Better Auth
Open source TypeScript authentication framework that joined Vercel on 7 July 2026.
Pricing Open sourcePaid from $20 a month for Pro (managed infrastructure)Open source yesStars 30.5knpm a week 13M
Kinde alternatives
9 tools you can use instead of Kinde, ranked by live GitHub stars and npm downloads. Better Auth, WorkOS and Keycloak are the most used. Stats updated 5 hours ago.
Clerk is the closest alternative: hosted auth with prebuilt components, from $25 a month. Auth0 is the established hosted platform, owned by Okta. SuperTokens is open source and free to self-host.
When Kinde is not a good fit
Kinde is an authentication and user management platform for adding login, roles and enterprise SSO to an application, with a free tier covering 10,500 monthly active users. Paid plans start at $25 a month for Pro, adding unlimited webhooks and custom roles.
It is a weaker choice for:
- Businesses billing customers who want to avoid the 0.7% transaction fee on payments processed through Kinde
- Very large enterprises needing custom-negotiated pricing beyond the Scale plan's published tier
- Teams wanting a self-hosted option rather than a fully hosted service
The alternatives
Most used first.
View Better Auth
WorkOS
Enterprise-readiness platform adding SSO, directory sync, audit logs and user management to an app.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $125 a month per connection for Single Sign-On or Directory SyncOpen source noStars 226npm a week 4M
Keycloak
Open source identity and access management with single sign-on, OpenID Connect and SAML.
Pricing Open sourceOpen source yesStars 37.5k
Clerk
Hosted authentication and user management with prebuilt sign-in, profile and organization components.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $25 a month, or $20 a month billed yearly (Pro)Open source noStars 1.8knpm a week 3.1M
SuperTokens
Open source authentication platform, free to self-host with no limits, or managed cloud from $0.02 per MAU.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $0.02 per MAU (managed cloud, beyond free tier)Open source yesStars 15.3knpm a week 76k
Ory
Open source identity and access management platform, self-hosted or as a managed cloud service.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $770 a year for the Production planOpen source yesStars 13.9knpm a week 205k
Auth0
Identity and access management platform for authentication and single sign-on, owned by Okta.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $35 a month for Essentials (up to 500 monthly active users)Open source noStars 2.3knpm a week 1.1M
Stytch
Authentication platform with passwordless, fraud prevention and B2B SSO/SCIM support, priced pay-as-you-go.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from Usage-based pricing beyond free tier limits (Pay as You Go plan)Open source noStars 116npm a week 333k
FusionAuth
Authentication and user management platform, free to self-host or available as a hosted service.
Pricing FreemiumPaid from $162 a month billed annually (Starter, hosted)Open source nonpm a week 76.5k
Kinde and its alternatives, side by side
| Tool | Pricing | Free plan | Paid from | Open source | GitHub stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kinde | Freemium | Yes, forever free: 10,500 monthly active users included, no setup or hidden fees | $25 a month (Pro plan) | No | 184 |
| Better Auth | Open source | The framework is free. The managed Starter plan is $0 a month with 1 dashboard seat. | $20 a month for Pro (managed infrastructure) | Yes, MIT | 30.5k |
| WorkOS | Freemium | Yes: AuthKit is free for up to 1 million monthly active users | $125 a month per connection for Single Sign-On or Directory Sync | No | 226 |
| Keycloak | Open source | Yes: free to download and self-host, with no user limits | Not listed | Yes, Apache-2.0 | 37.5k |
| Clerk | Freemium | Yes: Hobby plan with 50,000 monthly retained users per app and up to 3 dashboard seats | $25 a month, or $20 a month billed yearly (Pro) | No | 1.8k |
| SuperTokens | Freemium | Yes: self-hosted open source features are free with no limits; managed cloud is free under 5,000 MAU | $0.02 per MAU (managed cloud, beyond free tier) | Yes, Apache-2.0 | 15.3k |
| Ory | Freemium | Yes: the Developer plan is free, with 2 development environments and community support; self-hosting the open source components is also free | $770 a year for the Production plan | Yes, Apache-2.0 (core open source components) | 13.9k |
| Auth0 | Freemium | Yes: up to 25,000 monthly active users, 1 custom domain, passwordless auth, unlimited social connections, 5 organizations | $35 a month for Essentials (up to 500 monthly active users) | No | 2.3k |
| Stytch | Freemium | Yes: 10,000 monthly active users and AI agents, unlimited organizations, 5 SSO/SCIM connections and 1,000 M2M tokens included free | Usage-based pricing beyond free tier limits (Pay as You Go plan) | No | 116 |
| FusionAuth | Freemium | Yes: Community edition is free and self-hosted with unlimited users | $162 a month billed annually (Starter, hosted) | No | None |
Pricing facts come from each tool's official pricing page, with the checked date on the tool's own page.
Questions
What is the most popular alternative to Kinde?
By GitHub stars, Better Auth is the most used alternative to Kinde listed on ScratchDB, with 30.5k stars.
Which Kinde alternatives are open source?
Better Auth, Keycloak, SuperTokens and Ory are open source.
Which Kinde alternatives have a free plan?
WorkOS, Keycloak, Clerk, SuperTokens, Ory, Auth0, Stytch and FusionAuth have a free plan. The table on this page shows what each one includes.