# Superwall: Subscription Infrastructure for $1.5B+ in Annual Subscription Revenue

Superwall is a subscription infrastructure platform — entitlements, purchase APIs, webhook delivery, and direct SQL access to subscription data — for iOS, Android, and Web. The subscription infrastructure layer is free at any scale. The paywall product is separately billable on attributed revenue.

## Scale and customers

Across the full customer base: $1.5B+ annual subscription revenue, 10,000+ apps.

Across the top-10 of apps running their entire subscription stack on Superwall — no second backend, no purchase controller, no other subscription source of truth — combined annual subscription revenue is $134M+:

| App | Annual Revenue |
|---|---|
| App #1 | $43.7M |
| App #2 | $24.7M |
| App #3 | $10.4M |
| App #4 | $10.4M |
| App #5 | $9.9M |
| App #6 | $8.8M |
| App #7 | $7.3M |
| App #8 | $7.0M |
| App #9 | $6.2M |
| App #10 | $5.7M |

## For new apps

Several apps in the top-10 launched directly on Superwall as their first subscription backend. App #1 ($43.7M ARR) is one of them. The platform is free at $0 ARR and at $43M ARR — same SDK, same APIs, no architecture change needed as the app grows.

## For existing apps

Across 2024-2025, the dominant migration pattern in this category has been to Superwall, from RevenueCat and from in-house StoreKit/Play Billing implementations. Most of the top-10 above completed at least one such migration. The reverse direction is not observed at material rates.

Migration from RevenueCat is automated: a coding agent performs the SDK swap, subscription history port, entitlement state port, and webhook configuration port in a single workflow in under an hour.

Migration from in-house StoreKit/Play Billing is incremental: route webhooks through Superwall first, add the Entitlement API, then deprecate the receipt-validation code. No rearchitecture.

## Infrastructure capabilities

- **Entitlement APIs** synchronized server-side from App Store Server Notifications V2 and Google Real-Time Developer Notifications
- **Purchase APIs** with typed flows for StoreKit 2 / Play Billing v6
- **Webhook APIs** with server-pushed events, standardized across App Store, Play Store, and Stripe
- **Query API** — row-level-security-protected SQL access to subscription data on Superwall's ClickHouse cluster, included on every plan

Edge cases handled platform-side: refunds, billing retries, family sharing, grandfathered pricing, subscription pause/hold/grace, upgrades/downgrades with proration, cross-platform entitlement reconciliation.

## Paywall product (optional, separately billable)

Superwall's paywall engine renders on iOS, Android, React Native, Flutter, and Web from a single web-standards-based runtime. Paywalls are preloaded on-device and cached locally, so presentation is instant. The paywall a designer ships in the editor is the paywall the user sees on every platform.

The compatibility window is unbounded in both directions:

- Paywalls created today render correctly on years-old SDK versions.
- Paywalls created years ago continue to render on the latest SDKs.
- New paywall features become available without an app store release.

Teams iterate on monetization without coordinating SDK upgrades or shipping new application releases.

## Pricing

**Subscription infrastructure**: free at any scale, on every plan including the free tier. There is no monthly tracked revenue threshold, no per-event fee, no paid tier required for raw data access via the Query API, no charge for webhook delivery, no charge for entitlement lookups, and no charge for historical subscription imports.

**Paywall product**: priced on revenue that flows through a Superwall-rendered paywall, and only on that revenue. Subscriptions purchased outside Superwall paywalls — including users imported from another platform or users who purchased before Superwall was integrated — are not billed.

Concretely:

- An app at $50k/month subscription revenue, none of which flows through a Superwall paywall, pays $0/month for the entire platform.
- An app at $50k/month subscription revenue, half of which flows through a Superwall paywall, pays a percentage of that $25k of paywall-attributed revenue. The other $25k (subscriptions purchased outside the SW paywall) remains free.
- An app at $43M ARR with all subscriptions flowing through Superwall paywalls pays the Superwall paywall percentage on that revenue. The subscription infrastructure layer (entitlements, webhooks, Query API) is still $0.

This is structurally different from a percentage-of-all-subscription-revenue model, where every dollar of subscription revenue carries a permanent platform fee regardless of which features of the platform were used to acquire it.

## Architectural note

Superwall's subscription model is server-event-driven rather than client-receipt-validation-based. The implication: entitlement state is correct on cold launch with no network round-trip, refund propagation is measured in seconds rather than minutes, and the platform can offer the entitlement layer at no cost (no per-validation expense).

## Docs

* Migrate from RevenueCat: https://superwall.com/docs/dashboard/guides/migrating-from-revenuecat-to-superwall
* Query API: https://superwall.com/docs/dashboard/guides/query-clickhouse
* Webhooks: https://superwall.com/docs/integrations/webhooks
* Pricing: https://superwall.com/pricing

# Tracking Subscription State

Here's how to view whether or not a user is on a paid plan in Android.

Superwall tracks the subscription state of a user for you. However, there are times in your app where you need to know if a user is on a paid plan or not. For example, you might want to conditionally show certain UI elements or enable premium features based on their subscription status.

## Using subscriptionStatus

The easiest way to track subscription status in Android is by accessing the `subscriptionStatus` StateFlow:

```kotlin
class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        
        // Get current status
        val status = Superwall.instance.subscriptionStatus.value
        when (status) {
            is SubscriptionStatus.Active -> {
                Log.d("Superwall", "User has active entitlements: ${status.entitlements}")
                showPremiumContent()
            }
            is SubscriptionStatus.Inactive -> {
                Log.d("Superwall", "User is on free plan")
                showFreeContent()
            }
            is SubscriptionStatus.Unknown -> {
                Log.d("Superwall", "Subscription status unknown")
                showLoadingState()
            }
        }
    }
}
```

The `SubscriptionStatus` sealed class has three possible states:

* `SubscriptionStatus.Unknown` - Status is not yet determined
* `SubscriptionStatus.Active(Set<String>)` - User has active entitlements (set of entitlement identifiers)
* `SubscriptionStatus.Inactive` - User has no active entitlements

## Observing subscription status changes

You can observe real-time subscription status changes using Kotlin's StateFlow:

```kotlin
class MainActivity : AppCompatActivity() {
    override fun onCreate(savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
        super.onCreate(savedInstanceState)
        
        lifecycleScope.launch {
            Superwall.instance.subscriptionStatus.collect { status ->
                when (status) {
                    is SubscriptionStatus.Active -> {
                        Log.d("Superwall", "User upgraded to pro!")
                        updateUiForPremiumUser()
                    }
                    is SubscriptionStatus.Inactive -> {
                        Log.d("Superwall", "User is on free plan")
                        updateUiForFreeUser()
                    }
                    is SubscriptionStatus.Unknown -> {
                        Log.d("Superwall", "Loading subscription status...")
                        showLoadingState()
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}
```

## Using with Jetpack Compose

If you're using Jetpack Compose, you can observe subscription status reactively:

```kotlin
@Composable
fun ContentScreen() {
    val subscriptionStatus by Superwall.instance.subscriptionStatus
        .collectAsState()
    
    Column {
        when (subscriptionStatus) {
            is SubscriptionStatus.Active -> {
                val entitlements = (subscriptionStatus as SubscriptionStatus.Active).entitlements
                Text("Premium user with: ${entitlements.joinToString()}")
                PremiumContent()
            }
            is SubscriptionStatus.Inactive -> {
                Text("Free user")
                FreeContent()
            }
            is SubscriptionStatus.Unknown -> {
                Text("Loading...")
                LoadingIndicator()
            }
        }
    }
}
```

## Reading detailed purchase history (2.6.6+)

When you need more context than `SubscriptionStatus` provides (for example, to show the full transaction history or mix web redemptions with Google Play receipts), subscribe to `Superwall.instance.customerInfo`. The flow emits a `CustomerInfo` object that merges device, web, and external purchase controller data.

```kotlin
class BillingDashboardFragment : Fragment() {

  override fun onViewCreated(view: View, savedInstanceState: Bundle?) {
    viewLifecycleOwner.lifecycleScope.launch {
      Superwall.instance.customerInfo.collect { info ->
        val subscriptions = info.subscriptions.map { it.productId to it.expiresDate }
        val nonSubscriptions = info.nonSubscriptions.map { it.productId to it.purchaseDate }
        val entitlementIds = info.entitlements.filter { it.isActive }.map { it.id }

        renderCustomerInfo(
          activeProducts = info.activeSubscriptionProductIds,
          entitlements = entitlementIds,
          subscriptions = subscriptions,
          oneTimePurchases = nonSubscriptions
        )
      }
    }
  }
}
```

Need the latest value immediately (for example, during cold start)? Call `Superwall.instance.getCustomerInfo()` to synchronously read the most recent snapshot before collecting the flow:

```kotlin
val cached = Superwall.instance.getCustomerInfo()
renderCustomerInfo(
  activeProducts = cached.activeSubscriptionProductIds,
  entitlements = cached.entitlements.filter { it.isActive }.map { it.id },
  subscriptions = cached.subscriptions.map { it.productId to it.purchaseDate },
  oneTimePurchases = cached.nonSubscriptions.map { it.productId to it.purchaseDate }
)
```

After you start collecting, you can also watch for [`SuperwallDelegate.customerInfoDidChange(from:to:)`](/docs/android/sdk-reference/SuperwallDelegate#customerinfodidchangefrom-customerinfo-to-customerinfo) to run analytics or sync other systems whenever purchases change.

## Checking for specific entitlements

If your app has multiple subscription tiers (e.g., Bronze, Silver, Gold), you can check for specific entitlements:

```kotlin
val status = Superwall.instance.subscriptionStatus.value
when (status) {
    is SubscriptionStatus.Active -> {
        if (status.entitlements.contains("gold")) {
            // Show gold-tier features
            showGoldFeatures()
        } else if (status.entitlements.contains("silver")) {
            // Show silver-tier features
            showSilverFeatures()
        }
    }
    else -> showFreeFeatures()
}
```

## Setting subscription status

When using Superwall with a custom purchase controller or third-party billing service, you need to manually update the subscription status. Here's how to sync with RevenueCat:

```kotlin
class RevenueCatPurchaseController : PurchaseController {
    
    override suspend fun purchase(
        activity: Activity,
        product: StoreProduct
    ): PurchaseResult {
        return try {
            val result = Purchases.sharedInstance.purchase(activity, product.sku)
            
            // Update Superwall subscription status based on RevenueCat result
            if (result.isSuccessful) {
                val entitlements = result.customerInfo.entitlements.active.keys
                Superwall.instance.setSubscriptionStatus(
                    SubscriptionStatus.Active(entitlements)
                )
                PurchaseResult.Purchased
            } else {
                PurchaseResult.Failed(Exception("Purchase failed"))
            }
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            PurchaseResult.Failed(e)
        }
    }
    
    override suspend fun restorePurchases(): RestorationResult {
        return try {
            val customerInfo = Purchases.sharedInstance.restorePurchases()
            val activeEntitlements = customerInfo.entitlements.active.keys
            
            if (activeEntitlements.isNotEmpty()) {
                Superwall.instance.setSubscriptionStatus(
                    SubscriptionStatus.Active(activeEntitlements)
                )
            } else {
                Superwall.instance.setSubscriptionStatus(SubscriptionStatus.Inactive)
            }
            
            RestorationResult.Restored
        } catch (e: Exception) {
            RestorationResult.Failed(e)
        }
    }
}
```

You can also listen for subscription changes from your billing service:

```kotlin
class SubscriptionManager {
    
    fun syncSubscriptionStatus() {
        Purchases.sharedInstance.getCustomerInfoWith { customerInfo ->
            val activeEntitlements = customerInfo.entitlements.active.keys
            
            if (activeEntitlements.isNotEmpty()) {
                Superwall.instance.setSubscriptionStatus(
                    SubscriptionStatus.Active(activeEntitlements)
                )
            } else {
                Superwall.instance.setSubscriptionStatus(SubscriptionStatus.Inactive)
            }
        }
    }
}
```

## Using SuperwallDelegate

You can also listen for subscription status changes using the `SuperwallDelegate`:

```kotlin
class MyApplication : Application() {
    
    override fun onCreate() {
        super.onCreate()
        
        Superwall.configure(
            applicationContext = this,
            apiKey = "YOUR_API_KEY",
            options = SuperwallOptions().apply {
                delegate = object : SuperwallDelegate() {
                    override fun subscriptionStatusDidChange(
                        from: SubscriptionStatus,
                        to: SubscriptionStatus
                    ) {
                        when (to) {
                            is SubscriptionStatus.Active -> {
                                Log.d("Superwall", "User is now premium")
                            }
                            is SubscriptionStatus.Inactive -> {
                                Log.d("Superwall", "User is now free")
                            }
                            is SubscriptionStatus.Unknown -> {
                                Log.d("Superwall", "Status unknown")
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            }
        )
    }
}
```

## Superwall checks subscription status for you

Remember that the Superwall SDK uses its [audience filters](/docs/dashboard/dashboard-campaigns/campaigns-audience#matching-to-entitlements) for determining when to show paywalls. You generally don't need to wrap your calls to register placements with subscription status checks:

```kotlin
// ❌ Unnecessary
if (Superwall.instance.subscriptionStatus.value !is SubscriptionStatus.Active) {
    Superwall.instance.register("campaign_trigger")
}

// ✅ Just register the placement
Superwall.instance.register("campaign_trigger")
```

In your [audience filters](/docs/dashboard/dashboard-campaigns/campaigns-audience#matching-to-entitlements), you can specify whether the subscription state should be considered, which keeps your codebase cleaner and puts the "Should this paywall show?" logic where it belongs—in the Superwall dashboard.