Trainor, Gotti, Taylor Parks, Travis Sayles, Eric Frederic, Tommy Brown and Steven Franks wrote the song, and the latter three produced it.

Trainor performed the song on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and included it on the setlist for The Untouchable Tour (2016).

Ultimately, the song changed the direction of its parent album, as they started experimenting with new musical styles and produced six more tracks.

[1] Trainor, Mario Mims, Taylor Parks, Travis Sayles, Eric Frederic, Tommy Brown and Steven Franks wrote "Better", and the latter three produced it.

Writing for Andpop, Rebecca Matina opined that "Better" is a step in a different direction from Trainor's previous works and wrote "we’re loving the throwback-Rihanna vibes that we’re getting".

[14] Alexa Camp of Slant Magazine praised the track, writing that Trainor was down-to-earth and "it feels like we’re catching a glimpse of the real Meghan".

[15] Isabella Biedenharn of Entertainment Weekly called the song "woozy" and "ethereal", but added that it sounds like "a castoff from Selena Gomez’s Revival.

Fuse's Bianca Gracie praised Trainor for "get[ting] a little more raw and tell[ing] an important story that doesn't come off as too try-hard" and described the video as a "dramatic" short film.

[27] Describing the video as a new style for Trainor, Much's Allison Bowsher said that she "is doing a 180, showing off her acting chops and shining light on substance abuse".

[28] Digital Spy's Joe Anderton gave the video a more mixed review, writing that the concept "is great, especially considering it's a song we assumed to be about a boyfriend on first listen - but it doesn't really go far enough to make a proper impact".