head to head · open source
Better Auth vs lesspass
Better Auth has 30,000 GitHub stars, 2,893 forks, 723 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. lesspass has 6,061 stars, 365 forks, 34 open issues and last shipped 6 days ago. Better Auth leads on adoption by 395% (30,000 vs 6,061 stars). Better Auth is written in TypeScript under MIT; lesspass is written in TypeScript under GPL-3.0. Better Auth has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, lesspass 6%. Better Auth was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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 | lesspass | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 30K | ★ 6.1K |
| License | MIT | GPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-17 | 2026-09-13 |
| Forks | ⑂ 2.9K | ⑂ 365 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick Better Auth if
- You weight community size — 30K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick lesspass if
- You want the lesspass feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the GPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and lesspass fits your workflow better
About Better Auth
Better Auth is a framework agnostic authentication and authorization framework written in TypeScript. It targets the broader JavaScript/TypeScript ecosystem and is designed to integrate with any backend or frontend framework, including Next.js, Express, SvelteKit, and others. It provides a unified API surface for core identity workflows such as sign up, sign in, session management, and passwordless flows.
read the full Better Auth overview →
About lesspass
LessPass is a stateless, open source password manager written in TypeScript and licensed under GPL 3.0 that generates passwords from a master password instead of storing them in a synchronized vault, built for individuals and self hosters who want the same passwords on every device without syncing an encrypted database.
read the full lesspass overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Better Auth or lesspass more popular?
Better Auth has 30,000 GitHub stars and lesspass has 6,061. Better Auth has the larger community by that measure.
Are Better Auth and lesspass free?
Both are open source. Better Auth is licensed under MIT and lesspass under GPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Better Auth and lesspass?
Better Auth is written in TypeScript and lesspass 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 lesspass?
Choose Better Auth if you want the larger community (30,000 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose lesspass if its feature set, stack or GPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.