed. Clerk is a trademark of its owner.

Why teams choose Casdoor

No MAU bill

Cloud plans are a flat monthly price, so more users don't mean a bigger invoice.

Any stack

Apps in Go, Java, Python, PHP, .NET, Node.js, mobile or anything else sign in over standard OIDC, SAML or CAS, with SDKs for most languages.

One IdP for every app

Casdoor is an identity provider over OIDC, SAML, CAS, LDAP and RADIUS, so the same accounts sign in to your own apps, SaaS tools and devices.

Run it anywhere

The same Apache-2.0 code runs in our cloud or on your servers, and you can move between them.

When Clerk may fit better

You are building a React or Next.js app and want sign-in forms and user profiles as components inside your own pages.
You need a vendor with SOC 2 or ISO 27001 reports for the hosted service today. Casdoor Cloud does not have them yet; teams with that requirement usually self-host Casdoor in their own certified environment.

Moving from Clerk to Casdoor

Export your users from Clerk and import them into Casdoor. Casdoor can verify bcrypt, Argon2id, PBKDF2 and salted SHA-256 / SHA-512 password hashes, so imported users can keep their passwords. Then point each app at Casdoor's OIDC endpoints; we can help plan larger migrations.

Plan a migration with us

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Does Casdoor have prebuilt UI components like Clerk?

Casdoor's model is hosted sign-in and sign-up pages that you brand per application (logo, theme, custom CSS and your own domain), and your app redirects to them or opens them in a popup through the SDKs. If you want the forms rendered inside your own React components, Clerk is closer to that.

How does Casdoor's pricing compare with Clerk's?

Clerk charges per monthly retained user above its free tier, plus $75 per month for each enterprise SSO connection. Casdoor Cloud is from $24.17/month billed yearly for a dedicated instance, with no per-user or per-connection fees, and the open-source edition is free to self-host.

Compare

How Casdoor compares

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Ready to secure your next big move?

Put login, single sign-on, MFA, permissions and AI agent access behind one open-source platform, hosted by us or run by you.