The Showdown

Clerkvsauthentication-zero

Why pay monthly fees for Clerk when you can self-host authentication-zero for free? Let's look at the facts.

Clerk

The Expensive Option

  • Closed Source (Black box)
  • Expensive monthly fees per user
  • Data stored on their servers
WINNER

authentication-zero

The Freedom Choice

  • 100% Open Source Code
  • Free forever (Self-hosted)
  • You own your data completely
Interactive Calculator

Calculate Your "SaaS Tax"

SaaS pricing is designed to scale with your success. See how much wealth transfers from your bank account to Clerk's shareholders.

10 people
150100200+
$

*Estimated standard pricing for Clerk. Adjust if needed.

Estimated Annual Waste
$1,440
Monthly Burn Rate$120
5-Year Projection$7,200
Cost with Self-Hosted$0
Start Saving Today

Calculations based on 10 users at $12/mo.

Detailed Breakdown

0
Remote dependency
Generated local code
1
Limited API hooks
Modify generated files
2
Network latency
Zero runtime overhead