Better Auth vs Stytch
SEPT 2026 auditA comparison of Better Auth and Stytch built from values read directly from each provider's own documentation, with the source recorded against every figure.
The short answer
Choose Better Auth if…
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.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Choose Stytch if…
B2B products selling to several SSO-using customers early — five connections free is the difference between paying per logo and not paying at all.
Editorial · Palash Bagchi · approved
Consider something else if…
- Better Auth: You want a hosted service with an SLA rather than a library you run, since everything below the dashboard is your operational problem.
- Stytch: There is no flat plan to budget against: everything above the free allowances is metered, so the bill tracks usage rather than a number you agreed to.
2 sourced criteria separate them — see where, with sources, below.
Pick the criteria you care about. The chart counts how many of them lean toward each provider — the same read as scanning the bars below, just totalled for the ones you chose.
Better Auth 0
Stytch 0
At a glance.
| Criterion | Better Auth | Stytch |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | ||
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| 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. | Pay as you go with no platform fee: usage above the always-free allowances is metered, and the estimator on the page prices monthly active users, SSO connections, SCIM connections and M2M tokens as separate lines. |
| Auth | ||
| Price per SSO connection | One connection included on Pro, then $50/month per connection, covering self-service SSO and Directory Sync together. | Five SSO or SCIM connections included free. Clerk includes one and charges $75 for each additional; WorkOS charges $125 each from the first. |
| SAML single sign-on | Supported | Supported |
| SCIM provisioning | Supported | Supported |
| Multi-factor authentication | Supported | Supported |
Where they differ.
Pricing model
- Better Auth
- 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.
- Stytch
- Pay as you go with no platform fee: usage above the always-free allowances is metered, and the estimator on the page prices monthly active users, SSO connections, SCIM connections and M2M tokens as separate lines.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — Better Auth ↗
“$20 / month [...] 20,000 audit logs / month then $0.0001 per event 10,000 security detections / month then $0.001 per event [...] Transactional email & SMS $0.001 per email, $0.09 per SMS”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Pricing — Stytch ↗
“Pay as you go Starting at: $0 / Month [...] Monthly active users : SSO Connections SSO SCIM Connections SCIM M2M Tokens M2M Optional add ons”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
Price per SSO connection
- Better Auth
- One connection included on Pro, then $50/month per connection, covering self-service SSO and Directory Sync together.
- Stytch
- Five SSO or SCIM connections included free. Clerk includes one and charges $75 for each additional; WorkOS charges $125 each from the first.
Sources (2) →Sources ↓
- Pricing — Better Auth ↗
“Self-service SSO & Directory Sync 1 connection, then $50/month per connection”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
- Pricing — Stytch ↗
“Always free: [...] 5 SSO or SCIM Connections”
Read 2026-09-06 · official pricing
When these numbers change, hear about it. Sources are re-checked monthly; a repricing goes out as a short note.
Documented by only one.
These criteria are published by one provider and not the other. An absence here means we have not found a source, not that the feature is missing.
Questions this comparison answers.
Should I choose Better Auth or Stytch?
Pick Better Auth if 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.
Pick Stytch if B2B products selling to several SSO-using customers early — five connections free is the difference between paying per logo and not paying at all.