Better Auth
Framework-agnostic TypeScript authentication
Better Auth is a security & identity tool for Developers, offered as open source ($20/mo). Founded in United States in 2024.
About Better Auth
Better Auth is an open-source authentication and authorization library for TypeScript, distributed under the MIT license. Instead of sending users to a hosted identity service, it runs inside your own backend and stores users, sessions and accounts in your own database through adapters for Drizzle, Prisma, Kysely, MongoDB and plain SQL drivers. It is framework-agnostic, with integrations for Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, Hono, Express and others, and typed clients for React, Vue, Svelte, Solid and vanilla JavaScript.
The core covers email and password, social OAuth providers and session management; a plugin system adds two-factor authentication, passkeys, magic links, email OTP, username login, organizations with teams and roles, admin tools, multi-session, API keys, JWT, an OIDC provider and more. A CLI generates the schema and migrations each plugin needs. The library is free with no per-user pricing; an optional managed service (free Starter, $20/month Pro) adds a dashboard.
Better Auth suits TypeScript teams that want control over user data and login flows without writing auth from scratch. The trade-off is responsibility: you handle hosting, security updates and email delivery, and the core ships no prebuilt UI components. Clerk and Auth0 provide hosted UI, dashboards and enterprise SSO for a per-user fee; Supabase Auth is convenient if you already use Supabase; Auth.js (NextAuth) is the older open-source option with fewer built-in features.
The project grew quickly in 2024 and 2025 as Lucia was deprecated.
Key features of Better Auth
- 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
Pros and cons
Pros
- Free and MIT licensed; you own user data
- Comprehensive plugin set rivals hosted providers
- Excellent TypeScript DX
- No per-MAU costs ever
Cons
- You host and secure it yourself
- No prebuilt UI components (bring your own)
- Younger project; APIs still evolving
- Enterprise SAML requires plugins or external IdP
Better Auth pricing
Better Auth uses a open source model.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Open source | $0 | MIT library, self-hosted, no per-user fees |
| Starter | $0 | Managed infra: 1 dashboard seat, 10k audit logs/mo |
| Pro | $20 / mo | Unlimited seats, 20k audit logs/mo, 1 SSO connection |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom limits, log drain, Slack support |
Source: www.better-auth.com · checked on Oct 20, 2026
How Better Auth compares in Security & identity
- Rank by votes
- #1 / 24
- Starting price
- $20
- Free alternatives
- 3
0 votes from members
150% above the category median ($8/mo)
Free or open-source tools in Security & identity
Better Auth ranks #1 of 24 security & identity tools by community votes and is priced above most tools in the category.
Common use cases
- 1Next.js SaaS wanting auth tables in its own Postgres
- 2Startup avoiding per-user auth bills
- 3Multi-tenant app with organizations and roles
- 4Developer who wants full control of login flows
Best for
TypeScript developers who want complete ownership and flexibility without paying per user.
Not ideal for
Teams that want hosted UI and zero maintenance (Clerk) or heavy enterprise SSO today (Auth0).
Integrations
- Next.js
- Nuxt
- SvelteKit
- Remix
- Hono
- Express
- Drizzle
- Prisma
- Kysely
- Any Postgres/MySQL/SQLite
Our take
Better Auth is the best open-source auth for TypeScript apps and is what this directory itself runs on. Choose Clerk only if prebuilt UI and managed hosting matter more than ownership.
FAQ
- What is Better Auth?
- Better Auth is a Security & identity tool: Framework-agnostic TypeScript authentication.
- How much does Better Auth cost?
- Better Auth is Open source; there is no mandatory paid plan.
- What does Better Auth integrate with?
- Better Auth integrates with Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Remix, Hono, Express and more.
- Which platforms does Better Auth support?
- Better Auth is available on web.
- Who is Better Auth for?
- TypeScript developers who want complete ownership and flexibility without paying per user.
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