Supabase Auth vs Authgear for Next.js: Which Should You Choose?

Two Popular Choices for Next.js Authentication in 2026

If you're building a Next.js app and researching authentication, you've probably landed on two very different options: Supabase Auth and Authgear. Both are production-ready, both work well with Next.js App Router, and both have free tiers. But they take fundamentally different approaches to authentication — and that difference matters a lot depending on your stack.

This guide is a fair, practical comparison for developers choosing between Supabase Auth and Authgear for a Next.js project. No winner declared upfront — the right choice depends on what you're building. If you want a broader overview of all Next.js auth approaches first, see our Next.js authentication guide, then come back here for this specific comparison.

Quick Overview

What Is Supabase Auth?

Supabase is an open-source Firebase alternative that bundles a managed Postgres database, real-time subscriptions, file storage, and authentication in one platform. Supabase Auth is the authentication layer built into that platform. It's not a standalone product — it's designed to work alongside Supabase's Postgres database via Row Level Security (RLS) policies.

If you're already on Supabase for your database, auth is essentially included. The user table lives in your Postgres instance, and you can write RLS policies that reference auth.uid() directly in SQL to control data access per user.

What Is Authgear?

Authgear is a dedicated Customer Identity and Access Management (CIAM) platform. It does one thing — authentication and identity management — and goes deep on it. Think of it as a specialist rather than a generalist: it doesn't include a database or file storage, but it offers a richer set of auth features than most bundled solutions.

Authgear is built on open standards (OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, SAML), includes a pre-built customisable login UI, and ships enterprise features like SAML SSO, passkeys, fraud protection, and multi-tenant B2B support out of the box. The @authgear/nextjs SDK was built specifically for Next.js App Router.

Feature Comparison

Setup Comparison

Supabase Auth in Next.js

Supabase uses its @supabase/ssr helper package to handle cookie-based sessions in Server Components and middleware. You create two client variants — one for the browser, one for the server — and add a middleware to keep tokens refreshed.

1. Install packages

npm install @supabase/supabase-js @supabase/ssr

2. Add environment variables to .env.local:

NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL=https://your-project.supabase.co
NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY=your-publishable-key

3. Create a server client utility (src/lib/supabase/server.ts):

import { createServerClient } from "@supabase/ssr";
import { cookies } from "next/headers";

export async function createClient() {
  const cookieStore = await cookies();

  return createServerClient(
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_URL!,
    process.env.NEXT_PUBLIC_SUPABASE_PUBLISHABLE_KEY!,
    {
      cookies: {
        getAll() {
          return cookieStore.getAll();
        },
        setAll(cookiesToSet) {
          try {
            cookiesToSet.forEach(({ name, value, options }) =>
              cookieStore.set(name, value, options)
            );
          } catch {
            // Safe to ignore in Server Components; middleware handles refresh
          }
        },
      },
    }
  );
}

4. Protect a route using getClaims() — not getSession() — in server code. getClaims() validates the JWT signature against the project's published public keys on every call. getSession() does not revalidate the token and must not be used for access control on the server.

// src/app/dashboard/page.tsx
import { redirect } from "next/navigation";
import { createClient } from "@/lib/supabase/server";

export default async function DashboardPage() {
  const supabase = await createClient();
  const { data } = await supabase.auth.getClaims();

  if (!data.claims) {
    redirect("/login");
  }

  return 
Welcome, {data.claims.sub}
;
}

You also need a middleware file to refresh expired tokens on every request — see the Supabase Next.js server-side auth docs for the full middleware example.

Authgear in Next.js

Authgear ships a dedicated @authgear/nextjs SDK with first-class App Router support. Setup follows a catch-all route handler pattern — all auth callbacks (login, logout, token refresh) go through a single API route, and a currentUser() helper protects server-side pages.

1. Install the package

npm install @authgear/nextjs

2. Add environment variables to .env.local:

AUTHGEAR_ENDPOINT=https://your-project.authgear.cloud
AUTHGEAR_CLIENT_ID=your-client-id
AUTHGEAR_REDIRECT_URI=http://localhost:3000/api/auth/callback
SESSION_SECRET=a-random-string-of-at-least-32-characters

3. Create the shared config (src/lib/authgear.ts):

import type { AuthgearConfig } from "@authgear/nextjs";

export const authgearConfig: AuthgearConfig = {
  endpoint: process.env.AUTHGEAR_ENDPOINT!,
  clientID: process.env.AUTHGEAR_CLIENT_ID!,
  redirectURI: process.env.AUTHGEAR_REDIRECT_URI!,
  sessionSecret: process.env.SESSION_SECRET!,
};

4. Register the catch-all route handler (src/app/api/auth/[...authgear]/route.ts):

import { createAuthgearHandlers } from "@authgear/nextjs";
import { authgearConfig } from "@/lib/authgear";

export const { GET, POST } = createAuthgearHandlers(authgearConfig);

5. Protect a route using currentUser():

// src/app/dashboard/page.tsx
import { redirect } from "next/navigation";
import { currentUser } from "@authgear/nextjs/server";
import { authgearConfig } from "@/lib/authgear";

export default async function DashboardPage() {
  const user = await currentUser(authgearConfig);

  if (!user) {
    redirect("/api/auth/login");
  }

  return 
Welcome, {user.sub}
;
}

Full step-by-step instructions are available in the Authgear Next.js quickstart guide.

Key Setup Differences

Both setups are comparable in complexity for a basic protected route. The main practical differences:

When to Choose Supabase Auth

Supabase Auth is the right call when:

When to Choose Authgear

Authgear is the stronger choice when:

Conclusion

There's no universal winner here — both Supabase Auth and Authgear are well-engineered solutions that will handle authentication reliably for most Next.js applications.

The simplest way to decide: are you on Supabase? If yes, use Supabase Auth. The database integration, the RLS policies, and the all-in-one pricing make it the obvious choice for projects already in the Supabase ecosystem.

If you're not on Supabase, or if you need passkeys, enterprise SSO, fraud protection, or multi-tenant B2B capabilities, Authgear's specialisation pays off. You get a platform where the team's entire focus is on identity — and that shows in the breadth of features available without extra configuration.

Both are open-source and self-hostable if you need full control over your infrastructure. Authgear's free tier has no MAU cap — sign up and test it against your requirements before committing to a paid plan.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Authgear with a Supabase database?

Yes. Authgear and Supabase are not mutually exclusive. You can use Authgear as your identity provider and Supabase as your database. Authgear issues standard JWTs, which you can verify in your API routes before querying Supabase. Authgear has published a guide on connecting Supabase with any auth provider, including how to mint Supabase-compatible tokens from external JWTs for RLS compatibility.

Does Supabase Auth work with Next.js App Router?

Yes. The @supabase/ssr package fully supports Next.js App Router, including Server Components, Route Handlers, and middleware. The older @supabase/auth-helpers-nextjs package is deprecated — use @supabase/ssr for any new project.

Is Authgear's Next.js SDK production-ready?

Yes. The @authgear/nextjs SDK supports the App Router natively, including server-side user retrieval via currentUser(), a catch-all route handler for auth callbacks, and client-side provider components. See the official Authgear Next.js quickstart for setup instructions and example code.