Better Auth vs Plango
Better Auth and Plango are both security & identity tools. Better Auth is aimed at developers, while Plango is aimed at developers and freelancers. Plango costs less, from $4.99/mo versus $20/mo for Better Auth. Only Better Auth has a free plan.
Framework-agnostic TypeScript authentication
Mac security suite that guards your machine from AI coding agents
| Pricing | Open source · $20 | Paid · $5 |
| Starting price | $20/mo | $4.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Free trial | — | 7 days |
| Built for | Developers | Developers, Freelancers |
| Platforms | web | macos |
| Country | US · 2024 | US |
| Rating | — | — |
Choose Better Auth if
TypeScript developers who want complete ownership and flexibility without paying per user.
- Free and MIT licensed; you own user data
- Comprehensive plugin set rivals hosted providers
- Excellent TypeScript DX
Look elsewhere if: Teams that want hosted UI and zero maintenance (Clerk) or heavy enterprise SSO today (Auth0).
Choose Plango if
Solo developers and freelancers on Apple silicon Macs who let AI coding agents run commands on their own machine.
- Low single price of $4.99 a month
- Trial needs no card and does not auto-convert
- Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Gemini CLI and more
Look elsewhere if: Teams that need central policy across many machines or Windows and Linux coverage (Snyk).
Better Auth vs Plango pricing
Better Auth
- Open source$0MIT library, self-hosted, no per-user fees
- Starter$0Managed infra: 1 dashboard seat, 10k audit logs/mo
- Pro$20/moUnlimited seats, 20k audit logs/mo, 1 SSO connection
- EnterpriseCustomCustom limits, log drain, Slack support
Plango
- Plango$4.99/moOne Mac at a time, transferable; no annual option
Better Auth · Key features
- Email/password, OAuth, magic link, passkeys and OTP
- Plugins: organizations, teams, 2FA, admin, multi-session, API keys
- Database adapters for Drizzle, Prisma, Kysely and more
- Framework integrations: Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Hono, Express
- Typed client hooks for React, Vue and Svelte
- Rate limiting, session management and CLI migrations
Cons
- You host and secure it yourself
- No prebuilt UI components (bring your own)
- Younger project; APIs still evolving
Plango · Key features
- Agent guard that blocks dangerous actions by AI coding agents
- Inventory and guarding of connected MCP servers
- Vetting of skills and plugins before agents trust them
- Moves .env secrets into the macOS Keychain
- Finder-tagged folders kept out of AI agents' reach
- Project CVE scanning and outbound firewall
Cons
- macOS only, Apple silicon and macOS 15 or newer
- Requires at least 16 GB of RAM
- No team or fleet plan yet
Better Auth vs Plango: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Better Auth or Plango?
Plango starts at $4.99/mo and Better Auth at $20/mo. Both prices are checked on the vendors' own pricing pages.
Do Better Auth and Plango have a free plan?
Better Auth has a free plan. Plango has no free plan, a 7-day free trial.