Clerk vs Hanko

Clerk vs Hanko comparison for modern authentication. Compare managed auth with passkey-first open-source alternative.

🏆

Quick Verdict

Winner: Clerk

Clerk is the polished, feature-complete choice with excellent DX. Hanko is an interesting open-source, passkey-first alternative. For most projects, Clerk's maturity wins. Hanko is worth watching for passwordless-focused apps.

Choose Clerk if...

✓ You want battle-tested, production-ready auth
✓ Developer experience is your priority
✓ You need comprehensive features today
✓ You want the best React/Next.js integration
✓ You need organizations and user management

Choose Hanko if...

✓ You want passkey-first authentication
✓ Open-source and self-hosting matter
✓ You want to avoid passwords entirely
✓ You're building a passwordless experience
✓ You want to minimize vendor lock-in

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Category	Clerk	Hanko	Winner
Pricing	Free: 10k MAU. Pro: $25/mo + $0.02/MAU.	Free forever for self-hosted. Cloud plans available.	Hanko
Free Tier	10,000 MAU with full features.	Unlimited when self-hosted. Cloud has generous free tier.	Hanko
Developer Experience	Exceptional. Best-in-class components, hooks, TypeScript.	Good. Web components work anywhere. Growing ecosystem.	Clerk
Documentation	Excellent. Framework-specific guides, examples, tutorials.	Good documentation. Improving but less comprehensive.	Clerk
Scalability	Proven at scale. Managed infrastructure.	Depends on hosting. Can scale with proper setup.	Clerk
Features	Social login, MFA, organizations, webhooks, user management, embeddables.	Passkeys, email codes, WebAuthn, passwordless-first design.	Clerk

Code Comparison

UserButton Component

tsx

import { UserButton } from '@clerk/nextjs';

export function Header() {
  return (
    <nav>
      <h1>My App</h1>
      <UserButton afterSignOutUrl="/" />
    </nav>
  );
}

// Complete user menu with profile, sign out, etc.

Clerk components are feature-rich out of the box.

Hanko Auth Component

tsx

import { register } from '@teamhanko/hanko-elements';

register(process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_HANKO_API_URL!);

export function LoginPage() {
  return <hanko-auth />;
}

// Web component works in any framework

Hanko uses web components for framework flexibility.

🔄 Migration Notes

Hanko is passkey-focused, so migration from password-based Clerk requires user re-enrollment. Consider running both during transition.

Frequently Asked Questions

What makes Hanko different? ▼

Hanko is designed passkey-first. It prioritizes WebAuthn and passwordless login over traditional passwords. It's also fully open-source.

Is Hanko production-ready? ▼

Hanko is usable but newer than Clerk. For critical production apps, Clerk's maturity is safer. Hanko is great for new projects embracing passwordless.

Try Clerk

Authentication and user management that just works

Try Hanko

Passkey-first authentication

⚖ Compare in Interactive Tool

Last updated: January 11, 2026