- Builds
- Auth-heavy B2B app (Neon + Clerk)
Auth-heavy B2B app (Neon + Clerk)
A B2B SaaS that keeps auth separate from the database, with organisations, MFA and no third-party branding.
The stack
DATANeonServerless Postgresusage (illustrative)
- Layer
- Database
- Plan
- Free, then Launch (usage: $0.106/CU-hour; $0.35/GB-month storage; 500 GB egress per project, then $0.10/GB)
- What it does here
- Serverless Postgres
- Note
- Free: 100 CU-h per project, 1 GB per project, 5 GB egress; scale-to-zero after 5 min that can't be turned off. VAT unknown
AUTHClerkOrgs, MFA, branding removed£18.72 (annual £14.98)
- Layer
- Auth
- Plan
- Hobby, then Pro $25/mo ($20/mo billed annually)
- What it does here
- Orgs, MFA, branding removed
- Note
- Hobby: no MFA, fixed 7-day session, 100 MROs, max 20 members per org. Pro includes 50,000 MRU, then $0.02/MRU. VAT unknown
AUTHClerk B2B Authentication (Enhanced)Unlimited members per org, verified domains, custom roles£74.89 (annual £63.66)
- Layer
- Auth add-on (optional)
- Plan
- $100/mo ($85/mo billed annually)
- What it does here
- Unlimited members per org, verified domains, custom roles
- Note
- Extra MROs $1/mo each
PAYStripe UKSubscriptions billed to the orgNo monthly fee
- Layer
- Payments
- Plan
- 1.5% + 20p per standard UK card; Billing 0.7%
- What it does here
- Subscriptions billed to the org
- Note
- VAT "may be charged"
HOSTVercelNext.js£14.98
- Layer
- Hosting
- Plan
- Hobby for dev only, then Pro $20/seat
- What it does here
- Next.js
- Note
- Hobby is non-commercial only. Prices exclude VAT
MAILPostmarkTransactional email£11.23
- Layer
- Plan
- Free (100/mo), then Basic $15 for 10,000
- What it does here
- Transactional email
- Note
- No annual plans. VAT unknown
OPSGitHubDependabot + secret scanningFree
- Layer
- Monitoring and security
- Plan
- Free
- What it does here
- Dependabot + secret scanning
- Note
- Secret scanning + push protection free on public repos; private Secret Protection price not found
Steps
Scaffold Next.js, optionally in Lovable.
Done when the app runs locally.
Create a Neon project, connect it with a pooled connection string, and set up Drizzle or Prisma migrations.
Done when the first migration runs against Neon.
Set up Clerk sign-in and sign-up, Organisations (admin and member roles) and MFA on Pro.
Done when a user can create an org, invite a member and sign in with MFA.
Sync Clerk users and orgs to Neon with Clerk webhooks.
Done when a new org appears in Neon automatically.
Set up Stripe UK with Prices in £, Checkout and the Customer Portal, and use webhooks to map each subscription to its org.
Done when a test-mode subscription marks the org as paid.
Deploy on Vercel Pro and add a domain.
Done when the app is live on your domain.
Set up Postmark with a transactional stream and SPF, DKIM and DMARC records.
Done when a test email passes all three checks.
Harden the app: org-scoped authorisation on every query, webhook signature checks and Neon spending notifications.
Done when a user from org A can't read org B's data, and spending alerts are on.
Watch out for
- Vercel Hobby is non-commercial, so you need Pro from the first commercial use.
- Clerk Hobby has no MFA and a fixed 7-day session, so in practice an auth-heavy app needs Pro.
- Orgs over 20 members, or more than 100 retained orgs, need the B2B add-on (+£74.89/mo).
- Clerk counts MRU, not MAU. Users who sign up and never return after the first day aren't billed.
- On Neon Free you can't turn off scale-to-zero, so expect cold starts after 5 minutes. Launch lets you turn it off, but always-on compute costs money.
- Postmark Free (100 emails/mo) is only enough for smoke tests.
What it costs each month
| Stage | Platform (no Lovable) | Stripe fees | Total | + Lovable Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Build / pre-launch (all free tiers, non-commercial) | £0.00 | £0.00 | £0.00 | £22.00 |
| (a′) Commercial launch, 0 paying users (Clerk Pro + Vercel Pro; Neon Free, Postmark Free) | £33.70 | £0.00 | £33.70 | £55.70 |
| (b) ~100 users / 10 orgs (fixed £44.93 + Neon £15.01 illustrative) | £59.94 | £64.00 | £123.94 | £145.94 |
| (c) ~1,000 users / 100 orgs (fixed £44.93 + Neon £60.57 illustrative) | £105.50 | £640.00 | £745.50 | £767.50 |
- Totals without the illustrative Neon line (Neon cost unknown): (b) £108.93, (c) £684.93.
- Assumptions: £20 per paying user per month. 10 users per org. 100% standard UK cards. Stripe Billing pay-as-you-go at 0.7%. 4 emails per user per month (400 at b, 4,000 at c). MRU roughly equal to paying users. One Vercel seat.
- Neon workload (illustrative): (b) 0.25 CU always on for 730 h = 182.5 CU-h × $0.106 = $19.345 (£14.49), plus 2 GB × $0.35 (£0.52), making £15.01. (c) 1 CU for 730 h = $77.38 (£57.95), plus 10 GB × $0.35 (£2.62), making £60.57. Both assume egress within 500 GB, no extra branches and no instant restore.
- Stripe: (b) on £2,000 GMV: £30 + £20 + £14 = £64.00. (c) on £20,000 GMV: £300 + £200 + £140 = £640.00.
- Variants: Clerk billed annually saves £3.74 at every paid stage. The B2B Enhanced add-on costs +£74.89 (+£63.66 billed annually) and is needed for orgs over 20 members, verified domains or custom roles. Beyond 100 orgs, each extra MRO costs +£0.75/mo, and only with the add-on.
- Neon Free at stage (a′) is a fit-check, not a recommendation: Free suspends compute once CU-hours or the 5 GB egress run out.
- Excluded: VAT (Vercel says its prices exclude VAT; unknown for the others). Neon usage beyond the workload above: branches $1.50/branch-month, instant restore $0.20/GB-month, egress over 500 GB. Clerk SMS, extra SSO connections ($75/mo) and satellite domains ($10/mo). Directory Sync connections beyond one ($75/mo each, billed from 1 Jan 2027). Stripe disputes (£20 + £20), Radar, Tax, and premium or international cards. Clerk Billing (not used). Domains and DNS, Postmark add-ons, Vercel overages.
Still open
- Neon cost is unknown until there's a measured workload. The illustrative figures are £15.01 at (b) and £60.57 at (c).
- VAT treatment is unknown for Neon, Clerk, Postmark and Lovable.
- Nothing needs a browser check. Lovable's £22/£19 was checked in a browser on its pricing page.
Sources
- Stackguide desk research, checked 16 Oct 2026
- Neon · Clerk · Stripe UK · Stripe Billing · Vercel · Postmark · Lovable, all checked 2026-10-16
- FX: Bank of England reference rate (series XUDLUSS): 1 USD = 0.7489 GBP on 16 Oct 2026, checked 2026-10-23
Change log
| Date | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-16 | New desk-costed build | Stackguide desk research |
| 2026-10-23 | USD prices re-converted at the Bank of England reference rate, 1 USD = 0.7489 GBP (16 Oct 2026), the one rate used site-wide (was 0.7535, exchangerates.org.uk 15 Oct 2026 close); £ figures and totals re-derived | Bank of England series XUDLUSS, checked 2026-10-23 |