# Better Auth

Canonical: https://inetgeek.com/auth/better-auth/

Open-source TypeScript authentication framework that runs in your own codebase, with optional managed infrastructure for dashboards and audit logs.

## Who it suits

Teams that want the user table in their own database and no per-user bill at all — the framework is free, and the $20 plan buys tooling rather than access.

Consider something else if You want a hosted service with an SLA rather than a library you run, since everything below the dashboard is your operational problem.

## What the documentation says

### Pricing

- Free tier: Yes ([source](https://www.better-auth.com/pricing), read 2026-09-06)
- Entry paid plan: $20/month for Pro on the managed infrastructure. The framework itself costs nothing — the plan buys a dashboard, audit logs and security detections around it. ([source](https://www.better-auth.com/pricing), read 2026-09-06)
- Pricing model: The framework is free and open source and holds your user data in your own database. The paid plans price the surrounding infrastructure by event: audit logs at $0.0001 each beyond the allowance, security detections at $0.001, email at $0.001 and SMS at $0.09. ([source](https://www.better-auth.com/pricing), read 2026-09-06)

### Observability

- Self-hostable: Supported ([source](https://www.better-auth.com/pricing), read 2026-09-06)

### Auth

- Price per SSO connection: One connection included on Pro, then $50/month per connection, covering self-service SSO and Directory Sync together. ([source](https://www.better-auth.com/pricing), read 2026-09-06)
- SAML single sign-on: Supported ([source](https://better-auth.com/docs/plugins/sso), read 2026-09-06)
- SCIM provisioning: Supported ([source](https://better-auth.com/docs/plugins/scim), read 2026-09-06)
- Multi-factor authentication: Supported ([source](https://better-auth.com/docs/plugins/2fa), read 2026-09-06)
- Audit logs: 10,000 audit log events a month with 1-day retention on the free Starter plan; 20,000 on Pro, then $0.0001 per event. ([source](https://www.better-auth.com/pricing), read 2026-09-06)

## Compared with

- [Better Auth vs Clerk](https://inetgeek.com/compare/clerk-vs-better-auth/)
- [Better Auth vs Auth0](https://inetgeek.com/compare/auth0-vs-better-auth/)
- [Better Auth vs WorkOS](https://inetgeek.com/compare/workos-vs-better-auth/)