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Clerk vs NextAuth.js

Trust Score comparison · March 2026

Clerk
80
Trust
Good
View profile
VS
Trust Score Δ
8
🏆 Clerk wins
NextAuth.js
72
Trust
Fair
View profile

Signal Comparison

4.2M / wknpm downloads3.9M / wk
71 commitsCommits (90d)12 commits
6.1k ★GitHub stars24.8k ★
2.8k q'sStack Overflow8.2k q's
HighCommunityMedium
ClerkNextAuth.js

Key Differences

FactorClerkNextAuth.js
LicenseProprietaryISC
LanguageTypeScriptTypeScript
HostedYesSelf-hosted
Free tier——
Open Source—✓ Yes
TypeScript✓✓

Pick Clerk if…

  • You're building with Next.js or React
  • You want pre-built UI for all auth flows
  • You need organizations or teams with RBAC out of the box

Pick NextAuth.js if…

  • You want fully open-source, self-hosted auth
  • You need custom OAuth providers or SAML
  • You're cost-sensitive and don't want per-MAU pricing

Side-by-side Quick Start

Clerk
import { ClerkProvider } from '@clerk/nextjs';

export default function RootLayout({ children }) {
  return (
    <ClerkProvider>
      <html lang="en"><body>{children}</body></html>
    </ClerkProvider>
  );
}

// Protect a route
import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server';

export default async function Dashboard() {
  const { userId } = await auth();
  if (!userId) redirect('/sign-in');
  return <DashboardContent />;
}
NextAuth.js
import NextAuth from 'next-auth';
import GitHub from 'next-auth/providers/github';

const handler = NextAuth({
  providers: [
    GitHub({
      clientId: process.env.GITHUB_ID,
      clientSecret: process.env.GITHUB_SECRET,
    }),
  ],
});

export { handler as GET, handler as POST };

Community Verdict

Based on upvoted notes
🏆
Clerk wins this comparison
Trust Score 80 vs 72 · 8-point difference

Clerk leads on Trust Score with stronger signal data across downloads and community health. That said, the other tool is worth considering if your use case matches its specific strengths above.