head to head · open source
Better Auth vs slink
Better Auth has 30,747 GitHub stars, 3,078 forks, 723 open issues and last shipped today. slink has 1,622 stars, 48 forks, 18 open issues and last shipped 9 days ago. Better Auth leads on adoption by 1,796% (30,747 vs 1,622 stars). Better Auth is written in TypeScript under MIT; slink is written in PHP under AGPL-3.0. Better Auth has attracted 10% as many forks as stars, slink 3%. Better Auth was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (oidc), 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 | slink | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 31K | ★ 1.6K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | PHP |
| Last push | 2026-11-15 | 2026-11-06 |
| Forks | ⑂ 3.1K | ⑂ 48 |
| 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 slink if
- You want the slink feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches PHP
- You evaluated both and slink 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 slink
Slink: Image Sharing Platform Welcome to Slink , a powerful self hosted image sharing platform designed to give users complete control over their media sharing experience. Built with Symfony and SvelteKit, Slink enables seamless and secure image sharing without relying on third party services. Live Demo Documentation Why Slink? Slink solves the problem of sharing images with friends, family, and colleagues in a private, self hosted environment. It's also ideal for: Artists : Showcase artwork in a community focused platform. Developers : Host and share screenshots for GitHub, portfolios, blogs, and more. Anyone…
read the full slink overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is Better Auth or slink more popular?
Better Auth has 30,747 GitHub stars and slink has 1,622. Better Auth has the larger community by that measure.
Are Better Auth and slink free?
Both are open source. Better Auth is licensed under MIT and slink under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between Better Auth and slink?
Better Auth is written in TypeScript and slink in PHP. 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 slink?
Choose Better Auth if you want the larger community (30,747 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose slink if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.