Better Auth.
Open-source TypeScript authentication that runs inside your own back end and stores users in your own database.
Talk to us about Better Auth
Key features
What Better Auth does well.
Your database, your users
Users, sessions and accounts are tables in your own PostgreSQL, MySQL, SQLite or MongoDB database.
Plugins for the rest
Two-factor, passkeys, magic links, organisations, SSO and rate limiting are switched on in configuration.
Framework-agnostic
Works with Next.js, Astro, Node.js servers and Expo apps, with typed client helpers.
Free and MIT-licensed
No per-user pricing, and the code stays open source after Vercel’s acquisition in July 2026.
What we build with it
Sign-in you own, not rent.
Better Auth is a free, MIT-licensed authentication library for TypeScript. It runs inside your application and keeps users and sessions in your own database, so there is no separate identity service to pay for per user. Features such as two-factor, passkeys, organisations and SSO are plugins you switch on.
Sign-in for web and mobile apps
Email and password, magic links and social login, shared by a web app and an Expo mobile app.
Team and client accounts
Organisations with members, invitations and roles, for products sold to businesses rather than individuals.
Stronger security
Passkeys, two-factor authentication and rate limiting added as the product and its risks grow.
When it’s the right choice
Better Auth suits TypeScript products that want full control of user data, predictable costs and the option of enterprise features later, without a hosted identity service.
When we’d pick something else
You run and patch it yourself. If a product already lives in Firebase or Supabase, their built-in auth is simpler, and large organisations may require an identity provider they already use, such as Entra ID.
Our Better Auth services
How we can help.
Sign-in setup
We configure sign-in methods, sessions and email flows, and test password reset and account recovery end to end.
Organisations and roles
We model teams, invitations and roles, and enforce them in the API rather than only in the interface.
Migration from hosted auth
We move users from services such as Auth0 or Firebase Auth, planning how passwords and sessions carry over.
Security review
We check session handling, rate limits, two-factor and secrets against current guidance before launch.
How we work
Starting a Better Auth project.
Review what exists
Code, data, hosting and the people who maintain it, before any Better Auth decision is made.
Agree the approach
A written scope: what changes, what stays, the risks and how we will know it worked.
Build in reviewable slices
Working increments your team can test, rather than one large delivery at the end.
Hand over or stay on
Documentation and access for your team, or a defined support scope if you want us to keep going.
Where AI fits
AI in back-end work.
Model calls from your services
Node.js, Go and Python all have official SDKs from the major model providers, so AI steps sit inside your existing services.
AI workflow automation ↗Evaluation pipelines
Python’s data tooling makes it the usual choice for scoring a model against real examples before and after release.
AI evaluation & testing ↗
Where it stops: Retries, timeouts and fallbacks matter more for model calls than for most APIs, and every result that changes a record is validated first.
What’s changing
Shifts to plan for.
Dates that affect Better Auth projects, checked against the official sources.
July 2026
Vercel acquires Better Auth
Vercel announced it is acquiring Better Auth. The library stays free and MIT-licensed, with the same team leading it and a new focus on identity for AI agents.
Where it fits
Related expertise.
- Web application development Browser-based tools for customers and staff, built for the data, roles and permissions behind them.
- Mobile app development iOS and Android apps that work offline, handle device permissions well and ship through the app stores.
- APIs & integrations Connect your product to the systems your team relies on, with clear contracts and handled failures.
Common questions
Better Auth questions.
Is Better Auth still open source after Vercel acquired it?
Yes. Vercel announced the acquisition in July 2026 and said the library stays free, MIT-licensed and framework-agnostic, with the same team leading it.
Can staff sign in with Microsoft or Google accounts?
Yes. Social sign-in covers Google and Microsoft, and the SSO plugin connects to identity providers over SAML or OpenID Connect.
Further reading
- Awaab’s Law and the software landlords use for repairs What Awaab’s Law asks of the systems social landlords use to log, investigate and repair hazards, and the records they need to keep.
- Firebase, Supabase or a custom back end: how to choose How to choose between Firebase, Supabase and a custom back end by data shape, access rules, cost, exit paths and skills.
- Offline-first mobile apps for people who work without signal How to plan a mobile app that keeps working without signal, and what to settle before the first line of sync code.