Clerk vs Convex

Both are in our Backend, database & auth tier list: Clerk is A-tier and Convex is A-tier.

No editor verdict yet. This page shows the data side by side; the tiers come from our Backend, database & auth tier list.

Clerk vs Convex, side by side
Field	Clerk	Convex
Tier	A	A
Why this tier	It is the fastest way to add auth to a Next.js or React app. It covers one job well, so it sits at A-tier.	It is real-time by default and very agent-friendly. It locks you in more than Postgres does, which keeps it at A-tier.
Best for	Adding auth to a Next.js or React app fast Drop-in user management	Real-time apps Agent-friendly TypeScript backends
Skip if	You need a full backend (see Supabase) You aren't using a JavaScript front end	You want to avoid lock-in (Postgres is more portable) You need plain SQL
Free tier	Yes: Hobby plan: free, no credit card; 50,000 monthly retained users per app; up to 3 dashboard seats (source: clerk.com/pricing, checked 17 Oct 2026)	Yes: Free & Starter plan: $0/month and pay as you go; 1-6 developers; 1M function calls and 20 GB-hours of action compute included (source: www.convex.dev/pricing, checked 17 Oct 2026)
Last checked	16 Oct 2026	16 Oct 2026
Tier history	A since 14 Oct 2026: Initial ranking at launch	A since 14 Oct 2026: Initial ranking at launch

Tools last checked 16 Oct 2026. Tiers are editorial opinion: how we rank · More Backend, database & auth comparisons · All comparisons