Indie Alternatives

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Indie alternatives to Clerk

7 products made by independent developers and small teams that do what Clerk does, 7 of them with a free plan. Free and open-source options come first.

At a glance

ProductPriceOpen sourceSelf-hostPlatforms
Better AuthFree planYes–API
FusionAuthFree plan–YesWeb, Self-hosted, API
HankoFree planYesYesWeb, Self-hosted, API
Hexclave (formerly Stack Auth)Free planYesYesWeb, Self-hosted, API
KindeFree plan––Web, API
LogtoFree planYesYesWeb, Self-hosted, API
SuperTokensFree planYesYesWeb, Self-hosted, API

The alternatives

1. Better Auth

Framework-agnostic authentication library for TypeScript

Better Auth is an open-source TypeScript auth library with email/password, social login, 2FA, organizations and a plugin system.

Free plan · API · Website ↗

2. FusionAuth

Customer identity and auth you can run anywhere

FusionAuth is a downloadable or hosted CIAM platform with login, MFA, SSO and user management APIs.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, API · Website ↗

3. Hanko

Open-source passkey-first authentication

Hanko provides passkey and passwordless authentication with drop-in web components, hosted or self-hosted.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, API · Website ↗

4. Hexclave (formerly Stack Auth)

Open-source user authentication and management platform

Hexclave, formerly Stack Auth, is an open-source authentication and user-management platform with prebuilt components and a dashboard.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, API · Website ↗

5. Kinde

Auth, feature flags and billing for SaaS products

Kinde offers authentication, user management, feature flags and subscription billing for B2B and B2C apps.

Free plan · Web, API · Website ↗

6. Logto

Open-source auth and identity for SaaS and AI apps

Logto provides sign-in experiences, OIDC, multi-tenancy, RBAC and SSO, available as cloud or self-hosted.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, API · Website ↗

7. SuperTokens

Open-source authentication for your app

SuperTokens offers prebuilt login UI, session management and auth recipes that you can self-host or use managed.

Free plan · Web, Self-hosted, API · Website ↗

Questions

Is there a free alternative to Clerk?

Yes. 7 of the 7 indie alternatives listed here have a free plan or are free: Better Auth, FusionAuth, Hanko, Hexclave (formerly Stack Auth) and 3 more.

Is there an open-source alternative to Clerk?

Better Auth, Hanko, Hexclave (formerly Stack Auth), Logto and 1 more are open source.

Can I self-host an alternative to Clerk?

Yes: FusionAuth, Hanko, Hexclave (formerly Stack Auth), Logto and 1 more can run on your own server.

What makes these alternatives to Clerk “indie”?

They are built by independent developers or small teams rather than large companies. Each one is listed because it does the same core job as Clerk.

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