Better Auth
MIT-licensed TypeScript auth library that runs inside your app and database, with plugins for SSO, SAML, SCIM, MFA and organizations. Owned by Vercel.
Rather than a hosted service, this is a TypeScript library that keeps users in your own database, so the marginal cost is the app servers and database already running. Enterprise SSO and SCIM are free open-source plugins with no per-connection fee, much as with Keycloak. Paying is optional: the managed dashboard has a free Starter plan, and Pro at $20/month adds one self-service SSO connection, with extra ones at $50/month each. Vercel acquired the project in July 2026, and the library stays MIT.
- Headquarters
- 🇺🇸 United States
- Parent jurisdiction
- 🇺🇸 United States (parent: Vercel)
- EU self-serve plan
- Available; check eligible plans and regions
- GDPR DPA
- No / not documented
- Billing
- self-hosted
- Free tier
- The framework is free and open source; the optional hosted dashboard has a free Starter plan.
- Open source
- Yes · self-hostable
- Website
- www.better-auth.com
- Source last checked
- 2026-10-06
- Pricing evidence
- Operating cost not estimated
Pricing
Operating cost not estimated · servers, licenses and engineering time are yours. See notes for software editions and license terms.
A library, not a service. User data lives in your own database, so you pay only for the app servers and database you already run, and data stays wherever you host them. Enterprise SSO (OIDC/SAML) and SCIM come as free open-source plugins with no per-connection fee. The optional managed infrastructure (dashboard, audit logs, security detections, self-service SSO portal) has a free Starter plan. Pro is $20/month and includes 1 self-service SSO/directory-sync connection, with extra connections at $50/month each. Audit logs above 20k events cost $0.0001 each. Vercel acquired Better Auth in July 2026; the library stays MIT.
Managed alternatives
At 50K monthly active users, no enterprise SSO connections. Adjust usage and requirements.
Better Auth has no bill to estimate: you pay for the servers, storage and time to run it. Clerk is free at this usage, so running Better Auth yourself only makes sense for control or features, not cost.
- Clerk: $0/yr estimatedPublished rates
- Firebase Authentication / Google Identity Platform: $0/yr estimatedPublished rates
- Logto: $0/yr estimatedModeled ratesAssumes one access token per MAU per month; frequent token issuance increases cost. Paid feature add-ons are excluded.
- Supabase Auth: $0/yr estimatedPublished rates
- WorkOS: $0/yr estimatedPublished rates
No cheaper managed estimate matches your filters. Adjust your usage or compare with your actual contract bill.
The price difference leaves out migration costs, operating costs and any features you’d need to replace.
Self-hosted options
Operating cost is not estimated. These options are not counted as savings against managed services.
Other authentication comparisons
- Auth0 vs Clerk
- Auth0 vs Amazon Cognito
- Clerk vs Supabase Auth
- Auth0 vs WorkOS
- Auth0 vs Keycloak (self-hosted)
Found a wrong rate or plan restriction? Report a correction with a current source.