clerk-billing

name	clerk-billing
description	Clerk Billing for subscription management - render Clerk's PricingTable and in-app checkout drawer, configure subscription plans, seat-limit plans for B2B, feature entitlements with has(), and billing webhooks. Use for SaaS monetization, plan gating, checkout flows, trials, invoicing, and subscription lifecycle management.
allowed-tools	WebFetch
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires NEXT_PUBLIC_CLERK_PUBLISHABLE_KEY, CLERK_SECRET_KEY, and CLERK_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_SECRET. Billing must be enabled in Clerk Dashboard → Billing. Development instances can use the shared Clerk development gateway; production instances require a Stripe account for payment processing.
metadata	{"author":"clerk","version":"1.0.0"}

Billing

STOP, prerequisite. Billing must be enabled before any <PricingTable />, <CheckoutButton />, has({ plan }), or has({ feature }) usage works. Two paths: (1) Dashboard → Billing → Settings, or (2) clerk enable billing (see "Agent-first: Programmatic billing config" below). Enabling auto-creates default free_user / free_org plans. Dev instances can use the shared Clerk development gateway (no Stripe account needed); production requires a Stripe account for payment processing only.

Note: Billing APIs are still experimental. Pin your @clerk/nextjs and clerk-js package versions. See clerk skill for the supported version table.

Quick Start

1. Enable Billing, via Dashboard → Billing → Settings or clerk enable billing (see Agent-first section). Skipping this throws cannot_render_billing_disabled in dev and renders empty in prod.

2. Create plans in the matching tab, Dashboard → Billing → Plans. Two tabs, slugs scoped per tab, not movable after creation:

   • User Plans → <PricingTable /> (default for="user")
   • Organization Plans → <PricingTable for="organization" />

   Wrong-tab is the #1 cause of an empty <PricingTable />. Plans live in Clerk; not synced to Stripe.

3. Add features inside a plan, open the plan in Dashboard → Billing → Plans, use its Features section. Features are scoped per plan, not global. The same slug can attach to multiple plans; has({ feature: 'export' }) matches if the active plan contains that slug.

4. Render <PricingTable /> (pass for="organization" for B2B).

5. Gate access with has({ plan }) or has({ feature }) from auth().

6. Handle billing webhooks for subscription lifecycle.

Dashboard shortcuts

Action	URL
Enable Billing	https://dashboard.clerk.com/last-active?path=billing/settings
Create / edit plans	https://dashboard.clerk.com/last-active?path=billing/plans
Membership mode (B2C + B2B coexistence)	https://dashboard.clerk.com/last-active?path=organizations-settings
Edit features	Plans → click a plan → Features section (no direct URL)

Agent-first: Programmatic billing config

The full billing config (enable toggles, plans, features, plan-feature attachments) is editable via PLAPI without touching the Dashboard. Useful for agents seeding plans, replicating config across instances, or version-controlling billing structure.

Pre-req: project linked to the Clerk app (clerk auth login + clerk link, see clerk-setup).

Enable Billing via CLI

clerk enable billing                # both targets (default, auto-creates free_user + free_org plans)
clerk enable billing --for org      # org only
clerk enable billing --for user     # user only

Pull current billing config

clerk config pull --keys billing > billing.json

This writes the current billing config (toggles + plans + features) for the linked instance to billing.json.

Edit and apply

Edit billing.json to add/remove plans or features, then preview the diff and apply:

clerk config patch --file billing.json --dry-run
clerk config patch --file billing.json

Pass --instance prod to target the production instance instead of dev.

Raw PATCH (full control)

For one-shot plan/feature updates without a config file:

clerk api --platform PATCH /v1/platform/applications/<app_id>/instances/<ins_id>/config \
  -d '{"billing":{"plans":[{"slug":"pro","name":"Pro","amount":2000,"currency":"usd","payer_type":"user","is_recurring":true}],"features":[{"slug":"export","name":"Export"}]}}'

Notes

• This handles billing config (toggles + plans + features catalog). Subscription lifecycle (users picking a plan, checkout, renewal, cancellation) still flows through <PricingTable /> + billing webhooks, see clerk-webhooks skill for the lifecycle events.
• Top-level features map manipulation and plan-feature attachments (sync) are fully supported via the PLAPI billing config handler.

What Do You Need?

Task	Reference
<PricingTable /> props, <CheckoutButton />, <Show> billing patterns	references/billing-components.md
B2C patterns (individual user subscriptions, Membership optional prerequisite)	references/b2c-patterns.md
B2B patterns (org subscriptions, seat-limit plans, admin-gated billing UI)	references/b2b-patterns.md
Webhook event catalog, payload shapes, handler templates	references/billing-webhooks.md

References

Reference	Description
references/billing-components.md	<PricingTable /> and subscription UI
references/b2c-patterns.md	B2C subscription billing patterns
references/b2b-patterns.md	B2B billing with organization subscriptions and seat-limit plans
references/billing-webhooks.md	Subscription lifecycle event handling

Documentation

• Billing overview
• B2B SaaS billing
• B2C SaaS billing
• Billing webhooks

Features vs Plans: When to Use Which

Use has({ feature: 'slug' }) when gating a specific capability, export, analytics, API access, audit logs.

Use has({ plan: 'slug' }) when gating a tier, showing the pro dashboard, checking org subscription level, redirecting free users.

Scenario	Correct check
Gate the "Export CSV" button	has({ feature: 'export' })
Gate the "Analytics" section	has({ feature: 'analytics' })
Gate all of /dashboard/pro	has({ plan: 'pro' })
Check if org has team subscription	has({ plan: 'org:team' })
Gate SSO configuration	has({ feature: 'sso' })

When a user says "gate the export feature" or "gate analytics", always use has({ feature }). Only use has({ plan }) when the gate is the plan tier itself, not a specific capability within it.

Key Patterns

1. Render the Pricing Table

Show available plans to users with a single component:

import { PricingTable } from '@clerk/nextjs';

export default function PricingPage() {
  return (
    <main>
      <h1>Choose a plan</h1>
      <PricingTable />
    </main>
  );
}

<PricingTable /> automatically renders all plans configured in the Clerk Dashboard. Selecting a plan opens Clerk's in-app checkout drawer. No props needed for basic usage. For B2B, pass for="organization" to render org-level plans instead of user plans.

2. Check Feature Entitlements (Server-Side)

Gate by individual features, this is the preferred approach for specific capabilities:

import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

export default async function AnalyticsPage() {
	const { has } = await auth()

	const canViewAnalytics = has({ feature: 'analytics' })
	const canExport = has({ feature: 'export' })

	return (
		<div>
			{canViewAnalytics && <AnalyticsChart />}
			{canExport && <ExportButton />}
		</div>
	)
}

Features are configured in Clerk Dashboard → Billing → Features and assigned to plans. Use has({ feature }) instead of has({ plan }) when gating granular capabilities, check the feature, not the plan.

3. Check Feature Entitlements (Client-Side)

Use useAuth() for client-side feature gating. Combine with server-side checks for full coverage:

'use client';
import { useAuth } from '@clerk/nextjs';

export function FeatureGatedUI() {
  const { has, isLoaded } = useAuth();
  if (!isLoaded) return null;

  const canExport = has?.({ feature: 'export' });
  const canAnalytics = has?.({ feature: 'analytics' });

  return (
    <div>
      {canAnalytics && <AnalyticsSection />}
      {canExport ? <ExportButton /> : <UpgradeToExport />}
    </div>
  );
}

Server Components use auth(), Client Components use useAuth(). Both support has({ feature }) and has({ plan }).

4. Check Subscription Plan Server-Side

Gate access by subscription plan (use this for tier-level gates, not individual features):

import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'
import { redirect } from 'next/navigation'

export default async function ProDashboard() {
	const { has } = await auth()

	if (!has({ plan: 'pro' })) {
		redirect('/pricing')
	}

	return <ProFeatures />
}

5. Client-Side Plan Checks

Use useAuth() hook for client components:

'use client';
import { useAuth } from '@clerk/nextjs';

export function UpgradePrompt() {
  const { has } = useAuth();

  if (has?.({ plan: 'pro' })) {
    return null;
  }

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Upgrade to Pro to access this feature</p>
      <a href="/pricing">View plans</a>
    </div>
  );
}

6. B2B Seat-Based Billing with Organizations

Org plans can carry a seat limit (membership cap) that Clerk enforces at invite time. Use the org: slug prefix on org-side plan checks (e.g. has({ plan: 'org:team' })) to keep gating unambiguous. Render the B2B pricing page with <PricingTable for="organization" />, and use <OrganizationProfile /> for the org account billing UI.

See references/b2b-patterns.md for tiered plan naming, seat-limit invariants, admin-only billing, and webhook handlers.

7. Display Subscription Status

Check specific plans with has({ plan }), or use useSubscription() for full subscription details in client components. Do not read plan information from sessionClaims directly, that is not the supported path.

Server component, check for specific plans:

import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server'

export default async function AccountPage() {
	const { has } = await auth()

	const currentPlan = has({ plan: 'pro' })
		? 'pro'
		: has({ plan: 'starter' })
			? 'starter'
			: 'free'

	return (
		<div>
			<h2>Current Plan</h2>
			<p>You are on the {currentPlan} plan</p>
			{currentPlan === 'free' && <a href="/pricing">Upgrade</a>}
		</div>
	)
}

Client component, full subscription details via useSubscription():

'use client';
import { useSubscription } from '@clerk/nextjs/experimental';

export function SubscriptionDetails() {
  const { data: subscription, isLoading } = useSubscription();
  if (isLoading) return null;
  if (!subscription) return <a href="/pricing">Choose a plan</a>;

  return (
    <div>
      <p>Status: {subscription.status}</p>
      {subscription.nextPayment && <p>Next payment: {subscription.nextPayment.date.toLocaleDateString()}</p>}
    </div>
  );
}

useSubscription() is for display only. For authorization checks (gating content or routes), always use has({ plan }) or has({ feature }).

8. Protect API Routes by Plan

Gate API routes using auth():

import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server';
import { NextResponse } from 'next/server';

export async function GET() {
  const { has } = await auth();

  if (!has({ plan: 'pro' })) {
    return NextResponse.json({ error: 'Pro plan required' }, { status: 403 });
  }

  return NextResponse.json({ data: 'premium data' });
}

9. Handle Billing Webhooks

Clerk event names differ from Stripe event names. Clerk billing webhooks use dot-notation and camelCase, not Stripe's underscore format.

There is no subscription.canceled event. Cancellation fires at the item level as subscriptionItem.canceled.

Intent	Stripe event name	Clerk event name
Subscription created	customer.subscription.created	subscription.created
Subscription updated	customer.subscription.updated	subscription.updated
Subscription active	(none)	subscription.active
Subscription past due	(none)	subscription.pastDue
Subscription item canceled	customer.subscription.deleted	subscriptionItem.canceled
Subscription item past due	invoice.payment_failed	subscriptionItem.pastDue
Subscription item updated	(none)	subscriptionItem.updated
Subscription item active	(none)	subscriptionItem.active
Subscription item upcoming renewal	(none)	subscriptionItem.upcoming
Subscription item ended	(none)	subscriptionItem.ended
Subscription item abandoned	(none)	subscriptionItem.abandoned
Subscription item expired	(none)	subscriptionItem.expired
Subscription item incomplete	(none)	subscriptionItem.incomplete
Free trial ending soon	(none)	subscriptionItem.freeTrialEnding
Payment attempt created	(none)	paymentAttempt.created
Payment attempt updated	(none)	paymentAttempt.updated

Always use Clerk's event names, never Stripe's, in evt.type checks.

Payload shape. Clerk billing webhook payloads are nested. The subscribing entity lives under evt.data.payer (fields: user_id?, organization_id?). The plan info is on each item under evt.data.items[i].plan.slug. The subscription id is simply evt.data.id. Subscription items do not carry a subscription_id field back-reference, so in subscriptionItem.* handlers you identify the record by the item id (evt.data.id) or look up by payer plus plan.

Minimal handler to anchor the pattern (import from @clerk/nextjs/webhooks, verify, branch on Clerk event name):

import { verifyWebhook } from '@clerk/nextjs/webhooks';
import { NextRequest } from 'next/server';
import { db } from '@/lib/db';

export async function POST(req: NextRequest) {
  let evt;
  try {
    evt = await verifyWebhook(req);
  } catch {
    return new Response('Verification failed', { status: 400 });
  }

  if (evt.type === 'subscription.created') {
    const { id, payer, items, status } = evt.data;
    const entityId = payer.organization_id ?? payer.user_id;
    const plan = items[0]?.plan?.slug;
    await db.subscriptions.upsert({
      where: { subscriptionId: id },
      create: { subscriptionId: id, entityId, plan, status },
      update: { entityId, plan, status },
    });
  }

  // Add more branches per the event catalog above (subscription.updated,
  // subscriptionItem.canceled, subscriptionItem.pastDue, etc.)

  return new Response('OK', { status: 200 });
}

For the full template covering all 15 events, the TS type declarations from @clerk/backend, the proxy.ts public-route setup, and the subscription status value table, see references/billing-webhooks.md.

10. Upgrade / Downgrade Flow

Let users manage their subscription from inside the app:

import { PricingTable } from '@clerk/nextjs';
import { auth } from '@clerk/nextjs/server';

export default async function BillingPage() {
  const { has } = await auth();
  const isPro = has({ plan: 'pro' });

  return (
    <div>
      <h1>Billing</h1>
      {isPro ? (
        <div>
          <p>You are on the Pro plan</p>
          <PricingTable />
        </div>
      ) : (
        <div>
          <p>Upgrade to access premium features</p>
          <PricingTable />
        </div>
      )}
    </div>
  );
}

<PricingTable /> renders differently for subscribed users, it shows the current plan and allows upgrades or cancellations, all through Clerk's in-app checkout drawer.

Plan and Feature Naming

Plan slugs and feature slugs are defined in Clerk Dashboard → Billing. Common conventions:

Tier	Plan Slug	Example Features
Free	(no plan check needed)	basic features
Starter	starter	analytics, api_access
Pro	pro	analytics, export, team
Enterprise	enterprise	all features + sso, audit_logs

Use lowercase slugs matching what you define in the dashboard.

B2B vs B2C Billing

Scenario	Who subscribes	Plan check
B2C SaaS	Individual user	has({ plan: 'pro' }) on user session
B2B SaaS	Organization	has({ plan: 'org:team' }) on org session
Seat-limited B2B	Organization	Plan has a seat cap; pricing is per-plan, not per-member, tier your plans for bigger orgs

For B2B, ensure the user has an active org session. The has() check evaluates the active entity (user or org).

Checkout Flows

Clerk renders its own checkout drawer automatically through <PricingTable /> and <CheckoutButton />. Plans and pricing live in Clerk. To trigger checkout from a server action, redirect to a page that renders <PricingTable />:

'use server';
import { redirect } from 'next/navigation';

export async function upgradeAction() {
  redirect('/pricing');
}

Error Signatures (diagnose fast)

When you see any of these errors or symptoms, the fix is almost always a Dashboard toggle, not a code change. Do not start editing components.

Error / symptom	Root cause	Fix
Clerk: 🔒 The <PricingTable/> component cannot be rendered when billing is disabled. (code: cannot_render_billing_disabled, dev only)	Billing is not enabled for this instance	Enable Billing at dashboard.clerk.com → Billing → Settings, or run clerk enable billing.
<PricingTable /> renders empty	No plans, OR plan in the wrong tab (User vs Organization), OR Billing not enabled	Create plan in matching tab; pass for="organization" for B2B; check Billing Settings
Users can't subscribe to a personal plan on a B2C + B2B app	Membership required mode (default since 2025-08-22) disables personal accounts, signed-in users are forced into choose-organization and never land on a personal-subscription state	If you need personal + org subscriptions coexisting: Dashboard → Organizations settings → Membership optional
Can't find a Features page	Features are per-plan, not global	Dashboard → Billing → Plans → click plan → Features
has({ plan: 'pro' }) always returns false after a successful checkout	Session token hasn't been refreshed to include the new plan	await clerk.session?.reload() or navigate to force a new session
has({ plan: 'pro' }) returns false before any subscribe attempt	Plan slug mismatch (case-sensitive), OR Billing not enabled, OR payment gateway not connected in production	Verify slug in Dashboard → Billing → Plans; confirm Billing → Settings shows enabled + connected gateway
has({ permission: 'org:x:y' }) returns false for a user who has the role	The Feature tied to that permission is not included in the organization's active Plan	Add the Feature to the Plan in Dashboard → Billing → Plans → Features
Webhook 401 / signature verification failed	CLERK_WEBHOOK_SIGNING_SECRET mismatch or route protected by middleware	Copy the Signing Secret from Dashboard → Webhooks; add the webhook route to createRouteMatcher(['/api/webhooks(.*)'])

Billing Gates Permissions

When Billing is enabled, has({ permission: 'org:posts:edit' }) returns false if the Feature associated with that permission is not included in the organization's active Plan, even if the user has the permission assigned via their role. This is by design: billing gates permissions at the feature level. Always ensure the required Feature is attached to the Plan in Dashboard → Billing → Plans → Features.

See Also

• clerk-setup - Initial Clerk install
• clerk-orgs - B2B organizations (required for B2B billing and seat-limit plans)
• clerk-webhooks - Webhook signature verification and routing