Facts read November 6, 2026
Better Auth vs Supabase Auth
Supabase Auth is Cuely's default auth pick when your description doesn't favor either one: the natural choice when the database is already Supabase. Pick Better Auth if you care most about the lowest cost.
Side by side
| Fact | Better Auth | Supabase Auth |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Open-source TypeScript auth library that stores users in your own database. | Auth bundled with Supabase Postgres, with row-level security integration. |
| Free plan | The library is free and MIT-licensed with no per-user costs. Optional managed infrastructure has a $0 Starter plan. | Free: 50,000 monthly active users with social OAuth; no SAML SSO or phone MFA. |
| Paid from | Optional infrastructure Pro: $20/month (dashboard, audit logs, security detections). | Pro: from $25/month, includes 100,000 MAU, then $0.00325 per MAU. |
| At 1,000 users | $0/month | $0/month |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Best for | Owning user data with no per-user fees; Self-hosted or open-source projects; TypeScript backends | Apps already on Supabase; Row-level security keyed to the signed-in user |
| Watch out | You run it: security updates, email delivery and session storage are your job. | Free projects pause after a week of inactivity. SAML SSO needs Pro; phone MFA is a $75/month add-on. |
Where they differ
The published scores, from −3 to +3, that decide which one Cuely picks for each need.
| Need | Better Auth | Supabase Auth |
|---|---|---|
| native iOS or Android app | −2 Runs inside your own server, which a phone app on a hosted backend doesn't have. | +2 Works from the Supabase React Native client, including Sign in with Apple. |
| keep costs as low as possible | +3 No per-user fees at any scale. | 0 No particular strength here. |
| fewer vendors | 0 No particular strength here. | +3 Same vendor and database as Supabase Postgres. |
| EU data residency or GDPR | +2 User data stays in whatever region your database runs in. | 0 No particular strength here. |
| prefers open source or self-hosting | +3 MIT-licensed library; users live in your own database. | +2 Open source and self-hostable with the rest of Supabase. |
| sells to businesses (organizations, roles, SSO) | +1 Organization and SSO plugins exist, but you operate them yourself. | 0 SAML SSO is available on Pro; organizations you model yourself. |
Sources: Better Auth pricing (read November 6, 2026), Supabase Auth pricing (read November 6, 2026). No vendor pays for placement.