Auth & Backend · side by side
Better Auth vs WorkOS
Compare Better Auth, WorkOS by active-user allowances, social login, MFA, SSO, organizations and audit logs.
Auth & Backend pricing calculator
These providers bill in different units. Each estimate uses its own workload; there is no same-volume price winner.
Better Auth
WorkOS
Better Auth
$20 / mo
Pro · 1 servers
WorkOS
$0 / mo
Pay as you go · 50K monthly active users
Listed USD plan fees and tracked usage only. Unlisted compute, transfer, extras, taxes and contract terms are excluded. Custom or unsupported plan usage is not estimated.
Auth & Backend overview & pricing
| Auth & Backend | Better Auth | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Provider | Open source | WorkOS |
| Billing unit | servers | monthly active users |
| Plan at selected usage | Pro | Pay as you go |
| Monthly estimate | $20/mo | $0/mo |
| Workload | 1 servers | 50K monthly active users |
| Free access | Free, open source | 1M MAUs free (AuthKit) |
| Published plans | Starter, Pro, Enterprise | Pay as you go, Annual Credits |
| Prices checked | 2026-10-08 | 2026-10-08 |
- Better Auth
- Open source
- WorkOS
- WorkOS
- Better Auth
- servers
- WorkOS
- monthly active users
- Better Auth
- Pro
- WorkOS
- Pay as you go
- Better Auth
- $20/mo
- WorkOS
- $0/mo
- Better Auth
- 1 servers
- WorkOS
- 50K monthly active users
- Better Auth
- Free, open source
- WorkOS
- 1M MAUs free (AuthKit)
- Better Auth
- Starter, Pro, Enterprise
- WorkOS
- Pay as you go, Annual Credits
- Better Auth
- 2026-10-08
- WorkOS
- 2026-10-08
Auth & Backend monthly cost
Different workloads, separate estimates
Check how each provider defines an active user and separates consumer identity from enterprise organizations. SAML, MFA, custom domains and audit logs can be gated behind higher plans. A backend platform can also charge separately for storage, functions and traffic.
Auth & Backend feature comparison
| Auth & Backend | Better Auth | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Dashboard seats | Unlimited | Not listed |
| Audit log | 20,000 / month then $0.0001 / event | Not listed |
| Audit log retention | 7 days | Not listed |
| Security detection | 10,000 / month then $0.001 / event | Not listed |
| Transactional Email | $0.001 / email | Not listed |
| Transactional SMS | $0.09 / SMS | Not listed |
| Self-service SSO | 1 connection then $50/month per connection | Not listed |
| Directory Sync | 1 connection then $50/month per connection | Not listed |
| User management | Not listed | |
| Abuse protection | Not listed | |
| Email templates | Not listed | |
| Custom domain for Dashboard | $25 / month add-on | Not listed |
| Log drain | $25 / month add-on | Not listed |
| Community Support | Not listed | |
| Email Support | Not listed | |
| Slack Support | Not listed | |
| Implementation assistance | Not listed |
- Better Auth
- Unlimited
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- 20,000 / month then $0.0001 / event
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- 7 days
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- 10,000 / month then $0.001 / event
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- $0.001 / email
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- $0.09 / SMS
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- 1 connection then $50/month per connection
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- 1 connection then $50/month per connection
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- $25 / month add-on
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- $25 / month add-on
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- WorkOS
- Not listed
- Better Auth
- WorkOS
- Not listed
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Which authentication & backend providers fit your needs?
Better Auth features & plan notes
- TypeScript-first
- Plugins
- Self-hosted
- Unlimited seats
- 20,000 audit logs / month
- then $0.0001 per event
- 10,000 security detections / month
- then $0.001 per event
- Self-service SSO
- 1 connection, then $50/month per connection
- Directory Sync
- Transactional email & SMS
- $0.001 per email, $0.09 per SMS
- Email templates & abuse protection
- Email support
WorkOS features & plan notes
- SSO + SCIM
- Admin portal
- Enterprise-ready
- Automatic volume discounts
- First 1 million active users free
- Deploy in minutes
- Dedicated Slack channel
- Transparent pricing
- Social Auth
- Email + Password
- Magic Auth
- Multi-Factor Auth (MFA)
- Email verification
- Organization auth policies
- Just-in-time (JIT) user provisioning
- Biometric / Passkey Auth
- Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
- CLI Authentication
How to compare authentication & backend providers
Check how each provider defines an active user and separates consumer identity from enterprise organizations. SAML, MFA, custom domains and audit logs can be gated behind higher plans. A backend platform can also charge separately for storage, functions and traffic.
Browse Auth & Backend pricing