Better Auth vs Lucia
Which should you use? A side-by-side look at what each one does, who it suits, what it costs, how hard it is to set up, and where each falls short.
Open source · MIT
A TypeScript authentication and authorization framework with built-in features and plugins.
Open source · MIT
A simple, clean authentication library for TypeScript projects.
The short answer
Choose Better Auth if you need…
- TypeScript developers who need login and access control in their own app
- Teams that want auth built into their code rather than handed to a third-party service
- Projects that may later need extras like 2FA or multi-tenant support via plugins
Choose Lucia if you need…
- TypeScript developers adding login to a web app
- Developers who want an auth library rather than a hosted service
- Teams already comfortable with OAuth-style sign-in
Side-by-side
| Better Auth | Lucia | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Library | Library |
| Price | Free and open source | Free and open source |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 30.6k | 10.5k |
| Setup difficulty | Intermediate | Intermediate |
| How you get it | Install with a package manager | Clone and build from source |
| Main language | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last code update | 5 days ago | 3 months ago |
What each one is
Better Auth
Better Auth is a TypeScript framework for handling user authentication and authorization in your app, and it is not tied to one web framework. It ships with a set of common features and a plugin system for adding more advanced ones, such as two-factor authentication and multi-tenant support, with relatively little code. The README is brief, so specifics beyond these points are not covered here.
Lucia
Lucia is an open-source TypeScript library for handling user authentication, meaning sign-in and session management in web apps. The description calls it simple and clean, and its topics mention OAuth, a common sign-in standard. The README was not provided in usable form, so details beyond this are unknown.
Best for
Better Auth
- TypeScript developers who need login and access control in their own app
- Teams that want auth built into their code rather than handed to a third-party service
- Projects that may later need extras like 2FA or multi-tenant support via plugins
Lucia
- TypeScript developers adding login to a web app
- Developers who want an auth library rather than a hosted service
- Teams already comfortable with OAuth-style sign-in
Strengths
Better Auth
- Free and open source under the MIT License, so it can be used and modified freely
- Framework-agnostic, so it is not limited to one web framework according to the README
- Plugin ecosystem aims to add advanced features with minimal code
Lucia
- Open source under the MIT license, which permits broad reuse
- Focused on one job, authentication, according to its description
- Has a large community interest, with about 10,000 GitHub stars
Not ideal for
Better Auth
- Non-developers looking for a ready-made login page with no coding (it is a code library)
- Projects not using TypeScript or JavaScript, since the framework is written for that ecosystem
- Teams that want a fully managed hosted auth service with no code to maintain
Lucia
- Non-developers, since it is a code library and not a ready-made app
- Projects needing a fully managed auth service with dashboards, because this is a library the developer runs themselves
- Anyone who needs verified details on setup, since the README content was unavailable to this review
Trade-offs
Better Auth
- The README is short and does not document specific features or setup steps, so details must come from the official website
- Being a code library, it requires a developer to integrate and maintain it
- Security issues are handled through GitHub Security Advisories, so reporting depends on that process
Lucia
- The README was not available for this review, so feature claims are limited to the description and topics
- No published release is listed, so version stability is unclear
- Auth code carries security risk, so careful review and testing are needed before production use
Getting started
Lucia
Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/lucia-auth/luciaFrequently asked questions
What is the difference between Better Auth and Lucia?
Better Auth: A TypeScript authentication and authorization framework with built-in features and plugins. Lucia: A simple, clean authentication library for TypeScript projects. Better Auth suits typescript developers who need login and access control in their own app, while Lucia suits typescript developers adding login to a web app.
Are Better Auth and Lucia free?
Better Auth: Free and open source. Lucia: Free and open source.
Is Better Auth or Lucia more popular?
Better Auth has more GitHub stars (30.6k) than Lucia (10.5k). Popularity isn't the same as fit — check which one matches your use case above.
What are other alternatives to Better Auth and Lucia?
Other options people compare them with include Passport, django-allauth.
Keep comparing
Built from our catalogue entries for both products: open-source details come from each project's README (AI-assisted, refreshed weekly) and GitHub data; AI-tool details are editorial. Spotted something wrong? Let us know from either product's page.