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Better Auth

Better Auth is an open source authentication framework for TypeScript, with built-in sessions, 50+ authentication methods, multi-tenancy and enterprise features such as SSO and SAML. On 7 July 2026 the team announced that Better Auth is joining Vercel. The framework is free, and a managed dashboard and infrastructure service costs $20 a month on the Pro plan.

By Better AuthOpen sourceAuth

Facts checked on against the sources listed at the end of this page.

Pricing
Open sourcePaid from $20 a month for Pro (managed infrastructure)
Open source
YesMIT
GitHub stars
30,476
npm downloads a week
13Mup 15% on the week before
Latest release
v1.7.1418 hours ago
Releases in 90 days
7about 2 a month

A good fit for

  • TypeScript apps that want auth in their own codebase and database
  • Teams that need passkeys, SSO or multi-tenant organizations
  • Projects that want to avoid a per-user fee from a hosted auth provider
  • Apps that need to authenticate AI agents over MCP

Not a good fit for

  • Non-TypeScript back ends: the framework is TypeScript
  • Teams that want a fully hosted login service with no auth code to maintain
  • Anyone who needs a statement on long-term pricing after the Vercel deal: the announcement gives none

Better Auth pricing

The framework is free and open source. Paid plans are for the managed infrastructure and dashboard: Starter is free, Pro is $20 a month and Enterprise is custom.

PlanPriceWhat you get
Starter$0 a month1 dashboard seat, 10,000 audit logs a month with 1 day retention, 1,000 security detections a month and community support.
Pro$20 a monthUnlimited dashboard seats, 20,000 audit logs a month then $0.0001 per event, 10,000 security detections a month then $0.001 per event, email support. Transactional email is $0.001 and SMS $0.09. Custom domain and log drain are $25 a month each.
EnterpriseCustom pricingAudit logs, security detection, retention policies, SSO, directory sync, log drain, custom dashboard domain and dedicated Slack support.

Prices in USD, checked on 6 October 2026. Current prices on better-auth.com.

Main features

Credential auth
Sessions, email verification and password reset built in.
50+ authentication methods
Passkeys, magic links, API keys, JWTs and OAuth.
Multi-tenancy
Teams, roles, invitations and access control.
Enterprise features
SSO, SAML 2.0, SCIM and directory sync.
Security tooling
Bot detection, IP blocking and email validation.
AI agent auth
MCP auth and token exchange.
Wide framework support
Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, Hono and 20+ others.

About Better Auth

Better Auth is a code-first authentication framework for TypeScript. It includes credential auth with sessions, email verification and password reset, and lists 50+ methods including passkeys, magic links, API keys, JWTs and OAuth.

It supports multi-tenancy with teams, roles and invitations, enterprise features such as SSO, SAML 2.0, SCIM and directory sync, security features such as bot detection and IP blocking, and MCP auth for AI agents. It works with Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, Hono and 20+ other frameworks.

On 7 July 2026 Better Auth published "Better Auth is joining Vercel". The post says Vercel shares the commitment to keeping auth open source and framework and platform agnostic. It names two focuses: the Better Auth framework and the Agent Auth Protocol for securing agent workflows. The post also says Better Auth previously acquired Auth.js (NextAuth.js) and will keep maintaining it. The post does not give pricing details.

Made by
Better Auth
Free plan
The framework is free. The managed Starter plan is $0 a month with 1 dashboard seat.
Available on
TypeScript, Next.js, Nuxt, SvelteKit, Astro, Hono

Usage and activity

Weekly npm downloads of better-auth, last 12 months.

05M10M15MSepNovJanMarMayJulOct24 September 2025: 320,568 downloads a week1 October 2025: 351,361 downloads a week8 October 2025: 362,545 downloads a week15 October 2025: 394,632 downloads a week22 October 2025: 434,649 downloads a week29 October 2025: 427,213 downloads a week5 November 2025: 433,225 downloads a week12 November 2025: 475,580 downloads a week19 November 2025: 491,312 downloads a week26 November 2025: 552,589 downloads a week3 December 2025: 606,618 downloads a week10 December 2025: 694,490 downloads a week17 December 2025: 690,905 downloads a week24 December 2025: 594,890 downloads a week31 December 2025: 499,506 downloads a week7 January 2026: 657,506 downloads a week14 January 2026: 817,805 downloads a week21 January 2026: 910,036 downloads a week28 January 2026: 977,057 downloads a week4 February 2026: 1,093,357 downloads a week11 February 2026: 1,188,472 downloads a week18 February 2026: 1,172,721 downloads a week25 February 2026: 1,302,608 downloads a week4 March 2026: 1,464,876 downloads a week11 March 2026: 1,696,195 downloads a week18 March 2026: 1,778,261 downloads a week25 March 2026: 1,895,330 downloads a week1 April 2026: 2,090,151 downloads a week8 April 2026: 2,097,842 downloads a week15 April 2026: 2,204,102 downloads a week22 April 2026: 2,340,639 downloads a week29 April 2026: 2,548,407 downloads a week6 May 2026: 2,517,858 downloads a week13 May 2026: 2,990,948 downloads a week20 May 2026: 3,269,591 downloads a week27 May 2026: 3,081,430 downloads a week3 June 2026: 3,710,210 downloads a week10 June 2026: 4,047,563 downloads a week17 June 2026: 4,348,069 downloads a week24 June 2026: 4,520,745 downloads a week1 July 2026: 4,233,426 downloads a week8 July 2026: 5,131,548 downloads a week22 July 2026: 6,034,555 downloads a week29 July 2026: 6,477,312 downloads a week5 August 2026: 6,697,000 downloads a week12 August 2026: 6,406,804 downloads a week26 August 2026: 7,416,111 downloads a week2 September 2026: 7,930,894 downloads a week28 September 2026: 11,096,517 downloads a week5 October 2026: 12,783,122 downloads a week

Recent releases

Better Auth alternatives

All 9 alternatives to Better Auth, side by side

Questions about Better Auth

Is Better Auth open source?

Yes. The pricing page says the framework is free and open source and that pricing is for its managed infrastructure.

Did Vercel acquire Better Auth?

On 7 July 2026 Better Auth announced it is joining Vercel. The post says Vercel shares the commitment to keeping auth open source and framework and platform agnostic.

How much does Better Auth cost?

The framework is free. The managed infrastructure has a free Starter plan, Pro at $20 a month and custom Enterprise pricing.

Does Better Auth maintain Auth.js?

According to the 7 July 2026 announcement, Better Auth previously acquired Auth.js (NextAuth.js) and will continue maintaining it.

Better Auth vs Clerk: what is the difference?

Better Auth is an open source framework you run in your own app. Clerk is a hosted authentication service.

Sources and links

Work on Better Auth? Claim this listing. Something wrong or out of date? Suggest a correction. Stats come from the public GitHub and npm APIs and update every day.

Better Auth: pricing, features and alternatives (2026) | ScratchDB