Better Auth

TypeScript auth that lives in your app, not a rented IdP

Next.js / Auth · Freemium · 30.4k

Reviewed 2026-09-03 · last push 2026-10-21 · repo checked 2026-10-21

What's Good

Framework is MIT (LICENSE.md). Credentials, social, orgs, passkeys, MCP/agent auth, npx auth init. Hosted dashboard Starter is 0 USD/month (1 seat, 10,000 audit logs/month, 1-day retention). You keep the user table. Works next to Polar. Homepage names OpenAI, Databricks, and Strapi.

The Catch

The library is free; dashboards, audit, and SSO add-ons are the paid wedge. Starter audit retention is 1 day. This is not a hosted IdP — you still own the database and the incident.

Verdict

The MIT auth library to reach for before Clerk. Framework is free; the dashboard is the upsell.

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