Comparison

Better Auth vs Keycloak

No clear leader: Keycloak (65.4) and Better Auth (64.4) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.

Machine formatsMarkdownJSONGraphQLMarkdown is open. JSON and GraphQL need a free key.
Better Auth64
Keycloak65
Score
vioscaleAI score
Better Auth64 / 100low · 39%
Keycloak65 / 100low · 46%
Pricing
Free tier
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Model
Better Authfreemium
Keycloakopen_source
Price level
Better Authmid
Keycloakfree
Starting price
Better Auth$20
Keycloak–
Transparent
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Integrations
Count
Better Auth4
Keycloak8
Adoption
Dependent repos
Better Auth210
Keycloak678
Github stars
Better Auth30,292
Keycloak37,140
Package downloads weekly
Better Auth11,857,147
Keycloak998,112
Activity
Commits last 30d
Better Auth100
Keycloak100
Release
Cadence days
Better Auth2
Keycloak13
History
Better Auth20 items
Keycloak20 items
License
Spdx
Better AuthMIT
KeycloakApache-2.0
Language
Primary
Better AuthTypeScript
KeycloakJava
Market
Content
Faq
Better Auth7 items
Keycloak6 items

Capabilities

Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for auth & identity software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.

Deployment
Hosting
Better AuthCloud + self-hosted
KeycloakCloud + self-hosted
Methods
Social login
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Passwordless
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Passkeys / WebAuthn
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Multi-factor auth
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Enterprise
SAML SSO
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
SCIM provisioning
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
B2B / multi-tenancy
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Standards
OpenID Connect provider
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Delivery
Hosted UI
Better AuthHeadless
KeycloakBoth
Access
RBAC
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Licensing
Self-hostable OSS core
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓

What each one is

The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.

Better Auth

An open-source authentication framework that provides multiple authentication methods including social login, passkeys, passwordless auth, and enterprise features like SSO and directory sync, with optional managed cloud infrastructure for auditing and security monitoring.

Independently observed

Keycloak

An open-source identity management solution that allows users to authenticate once and gain access to multiple applications, eliminating the need for individual login handling at the application level.

Independently observed

Pricing

List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.

Better Auth

from $20/moHybridFree tier

Free tier available. Pro from $20/month. Enterprise custom pricing.

  • StarterFree
    • User management
    • Audit log
    • Security detection
    • Abuse protection
    • Email templates
    • +1 more
  • Pro$20/month base, plus per-usage overages
    • Unlimited seats
    • User management
    • Audit log with overage
    • Security detection with overage
    • Transactional Email & SMS
    • +5 more
  • EnterpriseContact sales
    • Custom usage and retention
    • Custom domain for Dashboard
    • Log drain
    • Dashboard RBAC
    • Custom MSA and DPA
    • +2 more
as of verify ↗

Keycloak

Open source
as of verify ↗

Platform & deployment

Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.

Platforms
Web
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✗
Windows
Better Auth✗
Keycloak✓
Linux
Better Auth✗
Keycloak✓
CLI
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Deployment
Cloud / SaaS
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓
Self-hosted
Better Auth✓
Keycloak✓

Integrations

What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.

In common (2)
  • Google
  • GitHub

Better Auth

24 total - 22 not shared
  • Next.js
  • Nuxt
  • SvelteKit
  • Astro
  • Hono
  • Apple
  • Discord
  • Passkey Authentication
  • Magic Link Authentication
  • Email OTP Authentication
  • Two Factor Authentication
  • Username Authentication
  • One Tap Authentication
  • Phone Number Authentication
  • Anonymous Authentication
  • Bearer Authentication
  • Generic OAuth
  • One Time Token Authentication
  • SIWE Authentication
  • Cloudflare
  • Microsoft Entra ID
  • Yandex
Independently observed

Keycloak

12 total - 10 not shared
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LDAP
  • Active Directory
  • Kerberos
  • Kubernetes
  • Apache APISIX
  • OpenTelemetry
  • OpenID Connect
  • SAML 2.0
Independently observed
Still deciding?

Better Auth or Keycloak: which one depends on you

A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.

Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works

Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.