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CLEAR vs TSA PreCheck: they do not skip the same line
Compare five and ten years of CLEAR+ with PreCheck taken through CLEAR, or switch the program to see each one alone.
Real cost over five and ten years
You pay over five years
$1,094.95
| Over ten years | $2,189.90 |
| Per year | $218.99 |
| TSA PreCheck through CLEAR, year 1 | $84.95 |
| TSA PreCheck through CLEAR, year 6 | $72.95 |
| CLEAR+ for 10 years | $2,032 |
CLEAR+ renews every year at the published price unless you cancel. Ten years = enrollment plus one renewal at year five; a card credit counts when its period has passed since the last one.
CLEAR and TSA PreCheck are often compared as if they were rivals, but they act on two different steps of the security checkpoint. CLEAR+ is a private membership that verifies your identity with your face or fingerprints at a pod or an eGate, so you skip the line where an officer checks your ID and boarding pass; it costs $219 a year, renews automatically, and CLEAR says it runs more than 150 lanes at 62 airports. TSA PreCheck is a government program that changes the screening itself: shoes, belt, light jacket, laptop and liquids stay on or in the bag, for $79.75 to $85 for five years. CLEAR without PreCheck takes you quickly to the standard screening lane; PreCheck without CLEAR keeps the ID check at the start of the PreCheck lane. Over five years one person pays $1,095 for CLEAR+ and $79.75 for PreCheck.
CLEAR+: what each departure costs you
Per departure, per person
$18.25
| Per year, after credit | $219 |
| Five years | $1,095 |
CLEAR price page: $219 a year, $125 per added adult (up to 3), children 17 and under free.
Fees and rules read on tsa.gov and cbp.gov by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
What each one changes at the checkpoint
A security checkpoint has two stations. At the first, an officer compares your ID with your face and your boarding pass. At the second, you and your bags are screened. CLEAR+ replaces the first: you look into a camera or touch a reader, an eGate or a CLEAR employee lets you through, and you join the screening lane. PreCheck changes the second: a dedicated lane where you keep your shoes on and leave electronics and the 3-1-1 liquids bag in your carry-on. TSA's own Touchless ID now also replaces the ID check with a quick photo, at 65 airports, for PreCheck members with a valid passport who opt in through a participating airline or a phone wallet.
| CLEAR+ | TSA PreCheck | |
|---|---|---|
| Run by | a private company (Secure Identity, LLC) | TSA, with three enrollment providers |
| Skips | the ID and boarding pass check | the standard screening rules |
| Price | $219 a year, auto-renewed | $79.75 to $85 for five years |
| Family | adults $125 each, children to 17 free | children to 17 follow a member (age rules) |
| Where | 62 airports (CLEAR figure) | US airport checkpoints, with nearly 100 airlines on TSA’s list |
| Card credits | some cards pay it each calendar year | about forty cards pay it every four years |
Price per flight, not per year
The fair way to compare is the cost per departure. CLEAR+ at $219 a year is about $18.25 per departure if you fly out of a CLEAR airport twelve times a year, and $4.38 at fifty. PreCheck at $79.75 for five years is $1.33 per departure at twelve a year. The tool below does the division for your own count, with the extra adults and any yearly CLEAR credit from a card.
CLEAR+: what each departure costs you
Per departure, per person
$18.25
| Per year, after credit | $219 |
| Five years | $1,095 |
CLEAR price page: $219 a year, $125 per added adult (up to 3), children 17 and under free.
Taking PreCheck through CLEAR
CLEAR is also one of TSA's three PreCheck enrollment providers, at $84.95 for enrollment and $72.95 online or $84.95 in person for renewal. The PreCheck membership is the same as with IDEMIA or Telos; only the price and the Known Traveler Number prefix (AC) differ. What you gain is the one-time code that discounts the first CLEAR+ year to $134. If you want both anyway, the combination costs $218.95 the first year, the same as CLEAR+ alone at full price. If you do not want CLEAR+, IDEMIA's $79.75 is cheaper.
Who should hold both
Both together make sense for a traveler who flies often from a large airport where the ID line before the PreCheck lane gets long at peak hours, and whose card pays the CLEAR+ fee. One card on TSA's list, for example, gives up to $219 back each calendar year on CLEAR+, which covers it entirely. Without such a credit, most travelers get more from PreCheck alone, or from Global Entry, which includes PreCheck. Check that CLEAR operates at the airports you use before paying: its lanes are limited to some terminals and checkpoints. CLEAR is cited here as a company; this site has no link with it.