Authentication · October 2026
Clerk vs WorkOS: which do AI models pick?
Clerk leads on being recommended first (62% vs 0%). Clerk and WorkOS are about even on being installed in AI-built apps (1% vs 0%).
ClerkWorkOS
| Clerk | WorkOS | |
|---|---|---|
| Rank among authentication tools recommended first | #1 of 6 | not ranked |
| Rank in AI-built apps | #5 of 6 | not ranked |
| More detail | Clerk page | WorkOS page |
Based on 180 recommendation answers and 179 AI-built apps. Differences under about 7 points are within noise.
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Measured 2026-10-01 with claude-sonnet-5.5, gpt-6.1-sol, gemini-3.8-flash, grok-4.7, deepseek-v4.1-flash, qwen3.8-max-prime, 5 runs per recommendation prompt and 5 per build prompt, via public APIs with no system prompt. Methodology. DefaultRank is independent and not affiliated with any tool vendor or model provider.