Version 4.24.13
0
85
ExcellentAuthentication for Next.js
- Weekly Downloads
- 3.2M
↑24%
- Bundle (gzip)
- 80.3 KB
- Updated
- Vulns
- 0
Health Score Breakdown
Maintenance
100
Popularity
100
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
Next-auth vs Passport
Side-by-side NPM package comparison
Quick Verdict
Smallest Bundle
Passport
45.9 KB gzipped
Most Popular
Passport
5.9M weekly downloads
Best Maintained
Next-auth
100/100 maintenance score
Highest Quality
Next-auth
50/100 quality score
Overall Pick
Passport
Best all-around based on popularity, size, maintenance & quality
Version 0.7.0
0
61
GoodSimple, unobtrusive authentication for Node.js.
- Weekly Downloads
- 5.9M
↑9%
- Bundle (gzip)
- 45.9 KB
- Updated
- Vulns
- 0
Health Score Breakdown
Maintenance
20
Popularity
100
Quality
50
Security
100
Stability
70
Choosing between Next-auth and Passport? Here's a data-driven comparison based on real npm data — downloads, bundle size, health scores, and more — to help you decide which package fits your project best.
Downloads & Popularity
Passport leads with 5.9M weekly downloads — roughly 1.8x more. Next-auth has 3.2M weekly downloads. Higher download counts generally indicate broader community adoption and a larger ecosystem of tutorials, plugins, and support.
Bundle Size
Passport has the smallest gzipped bundle at 45.9 KB. Next-auth comes in at 80.3 KB. A smaller bundle size means faster page loads, which improves user experience and Core Web Vitals scores.
Health Score Comparison
Next-auth has an overall health score of 85/100 (very good), with strong maintenance, security, popularity scores. Passport has an overall health score of 61/100 (good), with strong security, popularity scores. Health scores are calculated from maintenance activity, code quality, security posture, popularity, and stability metrics.
When to Choose Each
Choose Next-auth if you value large community support, actively maintained, strong security track record. Choose Passport if you value large community support, strong security track record.
Our Verdict
Both Next-auth and Passport are solid choices for JavaScript development. Next-auth has the edge in overall health score (85/100), while each package brings unique strengths to the table. Evaluate them based on your project's priorities — whether that's community size, bundle efficiency, or maintenance activity — and choose the one that aligns best with your requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is next-auth better than passport?
- It depends on your needs. Next-auth has a health score of 85/100 while Passport scores 61/100. Passport has more weekly downloads (5.9M), suggesting broader adoption. Consider your specific requirements — bundle size, community support, and feature set — to decide which is the better fit.
- Which has a smaller bundle size, next-auth or passport?
- Passport has the smaller gzipped bundle at 45.9 KB. A smaller bundle means faster load times for your users, which can positively impact SEO and user experience.
- How many developers use next-auth vs passport?
- Based on npm download statistics, Next-auth has approximately 3.2M weekly downloads and Passport has approximately 5.9M weekly downloads. These numbers reflect package installations, not unique developers, but they indicate relative adoption levels.
- Which is better maintained, next-auth or passport?
- Next-auth currently has the higher overall health score at 85/100. Next-auth has a maintenance score of 100/100 and Passport scores 20/100 on maintenance.
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One PDF: the best package for every category (ORMs, bundlers, auth, testing, state management). Used by 500+ devs. Free, updated monthly.