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6 tools scored · 6 dimensions
Auth providers handle user authentication so you do not have to — login flows, session management, social login, MFA, and user management, all without storing passwords yourself.
Clerk, Auth0, Supabase Auth, and Better Auth cover the same problem but with different philosophies. Clerk is the most opinionated and feature-complete — beautiful pre-built UI components, organisations, and the fastest time-to-auth. Supabase Auth is excellent if you are already using Supabase and want everything in one platform. Auth0 is the enterprise standard with the deepest compliance features. Better Auth is the rising open-source option for developers who want full control without a third-party dependency. The scores reflect setup speed, feature depth, pricing at scale, and lock-in risk.
What are you looking for?
I want auth done in under an hour with great UI
Clerk is the fastest path from zero to working auth — drop in pre-built components, get social login, email/password, MFA, and a user management dashboard working in one sitting. The free tier covers 10,000 MAU.
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I am already using Supabase
Supabase Auth is built in — no additional service, no extra cost, and auth integrates directly with Row Level Security policies. It covers email/password, magic links, OAuth, and phone auth. No separate user management dashboard, but the Supabase dashboard covers basics.
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I need enterprise SSO or compliance features
Auth0 has the deepest enterprise feature set: SAML, SCIM provisioning, fine-grained authorisation, and compliance certifications (SOC2, ISO 27001, HIPAA BAA). It is significantly more expensive at scale but justified for enterprise B2B products.
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| Weighted average | Overall | SDK quality, documentation, and quickstart speed. | MFA, passkeys, breach detection, and compliance certs. | Generosity of free plan — MAU limit and features included. | Social login, SSO, magic links, passwordless support, roles. | Token validation latency and uptime SLA. | Documentation quality and paid support options. | Monthly |
| ★Clerk The best auth UX for Next.js and React… | 90 | 96 | 88 | 85 | 90 | 90 | 85 | Free freemium |
| Auth0 Enterprise-grade auth by Okta — the in… | 86 | 78 | 95 | 72 | 96 | 90 | 88 | Free freemium |
| Supabase Auth Open-source auth built into your Postg… | 85 | 85 | 82 | 98 | 78 | 85 | 78 | Free free |
| Stytch Passwordless-first auth with fraud det… | 85 | 85 | 92 | 78 | 82 | 88 | 82 | Free freemium |
| NextAuth.js The open-source auth library for Next.… | 82 | 80 | 78 | 100 | 82 | 80 | 70 | Free free |
| Lucia Lightweight open-source auth with full… | 76 | 72 | 75 | 100 | 65 | 82 | 60 | Free free |
Click tool names to see the full radar breakdown · Open screener for advanced filtering
Developer UX
SDK quality, documentation, and quickstart speed.
Security
MFA, passkeys, breach detection, and compliance certs.
Free Tier
Generosity of free plan — MAU limit and features included.
Feature Set
Social login, SSO, magic links, passwordless support, roles.
Performance
Token validation latency and uptime SLA.
Support
Documentation quality and paid support options.
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Use an auth provider unless you have a specific reason not to. Auth involves a long list of security-critical details — secure session management, password storage (bcrypt/Argon2), CSRF protection, brute force protection, token rotation — that library maintainers have already gotten right. Building auth from scratch means owning all of these details forever. The only justified case for building is if your compliance requirements prohibit third-party auth services, or if your user volume makes provider pricing prohibitive.
Authentication answers "who are you?" — verifying identity via password, magic link, or social login. Authorisation answers "what can you do?" — whether the authenticated user has permission to access a resource. Auth providers handle authentication. Authorisation is typically implemented in your application using the authenticated user's role or permissions stored in your database.
Clerk charges per Monthly Active User above the free tier threshold. At 10,000 MAU it is free; above that the Pro plan charges per MAU. For consumer apps with many users, this can become significant. B2B SaaS products with fewer, higher-value users typically find Clerk pricing reasonable. Compare with Auth0, which charges per MAU but has a higher free threshold on some plans.
A magic link is a single-use URL sent to the user's email that logs them in without a password. The user clicks the link, the token is verified, and a session is created. Magic links are popular for low-friction sign-in flows and developer tools where users are comfortable with email. Supabase Auth, Clerk, and Auth0 all support magic links. The downside: the security of your auth is as strong as the security of the user's email account.
User migration is painful because passwords are hashed and cannot be exported. Strategies: bulk export user data (email, metadata) and import to the new provider with password resets required on first login, or use "lazy migration" where users are migrated one at a time as they log in. Clerk, Auth0, and Supabase all document migration paths. Plan for 2–4 weeks of user-facing friction during a migration.
How these scores are calculated
Auth provider scores are based on official pricing pages, free tier MAU limits, OAuth provider support, enterprise feature documentation (SAML, SCIM, MFA), developer experience ratings from Indie Hackers and Product Hunt, setup time from official quickstart guides, and self-hosting availability as of 2026.
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