Skip to content

Better Auth vs Clerk

Reviewed byRoman K
Tagline
Better Auth: The most comprehensive auth library for TS
Clerk: Authentication and user management
Pricing Model
Better Auth: open-source
Clerk: freemium
Starting Price
Better Auth: $0/mo
Clerk: $25/mo
Free Plan
Better Auth: Yes
Clerk: Yes
GitHub Stars
Better Auth: 28.9k
Clerk: 1.7k
npm Downloads/wk
Better Auth: 4.3M
Clerk: 1.5M
GitHub Forks
Better Auth: 2.6k
Clerk: 460
Open Issues
Better Auth: 633
Clerk: 96
Tags
Better Auth: typescript, auth, open-source, passkeys
Clerk: auth, sso, mfa, react

Better Auth vs Clerk: which to choose

Better Auth has the larger community with 28.9k GitHub stars against 1.7k for Clerk, which usually means more integrations, examples and third-party help when you get stuck.

Both charge from day one, but Better Auth starts lower at $0/mo versus $25/mo for Clerk.

Choose Better Auth if you lean toward typescript and auth; choose Clerk if auth and sso matters more for your stack. All figures above are pulled from live GitHub and pricing data, not vendor marketing.

Frequently asked questions

Is Better Auth or Clerk better?

It depends on your priorities. Better Auth has 28.9k GitHub stars and uses a open-source pricing model, while Clerk has 1.7k stars and uses a freemium model. Both offer a free plan so you can try each before committing.

Is Better Auth cheaper than Clerk?

Better Auth starts at $0/mo while Clerk starts at $25/mo. Better Auth has a free plan. Clerk has a free plan.

What are the main differences between Better Auth and Clerk?

Better Auth is tagged as typescript, auth, open-source while Clerk is tagged as auth, sso, mfa. Better Auth uses a open-source pricing model and has a community of 28.9k GitHub stars. Clerk uses a freemium model with 1.7k GitHub stars.

Does Better Auth or Clerk have a free plan?

Yes, both Better Auth and Clerk offer a free plan.

More comparisons