# 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 Flutter.

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 stream

The easiest way to track subscription status in Flutter is by listening to the `subscriptionStatus` stream:

```dart
class _MyAppState extends State<MyApp> {
  StreamSubscription<SubscriptionStatus>? _subscription;
  SubscriptionStatus _currentStatus = SubscriptionStatus.unknown;
  
  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    
    _subscription = Superwall.shared.subscriptionStatus.listen((status) {
      setState(() {
        _currentStatus = status;
      });
      
      switch (status) {
        case SubscriptionStatus.active:
          print('User has active subscription');
          _showPremiumContent();
          break;
        case SubscriptionStatus.inactive:
          print('User is on free plan');
          _showFreeContent();
          break;
        case SubscriptionStatus.unknown:
          print('Subscription status unknown');
          _showLoadingState();
          break;
      }
    });
  }
  
  @override
  void dispose() {
    _subscription?.cancel();
    super.dispose();
  }
}
```

The `SubscriptionStatus` enum has three possible values:

* `SubscriptionStatus.unknown` - Status is not yet determined
* `SubscriptionStatus.active` - User has an active subscription
* `SubscriptionStatus.inactive` - User has no active subscription

Use the `isActive` convenience property when you only need to know if the user is subscribed:

```dart
Superwall.shared.subscriptionStatus.listen((status) {
  if (status.isActive) {
    _showPremiumContent();
  } else {
    _showFreeContent();
  }
});
```

## Using SuperwallBuilder widget

For reactive UI updates based on subscription status, use the `SuperwallBuilder` widget:

```dart
SuperwallBuilder(
  builder: (context, subscriptionStatus) {
    switch (subscriptionStatus) {
      case SubscriptionStatus.active:
        return PremiumContent();
      case SubscriptionStatus.inactive:
        return FreeContent();
      default:
        return LoadingIndicator();
    }
  },
)
```

This widget automatically rebuilds whenever the subscription status changes, making it perfect for conditionally rendering UI:

```dart
class SubscriptionStatusDisplay extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return SuperwallBuilder(
      builder: (context, status) => Center(
        child: Text('Subscription Status: $status'),
      ),
    );
  }
}
```

## Using StreamBuilder

You can also use Flutter's `StreamBuilder` for more control over the stream subscription:

```dart
class PremiumFeatureButton extends StatelessWidget {
  @override
  Widget build(BuildContext context) {
    return StreamBuilder<SubscriptionStatus>(
      stream: Superwall.shared.subscriptionStatus,
      builder: (context, snapshot) {
        final status = snapshot.data ?? SubscriptionStatus.unknown;
        final isActive = status.isActive;
        
        return ElevatedButton(
          onPressed: isActive
              ? _accessPremiumFeature
              : _showPaywall,
          child: Text(
            isActive
                ? 'Access Premium Feature'
                : 'Upgrade to Premium',
          ),
        );
      },
    );
  }
  
  void _accessPremiumFeature() {
    // Access premium feature
  }
  
  void _showPaywall() {
    Superwall.shared.registerPlacement('premium_feature');
  }
}
```

## Checking subscription status programmatically

If you need to check the subscription status at a specific moment without listening to the stream:

```dart
Future<void> checkSubscription() async {
  // Note: You'll need to get the current value from the stream
  final subscription = Superwall.shared.subscriptionStatus.listen((status) {
    if (status.isActive) {
      // User is subscribed
      enablePremiumFeatures();
    } else {
      // User is not subscribed
      showUpgradePrompt();
    }
  });
  
  // Remember to cancel when done
  subscription.cancel();
}
```

## 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:

```dart
class RCPurchaseController extends PurchaseController {
  
  Future<void> syncSubscriptionStatus() async {
    try {
      final customerInfo = await Purchases.getCustomerInfo();
      final hasActiveSubscription = customerInfo.entitlements.active.isNotEmpty;
      
      if (hasActiveSubscription) {
        final entitlements = customerInfo.entitlements.active.keys
            .map((id) => Entitlement(id: id))
            .toSet();
        await Superwall.shared.setSubscriptionStatus(
          SubscriptionStatusActive(entitlements: entitlements)
        );
      } else {
        await Superwall.shared.setSubscriptionStatus(
          SubscriptionStatusInactive()
        );
      }
    } catch (e) {
      print('Failed to sync subscription status: $e');
    }
  }
  
  @override
  Future<PurchaseResult> purchaseFromAppStore(String productId) async {
    try {
      final result = await Purchases.purchaseProduct(productId);
      
      if (result.isSuccess) {
        // Sync status after successful purchase
        await syncSubscriptionStatus();
        return PurchaseResult.purchased;
      }
      
      return PurchaseResult.failed;
    } catch (e) {
      return PurchaseResult.failed;
    }
  }
}
```

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

```dart
void setupSubscriptionListener() {
  myPaymentService.addSubscriptionStatusListener((subscriptionInfo) {
    final entitlements = subscriptionInfo.entitlements.active.keys
        .map((id) => Entitlement(id: id))
        .toSet();
    final hasActiveSubscription = subscriptionInfo.isActive;

    if (hasActiveSubscription) {
      Superwall.shared.setSubscriptionStatus(
        SubscriptionStatusActive(entitlements: entitlements)
      );
    } else {
      Superwall.shared.setSubscriptionStatus(
        SubscriptionStatusInactive()
      );
    }
  });
}
```

## Using SuperwallDelegate

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

```dart
class _MyAppState extends State<MyApp> implements SuperwallDelegate {
  
  @override
  void initState() {
    super.initState();
    
    // Set delegate
    Superwall.shared.setDelegate(this);
  }
  
  @override
  void subscriptionStatusDidChange(SubscriptionStatus newValue) {
    print('Subscription status changed to: $newValue');
    
    switch (newValue) {
      case SubscriptionStatus.active:
        print('User is now premium');
        _handlePremiumUser();
        break;
      case SubscriptionStatus.inactive:
        print('User is now free');
        _handleFreeUser();
        break;
      case SubscriptionStatus.unknown:
        print('Status unknown');
        break;
    }
  }
  
  void _handlePremiumUser() {
    // Update UI or app state for premium user
  }
  
  void _handleFreeUser() {
    // Update UI or app state for free user
  }
}
```

## Handling subscription expiry

If you need to check for subscription expiry manually:

```dart
Future<void> checkSubscriptionExpiry() async {
  final expiryDate = await MyPaymentService.getSubscriptionExpiry();
  
  if (expiryDate.isBefore(DateTime.now())) {
    // Subscription has expired
    await Superwall.shared.setSubscriptionStatus(
      SubscriptionStatusInactive()
    );
    
    // Show renewal prompt
    _showRenewalPrompt();
  }
}
```

## 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:

```dart
// ❌ Unnecessary
final subscription = Superwall.shared.subscriptionStatus.listen((status) {
  if (status != SubscriptionStatus.active) {
    Superwall.shared.registerPlacement('campaign_trigger');
  }
});

// ✅ Just register the placement
Superwall.shared.registerPlacement('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.