# 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

# Using RevenueCat

> **Note:** Not using RevenueCat? No problem! Superwall works out of the box without any additional SDKs.

> **Warning:** You only need to use a `PurchaseController` if you want end-to-end control of the purchasing pipeline. The recommended way to use RevenueCat with Superwall is by putting it in observer mode.

You can integrate RevenueCat with Superwall using several approaches:

1. [**Using a purchase controller:**](#using-a-purchase-controller) Use this route if you want to maintain control over purchasing logic and code.
2. [**Using PurchasesAreCompletedBy:**](#using-purchasesarecompletedby) Here, you don't use a purchase controller and you tell RevenueCat that purchases are completed by your app using StoreKit. In this mode, RevenueCat will observe the purchases that the Superwall SDK makes. For more info [see here](https://www.revenuecat.com/docs/migrating-to-revenuecat/sdk-or-not/finishing-transactions).

## Using a purchase controller

### 1\. Create a `PurchaseController`

Create a new file called `RCPurchaseController`, then copy and paste the following:

:::flutter
```dart
import 'dart:io';

import 'package:flutter/services.dart';
import 'package:purchases_flutter/purchases_flutter.dart';
import 'package:superwallkit_flutter/superwallkit_flutter.dart' hide LogLevel;

class RCPurchaseController extends PurchaseController {
  // MARK: Configure and sync subscription Status
  /// Makes sure that Superwall knows the customers subscription status by
  /// changing `Superwall.shared.subscriptionStatus`
  Future<void> configureAndSyncSubscriptionStatus() async {
    // Configure RevenueCat
    await Purchases.setLogLevel(LogLevel.debug);
    final configuration = Platform.isIOS
        ? PurchasesConfiguration('ios_rc_key')
        : PurchasesConfiguration('android_rc_key');
    await Purchases.configure(configuration);

    // Listen for changes
    Purchases.addCustomerInfoUpdateListener((customerInfo) async {
      // Gets called whenever new CustomerInfo is available
      final entitlements = customerInfo.entitlements.active.keys
          .map((id) => Entitlement(id: id))
          .toSet();

      final hasActiveEntitlementOrSubscription = customerInfo
          .hasActiveEntitlementOrSubscription(); // Why? -> https://www.revenuecat.com/docs/entitlements#entitlements

      if (hasActiveEntitlementOrSubscription) {
        await Superwall.shared.setSubscriptionStatus(
            SubscriptionStatusActive(entitlements: entitlements));
      } else {
        await Superwall.shared
            .setSubscriptionStatus(SubscriptionStatusInactive());
      }
    });
  }

  // MARK: Handle Purchases

  /// Makes a purchase from App Store with RevenueCat and returns its
  /// result. This gets called when someone tries to purchase a product on
  /// one of your paywalls from iOS.
  @override
  Future<PurchaseResult> purchaseFromAppStore(String productId) async {
    // Find products matching productId from RevenueCat
    final products = await PurchasesAdditions.getAllProducts([productId]);

    // Get first product for product ID (this will properly throw if empty)
    final storeProduct = products.firstOrNull;

    if (storeProduct == null) {
      return PurchaseResult.failed(
          'Failed to find store product for $productId');
    }

    final purchaseResult = await _purchaseStoreProduct(storeProduct);
    return purchaseResult;
  }

  /// Makes a purchase from Google Play with RevenueCat and returns its
  /// result. This gets called when someone tries to purchase a product on
  /// one of your paywalls from Android.
  @override
  Future<PurchaseResult> purchaseFromGooglePlay(
      String productId, String? basePlanId, String? offerId) async {
    // Find products matching productId from RevenueCat
    List<StoreProduct> products =
        await PurchasesAdditions.getAllProducts([productId]);

    // Choose the product which matches the given base plan.
    // If no base plan set, select first product or fail.
    String storeProductId = "$productId:$basePlanId";

    // Try to find the first product where the googleProduct's basePlanId matches the given basePlanId.
    StoreProduct? matchingProduct;

    // Loop through each product in the products list.
    for (final product in products) {
      // Check if the current product's basePlanId matches the given basePlanId.
      if (product.identifier == storeProductId) {
        // If a match is found, assign this product to matchingProduct.
        matchingProduct = product;
        // Break the loop as we found our matching product.
        break;
      }
    }

    // If a matching product is not found, then try to get the first product from the list.
    StoreProduct? storeProduct =
        matchingProduct ?? (products.isNotEmpty ? products.first : null);

    // If no product is found (either matching or the first one), return a failed purchase result.
    if (storeProduct == null) {
      return PurchaseResult.failed("Product not found");
    }

    switch (storeProduct.productCategory) {
      case ProductCategory.subscription:
        SubscriptionOption? subscriptionOption =
            await _fetchGooglePlaySubscriptionOption(
                storeProduct, basePlanId, offerId);
        if (subscriptionOption == null) {
          return PurchaseResult.failed(
              "Valid subscription option not found for product.");
        }
        return await _purchaseSubscriptionOption(subscriptionOption);
      case ProductCategory.nonSubscription:
        return await _purchaseStoreProduct(storeProduct);
      case null:
        return PurchaseResult.failed("Unable to determine product category");
    }
  }

  Future<SubscriptionOption?> _fetchGooglePlaySubscriptionOption(
    StoreProduct storeProduct,
    String? basePlanId,
    String? offerId,
  ) async {
    final subscriptionOptions = storeProduct.subscriptionOptions;

    if (subscriptionOptions != null && subscriptionOptions.isNotEmpty) {
      // Concatenate base + offer ID
      final subscriptionOptionId =
          _buildSubscriptionOptionId(basePlanId, offerId);

      // Find first subscription option that matches the subscription option ID or use the default offer
      SubscriptionOption? subscriptionOption;

      // Search for the subscription option with the matching ID
      for (final option in subscriptionOptions) {
        if (option.id == subscriptionOptionId) {
          subscriptionOption = option;
          break;
        }
      }

      // If no matching subscription option is found, use the default option
      subscriptionOption ??= storeProduct.defaultOption;

      // Return the subscription option
      return subscriptionOption;
    }

    return null;
  }

  Future<PurchaseResult> _purchaseSubscriptionOption(
      SubscriptionOption subscriptionOption) async {
    // Define the async perform purchase function
    // For versions of Flutter Purchases <9
    /*Future<CustomerInfo> performPurchase() async {
      // Attempt to purchase product
      CustomerInfo customerInfo =
          await Purchases.purchaseSubscriptionOption(subscriptionOption);
      return customerInfo;
    }*/
    // Flutter Purchases version 9+
    Future<CustomerInfo> performPurchase() async {
      // Attempt to purchase product
      final result = await Purchases.purchase(
        PurchaseParams.storeProduct(storeProduct),
      );
      return result.customerInfo;
    }

    PurchaseResult purchaseResult =
        await _handleSharedPurchase(performPurchase);
    return purchaseResult;
  }

  Future<PurchaseResult> _purchaseStoreProduct(
      StoreProduct storeProduct) async {
    // Define the async perform purchase function
    /* For Flutter Purchases <9
        Future<CustomerInfo> performPurchase() async {
      // Attempt to purchase product
      CustomerInfo customerInfo =
          await Purchases.purchaseStoreProduct(storeProduct);
      return customerInfo;
    }
    */

    // For flutter purchases 9+
    Future<CustomerInfo> performPurchase() async {
      // flutter_purchases 9+ API: use purchase(PurchaseParams) instead
      final result = await Purchases.purchase(
        PurchaseParams.storeProduct(storeProduct),
      );
    return result.customerInfo;
  }

    PurchaseResult purchaseResult =
        await _handleSharedPurchase(performPurchase);
    return purchaseResult;
  }

  // MARK: Shared purchase
  Future<PurchaseResult> _handleSharedPurchase(
      Future<CustomerInfo> Function() performPurchase) async {
    try {
      // Perform the purchase using the function provided
      CustomerInfo customerInfo = await performPurchase();

      // Handle the results
      if (customerInfo.hasActiveEntitlementOrSubscription()) {
        return PurchaseResult.purchased;
      } else {
        return PurchaseResult.failed("No active subscriptions found.");
      }
    } on PlatformException catch (e) {
      var errorCode = PurchasesErrorHelper.getErrorCode(e);
      if (errorCode == PurchasesErrorCode.paymentPendingError) {
        return PurchaseResult.pending;
      } else if (errorCode == PurchasesErrorCode.purchaseCancelledError) {
        return PurchaseResult.cancelled;
      } else {
        return PurchaseResult.failed(
            e.message ?? "Purchase failed in RCPurchaseController");
      }
    }
  }

  // MARK: Handle Restores

  /// Makes a restore with RevenueCat and returns `.restored`, unless an error is thrown.
  /// This gets called when someone tries to restore purchases on one of your paywalls.
  @override
  Future<RestorationResult> restorePurchases() async {
    try {
      await Purchases.restorePurchases();
      return RestorationResult.restored;
    } on PlatformException catch (e) {
      // Error restoring purchases
      return RestorationResult.failed(
          e.message ?? "Restore failed in RCPurchaseController");
    }
  }
}

// MARK: Helpers

String _buildSubscriptionOptionId(String? basePlanId, String? offerId) {
  String result = '';

  if (basePlanId != null) {
    result += basePlanId;
  }

  if (offerId != null) {
    if (basePlanId != null) {
      result += ':';
    }
    result += offerId;
  }

  return result;
}

extension CustomerInfoAdditions on CustomerInfo {
  bool hasActiveEntitlementOrSubscription() {
    return (activeSubscriptions.isNotEmpty || entitlements.active.isNotEmpty);
  }
}

extension PurchasesAdditions on Purchases {
  static Future<List<StoreProduct>> getAllProducts(
      List<String> productIdentifiers) async {
    final subscriptionProducts = await Purchases.getProducts(productIdentifiers,
        productCategory: ProductCategory.subscription);
    final nonSubscriptionProducts = await Purchases.getProducts(
        productIdentifiers,
        productCategory: ProductCategory.nonSubscription);
    final combinedProducts = [
      ...subscriptionProducts,
      ...nonSubscriptionProducts
    ];
    return combinedProducts;
  }
}
```
:::

As discussed in [Purchases and Subscription Status](/docs/sdk/guides/advanced-configuration), this `CustomPurchaseControllerProvider` is responsible for handling the subscription-related logic using the modern hooks-based approach.

### 2\. Configure Superwall (Continued)

The example above shows the complete setup. The `CustomPurchaseControllerProvider` wraps your `SuperwallProvider` and handles all purchase and restore logic through RevenueCat.

For more advanced implementations, see the [example app](https://github.com/superwall/expo-superwall/tree/main/example).

> **Note:** **Legacy Approach**: If you're migrating from the old SDK or need the class-based purchase controller, you can use `expo-superwall/compat`. However, we recommend using the modern `CustomPurchaseControllerProvider` approach shown above.

### Removed Legacy Code Section

The following section contains the legacy class-based approach. Skip to the next section for the modern configuration.

As discussed in [Purchases and Subscription Status](/docs/sdk/guides/advanced-configuration), this `PurchaseController` is responsible for handling the subscription-related logic. Take a few moments to look through the code to understand how it does this.

### 2\. Configure Superwall

Initialize an instance of `RCPurchaseController` and pass it in to `Superwall.configure(apiKey:purchaseController)`:

:::flutter
```dart
RCPurchaseController purchaseController = RCPurchaseController();

Superwall.configure(
  apiKey,
  purchaseController: purchaseController
);

await purchaseController.configureAndSyncSubscriptionStatus();
```
:::

### 3\. Sync the subscription status

Then, call `purchaseController.syncSubscriptionStatus()` to keep Superwall's subscription status up to date with RevenueCat.

That's it! Check out our sample app for working examples:

:::flutter
* [Flutter](https://github.com/superwall/Superwall-Flutter/blob/main/example/lib/RCPurchaseController.dart)
:::

## Using PurchasesAreCompletedBy

If you're using RevenueCat's [PurchasesAreCompletedBy](https://www.revenuecat.com/docs/migrating-to-revenuecat/sdk-or-not/finishing-transactions), you don't need to create a purchase controller. Register your placements, present a paywall — and Superwall will take care of completing any purchase the user starts. However, there are a few things to note if you use this setup:

1. Here, you aren't using RevenueCat's [entitlements](https://www.revenuecat.com/docs/getting-started/entitlements#entitlements) as a source of truth. If your app is multiplatform, you'll need to consider how to link up pro features or purchased products for users.
2. If you require custom logic when purchases occur, then you'll want to add a purchase controller. In that case, Superwall handles purchasing flows and RevenueCat will still observe transactions to power their analytics and charts.
3. Be sure that user identifiers are set the same way across Superwall and RevenueCat.

For more information on observer mode, visit [RevenueCat's docs](https://www.revenuecat.com/docs/migrating-to-revenuecat/sdk-or-not/finishing-transactions).