GravityKit
GravityKit folds every GravityView extension into one Pro plugin.
Comparison · Infra & APIs
Clerk vs Clair
A side-by-side editorial comparison of Clerk and Clair — release velocity, themes, recent moves, and the top alternatives to consider.
Clerk vs Clair: at a glance
What is Clerk?
Clerk is building auth for machines: API keys, a CLI agents can drive, per-verification pricing.
Two threads dominate. The first is machine authentication: API keys reached general availability with usage-based billing at $0.001 per creation and $0.00001 per verification, and a new CLI is described as a tool for developers and their agents to manage auth and billing. The second is enterprise readiness — Directory Sync (SCIM) generally available with custom attribute mapping and IdP role assignment, plus an Application Logs event stream across auth, billing, and organizations. Dashboard polish and Expo theming fill in around them.
What is Clair?
Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.
Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.
Clerk vs Clair: editorial side-by-side
Clerk
0.0INFRA · APIS
Clerk is building auth for machines: API keys, a CLI agents can drive, per-verification pricing.
◆ Current state
Two threads dominate. The first is machine authentication: API keys reached general availability with usage-based billing at $0.001 per creation and $0.00001 per verification, and a new CLI is described as a tool for developers and their agents to manage auth and billing. The second is enterprise readiness — Directory Sync (SCIM) generally available with custom attribute mapping and IdP role assignment, plus an Application Logs event stream across auth, billing, and organizations. Dashboard polish and Expo theming fill in around them.
◆ Where it's heading
Clerk is extending from human sign-in toward credentials for software acting on a user's behalf, and pricing that surface by the call rather than by the seat. The CLI framing makes the direction explicit: the control plane should be operable by an agent, not only by a person in a dashboard. Meanwhile SCIM, logs, and billing controls are the enterprise checklist that lets it sell upmarket while that bet plays out.
◆ Prediction
Expect the machine authentication suite to deepen around delegated and scoped access for agents — finer-grained key permissions or short-lived credentials — with usage-based pricing extended to whatever ships next.
Clair
2.5INFRA · APIS
Clair 4.10 RC can read SBOMs to match Java vulnerabilities.
◆ Current state
Clair cut its first 4.10.0 release candidate on November 13, eleven months after 4.9.0. Its Java indexers can now read CycloneDX SBOM files and treat them as the source of truth, and Red Hat's VEX data now covers Maven advisories, so Java packages in Red Hat images can be matched. It also reduces memory use when many packages share a source package.
◆ Where it's heading
Since 4.8 Clair has moved from Red Hat's older OVAL data to VEX, and each release follows Red Hat's security data more closely. 4.10 adds SBOMs as an input, so Clair can match what an image's own manifest declares, not only what it finds on disk.
◆ Prediction
More 4.10 release candidates and then a final are likely; the long gap between releases suggests that could take weeks.
Alternatives to Clerk and Clair
Other Infra & APIs products tracked by Sparkpulse, ranked by recent ship velocity. Each card links to a full editorial trajectory and lets you pivot into a head-to-head comparison with either Clerk or Clair.
Payload CMS
Payload's v4 beta.9 keeps every past image crop and raises the Node floor again.
Nautobot
Nautobot 3.3 alpha 2 adds test helpers and a cable location filter after 3.2.9's token-leak fix.
Shuffle
Shuffle tags builds almost daily, but the notes are empty.
KrakenD
KrakenD's community edition is shipping only dependency bumps.
Velociraptor
Velociraptor's recent releases are mostly about patching CVEs.
Recent activity from Clerk and Clair
Latest ship moves from both products, interleaved chronologically. ⚡ = editorial spark.
- 13h agoClairClair 4.10 RC reads CycloneDX SBOMs for Java matching
- 6mo agoClerkImproved observability with Application Logs
- 6mo agoClerkClerk CLI ⚡
- 7mo agoClerkAPI keys reach GA with usage-based billing active
- 7mo agoClerkAPI Keys General Availability
- 7mo agoClerkTheme Expo native components from a JSON fileCategorySDKPublishedApr 16@clerk/expo now supports a JSON-based theme for native iOS and And…
- 7mo agoClerkDirectory Sync (SCIM) hits GA with custom attribute mapping
- 11mo agoClairClair 4.9 moves CVSS data to NVD's 2.0 feeds
- 2y agoClairClair 4.8 replaces Red Hat OVAL data with VEX
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.4 changes the default layer download location
- 2y agoClairClair 4.7.3 requires TLS 1.2 or newer
- 3y agoClairClair 4.7.2 drops the retired CRDA source
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Clerk and Clair?
They serve adjacent needs but don't currently overlap on shipped themes. Clair is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. See the at-a-glance table above for a side-by-side breakdown of velocity, recent sparks, and editorial themes.
Is Clerk better than Clair?
Sparkpulse doesn't pick a winner — we score release velocity, not feature parity. Clair is currently shipping more aggressively (velocity 2.5 vs 0.0), with 0 editorial sparks in the last 30 days against 0. For your specific use case, the alternatives sections above list other Infra & APIs products to evaluate alongside.
What are the best alternatives to Clerk?
Top Clerk alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Clerk alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clerk for the full list with editorial commentary on each.
What are the best alternatives to Clair?
Top Clair alternatives in Infra & APIs are ranked by recent ship velocity. Browse the "Clair alternatives" section above for the current picks, or visit /alternatives/clair for the full list with editorial commentary on each.