# Frontegg vs Clerk: which do AI models recommend for CIAM, October 2026

IT AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, Customer identity and access management. Five of fourteen models named Frontegg first on the direct prompt; three named Clerk. Page: https://it-ai-index.com/identity/customer-identity-and-access-management/frontegg-vs-clerk/

| | First-choice share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels | Models naming it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontegg | 21% | #1 of 14 | 0% | 30 | 12 of 14 |
| Clerk | 18% | #3 of 14 | 3% | 31 | 12 of 14 |

## The direct prompt, model by model

- Kimi K2: both first (first choices: Clerk, Frontegg) (alternatives: FusionAuth, WorkOS)
- Claude Haiku 4.5: frontegg first (first choices: Descope, Frontegg) (alternatives: OneWelcome Identity Platform, SSOJet, WorkOS)
- GPT-5.4 mini: frontegg first (first choices: Frontegg) (alternatives: Auth0/Okta Customer Identity Cloud, FusionAuth, Okta)
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: frontegg first (first choices: Auth0, Frontegg) (alternatives: Clerk, Microsoft Entra External ID, Stytch)
- Muse Glimmer 30B: frontegg first (first choices: Frontegg, LoginRadius) (alternatives: Auth0, Ping Identity)
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: clerk first (first choices: Auth0, Clerk) (alternatives: Microsoft Entra ID)
- MiniMax M2.5: clerk first (first choices: Auth0, Clerk) (alternatives: Descope, LoginRadius)
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: neither first, one named (first choices: WorkOS) (alternatives: Clerk, Frontegg, Kinde)
- Perplexity Sonar: neither first, one named (first choices: LoginRadius) (alternatives: Clerk, Frontegg, Microsoft Entra External ID)
- Grok 4.1 Fast: neither first, one named (first choices: Auth0) (alternatives: Clerk, Frontegg, FusionAuth, Microsoft Entra External ID, Stytch, WorkOS)
- Llama 4 Maverick: neither first, one named (first choices: LoginRadius) (alternatives: Clerk, OneWelcome Identity Platform)
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: neither first, one named (first choices: Auth0) (alternatives: Clerk, Descope, LoginRadius, Microsoft Entra External ID)
- Mistral Small: neither named (first choices: LoginRadius) (alternatives: Thales OneWelcome)
- GPT-6 Luna: neither named (first choices: WorkOS AuthKit) (alternatives: Auth0, Microsoft Entra External ID, Stytch)

## What the models said about Frontegg

- "If you want to minimize development time and avoid building customer-facing administrative dashboards from scratch, Frontegg is a top choice." (Gemini 3.5 Flash, paraphrase prompt, first choice)
- "I'd recommend evaluating Frontegg or Descope as starting points, as they're specifically optimized for mid-market B2B needs" (Claude Haiku 4.5, direct prompt, first choice)
- "Frontegg and Clerk are particularly well-suited due to their B2B-focused features and ease of integration" (Mistral Small, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

## What the models said about Clerk

- "Choose Clerk only if you are a startup ... not necessarily the cheapest long-term option" (Perplexity Sonar, budget prompt, soft negative)
- "For most companies with limited budgets, Clerk's free tier or self-hosted Keycloak are the two best choices" (DeepSeek V4 Flash, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Clerk is my pick for a small team that wants to keep costs low without building much authentication infrastructure." (GPT-6 Luna, budget prompt, first choice)
- "Frontegg and Clerk are particularly well-suited due to their B2B-focused features and ease of integration" (Mistral Small, paraphrase prompt, first choice)

Share is the count of first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts over all fourteen models, for a mid-market B2B company; rank is within the category. Comparisons are drawn for the top eight products in each category. Published under CC BY 4.0; the output is the models' output, and nothing here is a recommendation by the index.