Own Auth vs. Better Auth
Vercel acquired Better Auth on 7 July 2026. Better Auth remains MIT-licensed, framework-agnostic, and led by its existing team. Own Auth is a separate open-source package. The practical differences are feature architecture, storage, sessions, and project governance.
Last reviewed against first-party sources on .
Own Auth as a Better Auth alternative
You want an integrated package for the supported authentication and application-authorization workflows, with fewer feature plugins to select and coordinate.
| Feature | Own Auth | Better Auth |
|---|---|---|
| Data ownership | Your database | Your database |
| Open source | Fully open source | Open source |
| Framework lock-in | None | None |
| Self-hostable | Runs in your backend | Runs in your backend |
| Passwords | Built in | Built in |
| Magic links | Built in | Plugin |
| Phone / SMS login | Built in | Plugin required |
| Sessions | Database-backed | Database-backed |
| Organisations | Built in | Plugin |
| API keys | Built in | Plugin |
| Audit logs | Built in | Managed infrastructure or plugin |
| Rate limiting | Built in | Built in |
| Pricing | Free and open source | Free framework, optional paid infrastructure |
Feature
Data ownership
Own Auth
Your databaseBetter Auth
Your databaseFeature
Open source
Own Auth
Fully open sourceBetter Auth
Open sourceFeature
Framework lock-in
Own Auth
NoneBetter Auth
NoneFeature
Self-hostable
Own Auth
Runs in your backendBetter Auth
Runs in your backendFeature
Passwords
Own Auth
Built inBetter Auth
Built inFeature
Magic links
Own Auth
Built inBetter Auth
PluginFeature
Phone / SMS login
Own Auth
Built inBetter Auth
Plugin requiredFeature
Sessions
Own Auth
Database-backedBetter Auth
Database-backedFeature
Organisations
Own Auth
Built inBetter Auth
PluginFeature
API keys
Own Auth
Built inBetter Auth
PluginFeature
Audit logs
Own Auth
Built inBetter Auth
Managed infrastructure or pluginFeature
Rate limiting
Own Auth
Built inBetter Auth
Built inFeature
Pricing
Own Auth
Free and open sourceBetter Auth
Free framework, optional paid infrastructureVercel acquired Better Auth
Vercel acquired Better Auth on 7 July 2026, and its founder and core team joined Vercel. The announcement describes continued work on Better Auth and on agent identity. Ownership and employment changed; the library's current license and documented adapter-and-plugin architecture did not.
The published commitments
Vercel and Better Auth state that the project will keep its name, MIT license, open contribution model, community governance, and framework and platform support. They also identify agent authentication as an area for deeper investment. Those statements do not say that application authentication or non-Vercel frameworks are being abandoned.
License and roadmap are separate
The MIT license lets a team inspect, use, modify, pin, and fork the current Better Auth code. It does not promise a particular future roadmap. Teams can evaluate releases, adapter maintenance, framework support, migration quality, and external contributions against the public commitments as the Vercel-owned project develops.
Architecture remains the practical difference
Better Auth supports multiple databases and extends authentication through plugins. Own Auth keeps its supported password, magic-link, phone, session, organisation, API-key, rate-limit, audit, and OAuth workflows in one package. Better Auth offers a broader adapter and plugin ecosystem; Own Auth offers a more integrated feature boundary.
Sources
Product features and prices change. Confirm the current details on these first-party pages before making a purchasing decision.
Better Auth fits
You want a plugin-based architecture, its broader database-adapter ecosystem, or the ability to opt in to features individually.
Own Auth fits
You want an integrated package for the supported authentication and application-authorization workflows, with fewer feature plugins to select and coordinate.
Ready to own your auth?
Two commands. Auth is in your app.