Auth Plugin vs Authsmith: Do You Need a Developer Auth SDK for Your Framer Site?

• Authsmith is a code-first, beta-stage developer authentication SDK, not a Framer plugin.
• It requires writing TypeScript and standing up your own database. There's no embed and no no-code path.
• If you're building on Framer, Authsmith isn't usable regardless of its feature set, the setup model doesn't fit a no-code site at all.
• Auth Plugin is the no-code equivalent for Framer: drag-and-drop components, no backend to run.

If you searched "Authsmith" while trying to add login to a Framer site, this will save you some time: it's not a Framer tool, and there's no version of it that plugs into a no-code build. Here's what Authsmith actually is, why it doesn't fit Framer, and what to use instead.

Authsmith is a developer-first authentication startup, currently listed at the beta stage. Its own listing describes email/password and social login, single sign-on, enforced multi-factor authentication, role-based access control, and a central dashboard for managing users and permissions, plus activity tracking, security alerts, and APIs meant for custom workflow integration. It's built as an SDK and platform meant to be wired into a custom application by someone writing code, not something a site visitor or a site owner ever interacts with directly.

That's about as far as public, verifiable detail on Authsmith currently goes. It's a young, beta product, so there isn't a large body of documentation or case studies to draw from yet. As of this writing, Authsmith's own domains aren't reliably reachable either, which is worth knowing if you go looking for more detail than what's covered here.

No, and not because of a missing feature. Authsmith requires writing TypeScript to integrate its SDK, and it requires standing up your own database to store user and session data. Framer sites don't give you a codebase to write that TypeScript in or a server to run that database on. There's no embed, no script tag, no no-code setup path, nothing to drag onto a Framer page.

That makes the question of whether Authsmith is "better" or "worse" than a Framer plugin beside the point. It isn't a usable option on a Framer site at all, independent of what it can or can't do.

A developer auth SDK, Authsmith or otherwise, is built to be integrated into an application's own codebase. It assumes you have a repository, a build process, and a backend you control, and it gives you building blocks (functions, API calls, database schemas) to assemble authentication yourself. That's real flexibility, but it's flexibility that only pays off if you're already writing and maintaining code.

A no-code Framer plugin assumes the opposite: no repository, no backend, no code. It gives you finished components, a sign-in form, a sign-up form, page protection, that already work when dropped onto a page. You trade the flexibility of writing your own logic for not having to write any.

Neither model is better in the abstract. The right one depends entirely on whether the site is a hand-coded application or a Framer build. A Framer site was never going to be able to use a code-first SDK in the first place, no matter how good that SDK is.

Run a quick self-check before evaluating either option in depth.

A code-first SDK like Authsmith fits if:

• You're already writing backend code and maintaining a repository
• You have (or plan to run) your own database for user and session data
• Someone on the team can own patching and maintaining the integration over time

A no-code Framer plugin fits if:

• You're building visually in Framer, with no separate codebase
• There's no backend and no plan to stand one up
• You want a component that already works, not building blocks to assemble yourself

Most Framer sites land squarely in the second list. If any part of the first list is also true, that's usually a sign the project has a custom application alongside the Framer site, not a reason to try wiring an SDK into Framer itself.

More than most people expect going in. Wiring up a developer auth SDK means writing the integration code, standing up a database for user and session records, configuring each auth method (SSO, MFA, role-based access) individually, and then maintaining all of it: patching dependencies, handling edge cases in session expiry, and keeping the database backed up and secure. None of that is unusual for a team already running a codebase, it's just added scope on top of it.

On a Framer site, there's no codebase for that work to live in, so the entire premise doesn't apply. The equivalent outcomes (locking a page to signed-in users, giving different roles different access, adding a second login method) come from dragging in a different component, not from writing and hosting new code.

Role-based access, for example, is the no-code equivalent of RBAC: instead of writing permission logic against a database schema, Protected Pages and Access Switch handle whole-page and section-level gating directly from the Framer editor, with tiered, role-based access available on Auth Plugin's Pro and Scale tiers.

A second login method, the no-code equivalent of adding SSO or an extra provider to an SDK integration, is a matter of dragging in the Social Auth Buttons component and connecting Google or GitHub, not writing new authentication code.

Possibly, for the audience it's actually built for. Beta-stage developer tools are common, and plenty mature into solid options for teams building custom applications. That said, even a fully matured Authsmith would still be a code-first SDK meant for an application's own codebase. Maturity would make it a better tool for developers, not a tool that works inside a no-code site builder. That gap isn't a beta-stage limitation, it's the product's actual design.

If the goal is authentication and login on a Framer site, Auth Plugin is the no-code equivalent of what Authsmith offers developers writing custom applications. Its 13-component library covers sign-up, sign-in, forgot/reset password, OTP verification, magic links, Social Auth Buttons for Google and GitHub, sign-out, a profile form, an avatar component, an identity label, and Protected Pages plus Access Switch for gating, all as components you drag directly into the Framer editor. No TypeScript to write, no database to stand up. See the full component list for what each one does.

Concretely, in roughly the time it'd take to read through Authsmith's own docs, a Framer builder could have any of the following actually working:

• A gated content page: drop in Sign In Form and Sign Up Form, connect Protected Pages to the page path, and unregistered visitors are redirected before the content ever loads.
• A member dashboard: pair Protected Pages with Profile Form, Avatar Component, and Identity Label so a logged-in visitor sees their own data on a page that's otherwise locked.
• Social login: drop in Social Auth Buttons and connect Google or GitHub, so visitors can sign in without creating a new password at all.

None of that requires touching a database schema or writing integration code, it's the same drag-and-drop model across all three.

The setup guide walks through the whole process, and the free Basic tier covers up to 100 identities on one site at no cost, no credit card required. The pricing breakdown covers what changes on the Pro and Scale tiers if a site later needs more identities, more sites, or advanced access control.

Is Authsmith a Framer plugin?
No. Authsmith is a code-first developer SDK, currently in beta, meant for custom applications. It has no Framer integration.

Can I embed Authsmith on my Framer site?
No. Authsmith's integration model requires writing TypeScript and running your own database, neither of which has an attachment point inside a no-code Framer build.

Why does Authsmith show up when I search for Framer auth options?
Broad "auth" searches overlap across very different categories of tool. Authsmith and Auth Plugin both relate to authentication, but they're built for different audiences: developers writing code versus Framer designers who aren't.

Is Auth Plugin a good substitute for Authsmith?
For a Framer site, yes, it's the no-code option built for exactly that use case. For a custom-coded application, Auth Plugin isn't a fit either, since it's built specifically for Framer, not as a general SDK.

Does Auth Plugin require a credit card to try?
No. Auth Plugin's free tier covers 100 identities on one site at no cost, no card required to get started. The pricing breakdown has the full detail on every tier.

Is there ever a reason to use both Auth Plugin and something like Authsmith?
Yes, in one specific setup: a Framer marketing site handling login for its own gated content through Auth Plugin, alongside a separate custom application (a full product, a customer dashboard with its own backend) that uses a code-first SDK for its own accounts. Those would be two separate identity systems for two separate pieces of software, not one plugin doing both jobs. That's a real, occasionally sensible architecture, but it's a different situation from trying to make one tool cover a Framer site and a custom app at the same time.

Does Auth Plugin support role-based access like Authsmith's RBAC?
Auth Plugin handles page and section-level gating through Protected Pages and Access Switch, with tiered, role-based access on the Pro and Scale tiers. It's a component-based approach rather than something configured against a database schema, but it covers the same underlying need: different access for different users.

Authsmith is a beta-stage, code-first auth SDK for developers building custom applications, not a Framer tool. It requires writing TypeScript and running your own database, so it isn't usable on a Framer site regardless of its feature set. If you landed here searching for Authsmith while building on Framer, Auth Plugin is the no-code option built for that exact situation.