Auth · working at 10,000 users · rates as read 26 Sept 2026
On free tier, Better Auth is $0: the framework is free and open source and WorkOS is $0: up to 1 million users. On cheapest paid plan, Better Auth is $20 / month (Pro) and WorkOS is $125 / ea per enterprise connection. On rate above what's included, Better Auth is $0.0001 per audit-log event, $0.001 per security detection, $50/month per SSO connection and WorkOS is $2,500 / mo per additional million users. StackTab sells neither of these and takes no referral fee on either: it scores them. Every figure was read off the named company's own page on or since 2026-09-18; the URLs and the dates are at the foot of this page, and a job re-fetches each one on a schedule and fails when a figure is no longer on the page it came from.
2 compared · 3 criteria, identical for every column · every competitor figure read off that company's own page · last verified 2026-09-18
| Service | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Better AuthOpen-source TypeScript auth that runs inside your own app and database.verified 25 Sept 2026better-auth.com/docs/introduction | $ | $ | $ |
| WorkOSAuthKit free to a million users; the money is in SSO and Directory Sync.verified 25 Sept 2026workos.com/pricing | $ | $ | $ |
- Sorted by the total at
- Open-source TypeScript auth that runs inside your own app and database.verified 25 Sept 2026better-auth.com/docs/introduction
- 1,000 users
- $
00 Self-hosted - 10,000 users
- $
00 Self-hosted - 100,000 users
- $
00 Self-hosted
- AuthKit free to a million users; the money is in SSO and Directory Sync.verified 25 Sept 2026workos.com/pricing
- 1,000 users
- $
00 AuthKit - 10,000 users
- $
00 AuthKit - 100,000 users
- $
00 AuthKit
| Criterion | Better Auth | WorkOS |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | $0: the framework is free and open sourceThe library carries no bill at all; the managed Starter tier for the dashboard and audit logs is also $0/month. | $0: up to 1 million usersBy a wide margin the largest free allowance in this table: AuthKit is free to one million users. |
| Cheapest paid plan | $20 / month (Pro)That buys the managed infrastructure: dashboard, audit logs, security detections, self-service SSO. The framework stays free whether or not you take it. | $125 / ea per enterprise connectionAuthKit itself is free; the money starts at the first SSO connection. Volume steps: 1-15 at $125 each, 16-30 at $100, 31-50 at $80, 51-100 at $65. |
| Rate above what's included | $0.0001 per audit-log event, $0.001 per security detection, $50/month per SSO connectionOnly on the managed infrastructure. Run the library yourself and there is no meter: the users sit in the database you are already paying for. | $2,500 / mo per additional million usersThe user rate and the connection rate are separate meters, which is what makes the B2B arithmetic predictable. |
- Free tier: what the vendor gives you at $0 a month, in its own words
- Rate above what's included: the per-unit or per-transaction rate the vendor publishes for usage beyond the plan: the figure you need to work out a bill before you commit to one
Better Auth: $0: the framework is free and open source. The library carries no bill at all; the managed Starter tier for the dashboard and audit logs is also $0/month. WorkOS: $0: up to 1 million users. By a wide margin the largest free allowance in this table: AuthKit is free to one million users. Read from better-auth.com and workos.com on 2026-09-18. Free tier here means what the vendor gives you at $0 a month, in its own words.
Better Auth: $20 / month (Pro). That buys the managed infrastructure: dashboard, audit logs, security detections, self-service SSO. The framework stays free whether or not you take it. WorkOS: $125 / ea per enterprise connection. AuthKit itself is free; the money starts at the first SSO connection. Volume steps: 1-15 at $125 each, 16-30 at $100, 31-50 at $80, 51-100 at $65. Read from better-auth.com and workos.com on 2026-09-18.
Better Auth: $0.0001 per audit-log event, $0.001 per security detection, $50/month per SSO connection. Only on the managed infrastructure. Run the library yourself and there is no meter: the users sit in the database you are already paying for. WorkOS: $2,500 / mo per additional million users. The user rate and the connection rate are separate meters, which is what makes the B2B arithmetic predictable. Read from better-auth.com and workos.com on 2026-09-18. Rate above what's included here means the per-unit or per-transaction rate the vendor publishes for usage beyond the plan: the figure you need to work out a bill before you commit to one.
Better Auth: You want the user table in your own database and no auth line on the bill. Better Auth is a TypeScript library rather than a service, so the cost of authentication becomes a few more rows in the Postgres you already run, and you carry the maintenance that a hosted provider would have carried. WorkOS: You are selling to companies and someone is going to ask for SAML. WorkOS prices the enterprise connection directly instead of pushing you into a tier that bundles it with things you do not need, and AuthKit is free to a million users, so the bill tracks the number of enterprise customers rather than the number of end users.
StackTab does not sell any of these and has nothing to gain from which one you choose: it scores them. Each case below is the one that option genuinely wins.
- Better Auth: You want the user table in your own database and no auth line on the bill. Better Auth is a TypeScript library rather than a service, so the cost of authentication becomes a few more rows in the Postgres you already run, and you carry the maintenance that a hosted provider would have carried.
- WorkOS: You are selling to companies and someone is going to ask for SAML. WorkOS prices the enterprise connection directly instead of pushing you into a tier that bundles it with things you do not need, and AuthKit is free to a million users, so the bill tracks the number of enterprise customers rather than the number of end users.
Prices and limits move, and a page quoting a stale one is worth less than a page quoting none. Every source is printed here so a reader can check it against the day they are reading this, and a job re-fetches each of these URLs on a schedule and fails when a figure above no longer appears on the page it came from.
- Better Auth: www.better-auth.com/pricing: Free tier, Cheapest paid plan, Rate above what's included. Read 2026-09-18.
- WorkOS: workos.com/pricing: Free tier, Cheapest paid plan, Rate above what's included. Read 2026-09-18.
Last verified 2026-09-18. https://stacktab.thecompound.tech/compare/better-auth-vs-workos