Better Auth vs Descope: Features, Pricing and User Reviews 2026
Compare features, pricing, reviews, and more to make an informed decision
Better Auth
Better Auth is a free, open-source authentication framework for TypeScript that works with any framework and includes everything you need.
Descope
Descope is a drag-and-drop authentication platform that helps developers add secure login, MFA, and user management to any application.
Better Auth
Better Auth is a free, open-source authentication framework for TypeScript that works with any framework and includes everything you need.
Descope
Descope is a drag-and-drop authentication platform that helps developers add secure login, MFA, and user management to any application.
Better Auth
Multiple authentication methods including email, social, and passwordless
Framework-agnostic design working with all major frameworks
Two-factor authentication and passkey support
Organization and team management features
50+ social sign-in providers supported
Built-in rate limiting and security features
Open source and completely free
Automatic database management
Type-safe TypeScript implementation
Active community and regular updates
Descope
Visual drag-and-drop authentication builder
Passwordless and social login options
Multi-factor authentication and step-up security
Enterprise SSO with SAML and OIDC
Self-service user management widgets
Role-based access control
Bot and fraud protection
Session management and token handling
SDKs for all major languages
Third-party connector ecosystem
Multi-tenant architecture
Real-time flow updates
Better Auth
Better Auth is completely free to use with no costs or limitations. As an open-source project released under the MIT License, you can use it in any project including commercial applications without paying anything.
There are no usage limits, user caps, or features locked behind paid tiers. Every feature mentioned in the documentation is available to all users. This includes advanced capabilities like two-factor authentication, organization management, and all authentication methods.
The project is supported by the developer community and backed by Y Combinator. While the core framework remains free, the team behind Better Auth is building optional infrastructure services for scaling, but these are separate from the core library.
You can self-host everything on your own servers with complete control over your user data and no recurring subscription fees.
Descope
Descope offers flexible pricing plans to fit different needs. The free version gives you 7,500 monthly active users, all authentication methods, and basic features with no time limit. This is perfect for small projects and testing.
The Pro plan starts at $249 per month (billed annually) and includes 10,000 monthly active users, 35 tenants, custom domains, and advanced features like SSO setup and CI/CD integration.
The Growth plan starts at $799 per month with 25,000 monthly active users, 100 tenants, bot protection, zero-downtime SSO migration, and multi-region data residency.
For large companies, the Enterprise plan offers custom pricing with unlimited test users, dedicated support, premium features, and custom deployments. Contact their sales team for a quote.
