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Comparison guide

Clerk vs Lucia

Side-by-side NPM package comparison

Quick Verdict

Smallest Bundle

Clerk

2.9 KB gzipped

Most Popular

Lucia

465.1K weekly downloads

Best Maintained

Clerk

100/100 maintenance score

Highest Quality

Clerk

50/100 quality score

Overall Pick

Clerk

Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality

  1. clerk

    The official Clerk CLI. Add authentication to your app with npx -y clerk@latest init (Next.js, React Router, Astro, Nuxt, TanStack Start, Expo, and more). No Clerk account needed to start. Manage users, instances, keys, and deploys from the terminal or a

    80.6K weekly downloads · 2.9 KB gzip · Health 79/100

    0

  2. lucia

    A simple and flexible authentication library

    465.1K weekly downloads · 4.0 KB gzip · Health 57/100

    0

Choosing between Clerk and Lucia? Here's a data-driven comparison based on real npm data — downloads, bundle size, health scores, and more — to help you decide which package fits your project best.

Downloads & Popularity

Lucia leads with 465.1K weekly downloads — roughly 5.8x more. Clerk has 80.6K weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.

Bundle Size

Clerk has the smallest gzipped bundle at 2.9 KB. Lucia comes in at 4.0 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.

Health Score Comparison

Clerk has an overall health score of 79/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security scores. Lucia has an overall health score of 57/100 (moderate), with strong security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.

When to Choose Each

Choose Clerk if you value minimal bundle footprint, actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Lucia if you value minimal bundle footprint, strong security track record.

Our Verdict

Both Clerk and Lucia are solid choices for JavaScript development. Clerk has the edge in overall health score (79/100), while each package brings unique strengths to the table. Evaluate them based on your project's priorities — whether that's community size, bundle efficiency, or maintenance activity — and choose the one that aligns best with your requirements.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is clerk better than lucia?
It depends on your needs. Clerk has a health score of 79/100 while Lucia scores 57/100. Lucia has more recorded weekly downloads (465.1K). Consider your specific requirements — bundle size, community support, and feature set — to decide which is the better fit.
Which has a smaller bundle size, clerk or lucia?
Clerk has the smaller gzipped bundle at 2.9 KB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
How many developers use clerk vs lucia?
Lucia has more recorded weekly downloads (465.1K). Download counts reflect package installations, not unique developers.
Which is better maintained, clerk or lucia?
Clerk has a maintenance score of 100/100. Clerk scores 100/100 and Lucia scores 20/100 on maintenance.

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