Global Entry vs CLEAR
One is a five-year government card. The other is a $199-a-year private subscription. They solve different problems.
Global Entry and CLEAR are not really competitors — they cover different parts of the airport. Global Entry skips the customs queue on international arrivals and includes TSA PreCheck. CLEAR skips the document-check line in front of regular TSA. The frequent flyers who care most about saving time at the airport often have both.
Side by side
- US customs (international arrivals)
- TSA airport security
- TSA airport security
Best for
— pick onePick Global Entry if you ever leave the country. Includes TSA PreCheck. $100 for 5 years works out to $20 per year — the best dollars-per-minute trusted-traveler program available.
Pick CLEAR if you live and fly out of a CLEAR-equipped airport, hate document-check lines even within PreCheck, and your card or airline status discounts the $199 yearly fee.
Key differences
Global Entry costs $100 for 5 years; CLEAR Plus costs $199 per year.
Global Entry is a US government program run by CBP; CLEAR is a private membership run by CLEAR Secure.
Global Entry includes TSA PreCheck. CLEAR does not — it sits in front of TSA, including the PreCheck queue, but you still need PreCheck for the keep-your-shoes-on benefit.
Global Entry is honoured at every US airport with international arrivals. CLEAR is only available at the airports CLEAR has installed lanes in (around 60).
Global Entry requires a CBP interview, fingerprinting, and a background check. CLEAR enrollment is biometric self-service with no formal vetting.
The full breakdown
These two products serve different traveller needs. Global Entry is a government trusted-traveler card: rigorous vetting, five-year validity, customs benefit on international arrivals, and TSA PreCheck included. CLEAR is a paid identity-verification subscription that lets you bypass the TSA officer at the document-check podium and walk straight to the screening machine — an entirely different point in the airport flow.
The price structures reflect this. Global Entry charges once: $100, valid five years, and many premium credit cards reimburse the fee. CLEAR Plus is $199 per year, with discounts for Delta SkyMiles members, United MileagePlus elites, Amex Platinum holders, and a few others. Over five years, Global Entry costs $100. Over five years, CLEAR costs $995 at retail.
CLEAR's value depends heavily on which airports you fly out of and how busy they are. At an airport with bad TSA staffing — Atlanta, Newark, LAX terminal flow at peak hours — CLEAR can save 15-30 minutes by jumping the document-check queue. At a smaller airport with short lines, the benefit shrinks toward zero. CLEAR also does nothing on the international-arrivals side: it has no customs benefit at all.
PreCheck and CLEAR can stack. CLEAR will pull you out of the document-check queue and walk you straight to the PreCheck screening lane, where you keep your shoes and laptop in place. That combination is what frequent flyers usually mean when they say they have both. Global Entry already includes PreCheck, so the practical pairing is "Global Entry + CLEAR" — the customs skip plus the TSA-document skip.
For occasional travellers, neither product alone is wrong, but Global Entry is the better single purchase. International arrivals are where airport queues get genuinely awful, and the $20-per-year amortised cost of Global Entry is hard to beat. CLEAR is a luxury layer for people who already have everything else.
Frequently asked
Is CLEAR the same as TSA PreCheck?+
No. PreCheck is a TSA program that screens you faster (shoes on, laptop in bag). CLEAR is a private identity-verification service that walks you past the TSA officer at document check. They cover different parts of the airport flow and can be used together.
Does CLEAR include Global Entry?+
No. CLEAR is a private subscription with no customs benefit and no government vetting. Global Entry is a separate CBP program.
Why is CLEAR so much more expensive than Global Entry?+
CLEAR is a private company funded by yearly subscriptions. Global Entry is a government-run program with one-time application fees. The pricing models are fundamentally different.
Should I have both Global Entry and CLEAR?+
Plenty of frequent flyers do. Global Entry handles international arrivals and includes PreCheck on domestic departures. CLEAR handles the TSA document-check line. Combined, you have the fastest possible US airport experience, but you are paying twice.
Is CLEAR worth it without Global Entry or PreCheck?+
Generally no. Without PreCheck, CLEAR drops you into a regular TSA screening lane where you still have to remove shoes, take out your laptop, and pull out 3-1-1 liquids. The biggest win comes from stacking CLEAR + PreCheck, or CLEAR + Global Entry.
Does CLEAR work at every airport?+
No. CLEAR is only available at airports where the company has installed lanes — currently around 60 US airports. Global Entry is available at every US airport with international arrivals.
Global Entry is a government program with a five-year card and an international-customs benefit. CLEAR is a yearly private subscription that skips one specific line within the US airport. If you have to pick one, get Global Entry. If you fly weekly out of a CLEAR airport and your subscription is discounted, CLEAR on top is reasonable. Beyond that, the math favors the government program.