head to head · open source
Better Auth vs Hexclave
Better Auth has 30,553 GitHub stars, 3,052 forks, 723 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. Hexclave has 6,883 stars, 530 forks, 65 open issues and last shipped yesterday. Better Auth leads on adoption by 344% (30,553 vs 6,883 stars). Better Auth is written in TypeScript under MIT; Hexclave is written in TypeScript under a custom or non-standard licence. Better Auth has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, Hexclave 8%. Hexclave was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (authentication, oauth), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| Better Auth | Hexclave | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 6.9K |
| License | MIT | Custom / other |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-11-02 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 530 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Better Auth if
- You weight community size — 31K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick Hexclave if
- You want the Hexclave feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the Custom / other license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and Hexclave fits your workflow better
About Better Auth
Discord · Website · Issues Better Auth Better Auth is a framework agnostic authentication (and authorization) framework for TypeScript. It provides a comprehensive set of features out of the box and includes a plugin ecosystem that simplifies adding advanced functionalities with minimal code in a short amount of time. Whether you need 2FA, multi tenant support, or other complex features, it lets you focus on building your actual application instead of reinventing the wheel. Why Better Auth Authentication in the TypeScript ecosystem is a half solved problem. Other open source libraries often require a lot of…
read the full Better Auth overview →
About Hexclave
Hexclave The user infrastructure platform. Hexclave handles everything around your users: authentication, teams, payments, emails, analytics, and much more. Get started with our AI prompt below. Website · Docs · Dashboard · Discord Get started Setting up Hexclave is one prompt. Paste this into your coding agent of choice: For AI agents If you're an AI coding agent, use your web fetch tool or curl the skill documentation for up to date integration instructions: What's included Hexclave ships as a catalog of apps you switch on as your product needs them. Each one is built on the same user model, and new apps land…
read the full Hexclave overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Better Auth or Hexclave more popular?
Better Auth has 30,553 GitHub stars and Hexclave has 6,883. Better Auth has the larger community by that measure.
Are Better Auth and Hexclave free?
Both are open source. Better Auth is licensed under MIT, and Hexclave has no licence declared in this registry. Both are free to self-host.
What is the difference between Better Auth and Hexclave?
Better Auth is written in TypeScript and Hexclave in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, Better Auth or Hexclave?
Choose Better Auth if you want the larger community (30,553 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose Hexclave if its feature set, stack or Custom / other licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.