Better Auth vs WorkOS: 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.
WorkOS
WorkOS is a developer platform that adds enterprise authentication features like Single Sign-On, user management, and security to apps instantly.
Better Auth
Better Auth is a free, open-source authentication framework for TypeScript that works with any framework and includes everything you need.
WorkOS
WorkOS is a developer platform that adds enterprise authentication features like Single Sign-On, user management, and security to apps instantly.
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
WorkOS
Enterprise Single Sign-On with SAML and OIDC support
User authentication with social logins and passwords
Multi-factor authentication for added security
Automatic user directory synchronization
Role-based access control for permissions
Security event logging and audit trails
Bot and fraud protection with Radar
Self-service admin portal for customers
API-first design with modern SDKs
Support for major identity providers
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.
WorkOS
WorkOS uses a flexible pricing model where you pay only for what you use, with volume discounts applied automatically.
AuthKit provides user management for free up to one million monthly active users. After that, the cost is $2,500 per month for each additional million users.
Single Sign-On and Directory Sync both charge per enterprise connection. The first connection costs $125 monthly, with discounts as you add more. Pricing drops to $100 per connection for 16-30 connections, $80 for 31-50 connections, $65 for 51-100 connections, and $50 per connection beyond 100.
Audit Logs charges $125 monthly per security monitoring connection, plus $99 per million events stored.
Radar includes the first 1,000 security checks free monthly, then $100 per 50,000 additional checks.
For larger teams, WorkOS offers annual credit packages with pre-payment discounts, guaranteed uptime, and dedicated support.
