Better Auth vs Kinde: Features, Pricing and User Reviews 2026

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.

Kinde offers transparent pricing that grows with your business:

The Free plan costs nothing and includes up to 10,500 monthly active users. You get all basic features including authentication, organizations, feature flags, and standard support. This plan works great for getting started and testing.

The Pro plan costs $25 per month and removes limits on users and organizations. You keep the 10,500 free monthly active users, then pay only for additional usage. This plan adds API keys and removes Kinde branding.

The Plus plan at $75 monthly includes enterprise single sign-on for free, six different environments, and priority features. You also get discounts on transaction fees and user costs.

The Scale plan costs $250 per month and provides the most advanced features including custom domains for each organization, custom email settings, and complete security reports. This plan offers the biggest discounts for high-volume usage.