We're a small team of 4 with a React and Next.js frontend and a Python backend. We currently have around 10,000 users, of which 500 are paying customers. We're looking for a simple and reliable authentication tool that we can quickly implement. I've heard AI recommend Clerk as an efficient solution, but I'm curious if anyone has other insights or suggestions. I want to avoid overengineering our setup.
5 Answers
I caution against Firebase. It's decent for basic auth, but its SSO can be quite problematic—I've faced issues with their SAML. Overall, I've regretted using Firebase for authentication due to their unreliable error reporting.
Supabase could be a quick and easy alternative. It's straightforward, but you’ll need to check if it's as user-friendly for deployment as Clerk.
Consider KeyCloak if you want something self-hosted. It's a bit more complex to set up initially, but it has great reliability and features, especially for larger user bases. It’ll be on the pricey side for hosting, but it scales well.
I think running authentication as part of your backend would work well. Established backend frameworks have had auth built into them for years, so it's a pretty standard and reliable approach.
True, but wouldn't incorporating payment systems like Stripe make things more complicated?
If you're using Next.js, Clerk is a solid pick. It's almost plug-and-play for the frontend, but remember that you'll need to manually verify Clerk JWTs on your Python API. It's not too tricky, and for your team size, it helps you ship faster without getting bogged down in authentication details.
How does Supabase stack up against Clerk? I've read that it requires more DIY effort.