diff --git a/.changeset/serious-balloons-eat.md b/.changeset/serious-balloons-eat.md
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..8430b0adf5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.changeset/serious-balloons-eat.md
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+---
+'@clerk/nextjs': minor
+'@clerk/clerk-react': minor
+---
+
+Speed up loading of clerk-js by using a `<script/>` tag when html is generated.
+This is supported during SSR, SSG in
+- Next.js Pages Router
+- Next.js App Router
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/app-router/client/ClerkProvider.tsx b/packages/nextjs/src/app-router/client/ClerkProvider.tsx
index 37927fcbc2..777b31a3df 100644
--- a/packages/nextjs/src/app-router/client/ClerkProvider.tsx
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/app-router/client/ClerkProvider.tsx
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ import React, { useEffect, useTransition } from 'react';
 import { ClerkNextOptionsProvider } from '../../client-boundary/NextOptionsContext';
 import { useSafeLayoutEffect } from '../../client-boundary/useSafeLayoutEffect';
 import type { NextClerkProviderProps } from '../../types';
+import { ClerkJSScript } from '../../utils/clerk-js-script';
 import { mergeNextClerkPropsWithEnv } from '../../utils/mergeNextClerkPropsWithEnv';
 import { useAwaitableNavigate } from './useAwaitableNavigate';
 
@@ -73,7 +74,10 @@ export const ClientClerkProvider = (props: NextClerkProviderProps) => {
 
   return (
     <ClerkNextOptionsProvider options={mergedProps}>
-      <ReactClerkProvider {...mergedProps}>{children}</ReactClerkProvider>
+      <ReactClerkProvider {...mergedProps}>
+        <ClerkJSScript router='app' />
+        {children}
+      </ReactClerkProvider>
     </ClerkNextOptionsProvider>
   );
 };
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/pages/ClerkProvider.tsx b/packages/nextjs/src/pages/ClerkProvider.tsx
index d862445516..97c135d2e9 100644
--- a/packages/nextjs/src/pages/ClerkProvider.tsx
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/pages/ClerkProvider.tsx
@@ -7,8 +7,10 @@ import React from 'react';
 import { ClerkNextOptionsProvider } from '../client-boundary/NextOptionsContext';
 import { useSafeLayoutEffect } from '../client-boundary/useSafeLayoutEffect';
 import type { NextClerkProviderProps } from '../types';
+import { ClerkJSScript } from '../utils/clerk-js-script';
 import { invalidateNextRouterCache } from '../utils/invalidateNextRouterCache';
 import { mergeNextClerkPropsWithEnv } from '../utils/mergeNextClerkPropsWithEnv';
+
 setErrorThrowerOptions({ packageName: PACKAGE_NAME });
 
 export function ClerkProvider({ children, ...props }: NextClerkProviderProps): JSX.Element {
@@ -45,6 +47,7 @@ export function ClerkProvider({ children, ...props }: NextClerkProviderProps): J
         {...mergedProps}
         initialState={initialState}
       >
+        <ClerkJSScript router='pages' />
         {children}
       </ReactClerkProvider>
     </ClerkNextOptionsProvider>
diff --git a/packages/nextjs/src/utils/clerk-js-script.tsx b/packages/nextjs/src/utils/clerk-js-script.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fa3244b78d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/nextjs/src/utils/clerk-js-script.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import { useClerk } from '@clerk/clerk-react';
+import { buildClerkJsScriptAttributes, clerkJsScriptUrl } from '@clerk/clerk-react/internal';
+import NextScript from 'next/script';
+import React from 'react';
+
+import { useClerkNextOptions } from '../client-boundary/NextOptionsContext';
+
+type ClerkJSScriptProps = {
+  router: 'app' | 'pages';
+};
+
+function ClerkJSScript(props: ClerkJSScriptProps) {
+  const { publishableKey, clerkJSUrl, clerkJSVersion, clerkJSVariant } = useClerkNextOptions();
+  const { domain, proxyUrl } = useClerk();
+  const options = {
+    domain,
+    proxyUrl,
+    publishableKey: publishableKey!,
+    clerkJSUrl,
+    clerkJSVersion,
+    clerkJSVariant,
+  };
+  const scriptUrl = clerkJsScriptUrl(options);
+
+  /**
+   * Notes:
+   * `next/script` in 13.x.x when used with App Router will fail to pass any of our `data-*` attributes, resulting in errors
+   * Nextjs App Router will automatically move inline scripts inside `<head/>`
+   * Using the `nextjs/script` for App Router with the `beforeInteractive` strategy will throw an error because our custom script will be mounted outside the `html` tag.
+   */
+  const Script = props.router === 'app' ? 'script' : NextScript;
+
+  return (
+    <Script
+      src={scriptUrl}
+      data-clerk-js-script
+      async
+      // `nextjs/script` will add defer by default and does not get removed when we async is true
+      defer={props.router === 'pages' ? false : undefined}
+      crossOrigin='anonymous'
+      strategy={props.router === 'pages' ? 'beforeInteractive' : undefined}
+      {...buildClerkJsScriptAttributes(options)}
+    />
+  );
+}
+
+export { ClerkJSScript };
diff --git a/packages/react/src/internal.ts b/packages/react/src/internal.ts
index f8211d6abe..ab014b77df 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/internal.ts
+++ b/packages/react/src/internal.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,5 @@
 export { setErrorThrowerOptions } from './errors/errorThrower';
 export { MultisessionAppSupport } from './components/controlComponents';
 export { useRoutingProps } from './hooks/useRoutingProps';
+
+export { clerkJsScriptUrl, buildClerkJsScriptAttributes } from './utils/loadClerkJsScript';
diff --git a/packages/react/src/utils/loadClerkJsScript.ts b/packages/react/src/utils/loadClerkJsScript.ts
index 2c7113e65b..016e3ccb1e 100644
--- a/packages/react/src/utils/loadClerkJsScript.ts
+++ b/packages/react/src/utils/loadClerkJsScript.ts
@@ -11,17 +11,31 @@ import { versionSelector } from './versionSelector';
 const FAILED_TO_LOAD_ERROR = 'Clerk: Failed to load Clerk';
 
 type LoadClerkJsScriptOptions = Omit<IsomorphicClerkOptions, 'proxyUrl' | 'domain'> & {
-  proxyUrl: string;
-  domain: string;
+  proxyUrl?: string;
+  domain?: string;
 };
 
-export const loadClerkJsScript = (opts: LoadClerkJsScriptOptions) => {
+const loadClerkJsScript = (opts: LoadClerkJsScriptOptions) => {
   const { publishableKey } = opts;
 
   if (!publishableKey) {
     errorThrower.throwMissingPublishableKeyError();
   }
 
+  const existingScript = document.querySelector<HTMLScriptElement>('script[data-clerk-js-script]');
+
+  if (existingScript) {
+    return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+      existingScript.addEventListener('load', () => {
+        resolve(existingScript);
+      });
+
+      existingScript.addEventListener('error', () => {
+        reject(FAILED_TO_LOAD_ERROR);
+      });
+    });
+  }
+
   return loadScript(clerkJsScriptUrl(opts), {
     async: true,
     crossOrigin: 'anonymous',
@@ -52,17 +66,30 @@ const clerkJsScriptUrl = (opts: LoadClerkJsScriptOptions) => {
   return `https://${scriptHost}/npm/@clerk/clerk-js@${version}/dist/clerk.${variant}browser.js`;
 };
 
-const applyClerkJsScriptAttributes = (options: LoadClerkJsScriptOptions) => (script: HTMLScriptElement) => {
-  const { publishableKey, proxyUrl, domain } = options;
-  if (publishableKey) {
-    script.setAttribute('data-clerk-publishable-key', publishableKey);
+const buildClerkJsScriptAttributes = (options: LoadClerkJsScriptOptions) => {
+  const obj: Record<string, string> = {};
+
+  if (options.publishableKey) {
+    obj['data-clerk-publishable-key'] = options.publishableKey;
   }
 
-  if (proxyUrl) {
-    script.setAttribute('data-clerk-proxy-url', proxyUrl);
+  if (options.proxyUrl) {
+    obj['data-clerk-proxy-url'] = options.proxyUrl;
   }
 
-  if (domain) {
-    script.setAttribute('data-clerk-domain', domain);
+  if (options.domain) {
+    obj['data-clerk-clerk-domain'] = options.domain;
+  }
+
+  return obj;
+};
+
+const applyClerkJsScriptAttributes = (options: LoadClerkJsScriptOptions) => (script: HTMLScriptElement) => {
+  const attributes = buildClerkJsScriptAttributes(options);
+  for (const attribute in attributes) {
+    script.setAttribute(attribute, attributes[attribute]);
   }
 };
+
+export { loadClerkJsScript, buildClerkJsScriptAttributes, clerkJsScriptUrl };
+export type { LoadClerkJsScriptOptions };