RevenueCat vs Adapty vs Superwall: Mobile In-App Purchases 2026

TL;DR

Managing in-app purchases across iOS and Android is one of the hardest parts of mobile development — StoreKit 2, Google Play Billing, receipt validation, subscription state, and paywall UX all need to work together. RevenueCat is the market leader — a battle-tested SDK that abstracts iOS and Android purchase APIs into one unified layer, with real-time subscription analytics, webhooks, and a no-code paywall builder. Adapty is the feature-rich challenger — RevenueCat-compatible API with more aggressive paywall A/B testing, lower pricing tiers, and a built-in profile-based targeting system. Superwall is the paywall-first platform — focused entirely on converting free users to paid through a powerful no-code paywall builder with declarative trigger logic, while outsourcing subscription management to RevenueCat or StoreKit directly. For a complete subscription management + analytics solution: RevenueCat. For paywall A/B testing on a budget: Adapty. For supercharged paywall experiments with existing purchase infrastructure: Superwall.

Key Takeaways

• RevenueCat processes $5B+ in annual subscriptions — most proven at scale
• Adapty paywalls support 30+ A/B test variants — more testing flexibility than RevenueCat
• Superwall trigger system — show paywalls based on events, user properties, and custom logic
• RevenueCat Entitlements — cross-platform subscription state in one call
• Adapty pricing starts lower — first $2,500 MRR tracked is free vs RevenueCat's $2,500 cap
• Superwall delegates purchases to RevenueCat/StoreKit — not a full purchase management replacement
• All three support React Native — via official SDKs

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Why In-App Purchase Infrastructure Matters

Without a purchase SDK — manual approach:
  iOS: StoreKit 2 (Swift-only, async/await)
  Android: Google Play Billing Library (Kotlin)
  Server: Receipt validation for each platform
  State: Track subscription status across platforms
  Edge cases: Family sharing, refunds, billing retries, grace periods

  Reality: 6-12 months of work, constant OS update maintenance

With RevenueCat/Adapty:
  One SDK → unified purchase flow
  Server-side receipt validation (automatic)
  Subscription state: Purchases.getCustomerInfo()
  Webhooks: Send events to Mixpanel, Amplitude, Slack
  Paywalls: No-code builder for non-engineers

---

RevenueCat: The Standard for Mobile Subscriptions

RevenueCat normalizes StoreKit and Google Play Billing into one API, handles server-side validation, and provides real-time subscription analytics.

Installation

npm install react-native-purchases
npx pod-install  # iOS

Setup

// App.tsx
import Purchases, { LOG_LEVEL } from "react-native-purchases";
import { useEffect } from "react";

export default function App() {
  useEffect(() => {
    // Configure RevenueCat with platform-specific keys
    Purchases.setLogLevel(LOG_LEVEL.VERBOSE);

    if (Platform.OS === "ios") {
      Purchases.configure({ apiKey: process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_RC_IOS_KEY! });
    } else if (Platform.OS === "android") {
      Purchases.configure({ apiKey: process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_RC_ANDROID_KEY! });
    }
  }, []);

  return <RootNavigator />;
}

Check Subscription Status (Entitlements)

import Purchases, { CustomerInfo } from "react-native-purchases";

// Entitlement = what the user has access to (maps to products in each store)
async function checkSubscriptionStatus(): Promise<boolean> {
  try {
    const customerInfo: CustomerInfo = await Purchases.getCustomerInfo();

    // Check if user has an active entitlement named "premium"
    const isPremium = customerInfo.entitlements.active["premium"] !== undefined;
    return isPremium;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Error fetching customer info:", error);
    return false;
  }
}

// Hook for subscription state
function usePremiumStatus() {
  const [isPremium, setIsPremium] = useState(false);
  const [loading, setLoading] = useState(true);

  useEffect(() => {
    checkSubscriptionStatus().then((status) => {
      setIsPremium(status);
      setLoading(false);
    });

    // Listen for subscription changes
    const listener = Purchases.addCustomerInfoUpdateListener((info) => {
      setIsPremium(info.entitlements.active["premium"] !== undefined);
    });

    return () => listener.remove();
  }, []);

  return { isPremium, loading };
}

Fetch Offerings and Purchase

import Purchases, { PurchasesOffering, PurchasesPackage } from "react-native-purchases";

// Offerings = groups of packages defined in RevenueCat dashboard
async function getOfferings(): Promise<PurchasesOffering | null> {
  const offerings = await Purchases.getOfferings();
  return offerings.current;  // The "current" offering (A/B test or default)
}

// Purchase a package
async function purchasePackage(pkg: PurchasesPackage): Promise<boolean> {
  try {
    const { customerInfo } = await Purchases.purchasePackage(pkg);
    const isPremium = customerInfo.entitlements.active["premium"] !== undefined;
    return isPremium;
  } catch (error: any) {
    if (!error.userCancelled) {
      console.error("Purchase error:", error);
    }
    return false;
  }
}

// Paywall component using offerings
function PaywallScreen() {
  const [offering, setOffering] = useState<PurchasesOffering | null>(null);

  useEffect(() => {
    getOfferings().then(setOffering);
  }, []);

  if (!offering) return <ActivityIndicator />;

  return (
    <View>
      <Text>Choose Your Plan</Text>
      {offering.availablePackages.map((pkg) => (
        <TouchableOpacity
          key={pkg.identifier}
          onPress={() => purchasePackage(pkg)}
        >
          <Text>{pkg.product.title}</Text>
          <Text>{pkg.product.priceString} / {pkg.packageType}</Text>
        </TouchableOpacity>
      ))}
    </View>
  );
}

Restore Purchases and Identify Users

// Restore purchases (required by App Store guidelines)
async function restorePurchases() {
  const customerInfo = await Purchases.restorePurchases();
  return customerInfo.entitlements.active["premium"] !== undefined;
}

// Link RevenueCat user to your app's user ID
async function identifyUser(userId: string) {
  await Purchases.logIn(userId);
  // Now subscription state is tied to your user ID — syncs across devices
}

// Anonymous users on sign-out
async function logOut() {
  await Purchases.logOut();
  // User becomes anonymous again
}

RevenueCat Paywall Builder (No-Code)

import RevenueCatUI, { PAYWALL_RESULT } from "react-native-purchases-ui";

// Present pre-built paywall from RevenueCat dashboard
async function presentPaywall() {
  const result = await RevenueCatUI.presentPaywall();

  switch (result) {
    case PAYWALL_RESULT.PURCHASED:
      console.log("User purchased!");
      break;
    case PAYWALL_RESULT.RESTORED:
      console.log("Purchases restored");
      break;
    case PAYWALL_RESULT.CANCELLED:
      console.log("User cancelled");
      break;
  }
}

// Or as a component
function PremiumGate({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  const { isPremium } = usePremiumStatus();

  if (isPremium) return <>{children}</>;

  return (
    <RevenueCatUI.Paywall
      onDismiss={() => {/* handle dismiss */}}
    />
  );
}

---

Adapty: Feature-Rich RevenueCat Alternative

Adapty offers a RevenueCat-compatible API with stronger paywall A/B testing, profile-based targeting, and more aggressive pricing for early-stage apps.

Installation

npm install react-native-adapty
npx pod-install  # iOS

Setup and Activation

// App.tsx
import { activateAdapty } from "react-native-adapty";

export default function App() {
  useEffect(() => {
    activateAdapty({
      apiKey: process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_ADAPTY_KEY!,
      logLevel: "verbose",  // "error" | "warn" | "info" | "verbose" | "all" | "none"
    });
  }, []);

  return <RootNavigator />;
}

Identify and Profile Users

import { adapty, AdaptyProfile } from "react-native-adapty";

// Identify user — links subscription state across devices
async function identifyUser(userId: string) {
  const profile = await adapty.identify(userId);
  return profile;
}

// Set user attributes for targeting
async function setUserAttributes() {
  await adapty.updateProfile({
    firstName: "John",
    lastName: "Doe",
    email: "john@example.com",
    birthday: new Date("1990-01-15"),
    customAttributes: {
      plan: "free",
      daysActive: 7,
      onboardingComplete: true,
    },
  });
}

// Check access level (equivalent to RevenueCat entitlements)
async function checkPremiumAccess(): Promise<boolean> {
  const profile: AdaptyProfile = await adapty.getProfile();
  return profile.accessLevels["premium"]?.isActive ?? false;
}

Fetch Paywalls and Make Purchases

import { adapty, AdaptyPaywall, AdaptyProduct } from "react-native-adapty";

// Get paywall by ID (defined in Adapty dashboard)
async function getPaywall(placementId: string): Promise<AdaptyPaywall> {
  return await adapty.getPaywall(placementId);
}

// Get products for a paywall
async function getProducts(paywall: AdaptyPaywall): Promise<AdaptyProduct[]> {
  return await adapty.getPaywallProducts(paywall);
}

// Make a purchase
async function purchase(product: AdaptyProduct): Promise<boolean> {
  try {
    const profile = await adapty.makePurchase(product);
    return profile.accessLevels["premium"]?.isActive ?? false;
  } catch (error) {
    console.error("Purchase failed:", error);
    return false;
  }
}

// Restore purchases
async function restore(): Promise<boolean> {
  const profile = await adapty.restorePurchases();
  return profile.accessLevels["premium"]?.isActive ?? false;
}

Adapty Paywall UI (Visual Builder)

import { AdaptyPaywallView } from "react-native-adapty";

// Render an Adapty-built paywall (designed in their visual editor)
function AdaptyPaywallScreen() {
  const [paywall, setPaywall] = useState<AdaptyPaywall | null>(null);
  const [products, setProducts] = useState<AdaptyProduct[]>([]);

  useEffect(() => {
    async function load() {
      const pw = await adapty.getPaywall("main-paywall");
      const prods = await adapty.getPaywallProducts(pw);
      setPaywall(pw);
      setProducts(prods);
    }
    load();
  }, []);

  if (!paywall) return null;

  return (
    <AdaptyPaywallView
      paywall={paywall}
      products={products}
      onPurchaseCompleted={(profile) => {
        const isPremium = profile.accessLevels["premium"]?.isActive;
        if (isPremium) navigation.goBack();
      }}
      onRestoreCompleted={(profile) => {
        console.log("Restored:", profile);
      }}
      onClose={() => navigation.goBack()}
    />
  );
}

---

Superwall: Paywall-First Conversion Platform

Superwall is focused on one thing: maximizing subscription conversion through powerful paywall triggers and A/B testing. It delegates actual purchases to RevenueCat or StoreKit directly.

Installation

npm install @superwall/react-native-superwall
npx pod-install  # iOS

Setup with RevenueCat

// Superwall works alongside RevenueCat — they are complementary, not competing
import Superwall from "@superwall/react-native-superwall";
import Purchases from "react-native-purchases";

// Purchase controller — Superwall delegates purchases to RevenueCat
class RCPurchaseController implements SuperwallDelegate {
  async purchase(product: StoreProduct): Promise<PurchaseResult> {
    try {
      const pkg = await findRevenueCatPackage(product.productIdentifier);
      const { customerInfo } = await Purchases.purchasePackage(pkg);

      if (customerInfo.entitlements.active["premium"]) {
        return { result: "purchased" };
      }
      return { result: "failed", error: new Error("Entitlement not active") };
    } catch (error: any) {
      if (error.userCancelled) return { result: "cancelled" };
      return { result: "failed", error };
    }
  }

  async restorePurchases(): Promise<RestorationResult> {
    const customerInfo = await Purchases.restorePurchases();
    return customerInfo.entitlements.active["premium"]
      ? { result: "restored" }
      : { result: "failed", error: new Error("Nothing to restore") };
  }
}

// Initialize both SDKs
export async function initializePurchases(userId: string) {
  // RevenueCat for purchase management
  Purchases.configure({ apiKey: process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_RC_IOS_KEY! });
  await Purchases.logIn(userId);

  // Superwall for paywall display + triggers
  const purchaseController = new RCPurchaseController();
  await Superwall.configure(
    process.env.EXPO_PUBLIC_SUPERWALL_KEY!,
    { purchaseController }
  );
  await Superwall.shared.identify({ userId });
  await Superwall.shared.setUserAttributes({
    plan: "free",
    daysActive: 0,
  });
}

Trigger-Based Paywalls

import Superwall from "@superwall/react-native-superwall";

// Register events in Superwall dashboard, then trigger by name
// No need to check subscription state — Superwall handles gating
async function trackEvent(eventName: string, params?: Record<string, unknown>) {
  await Superwall.shared.register(eventName, params);
}

// Feature gate with paywall
async function accessPremiumFeature() {
  // Superwall checks if user is subscribed:
  // - If yes: executes feature immediately
  // - If no: shows paywall defined in dashboard, then executes on purchase
  await Superwall.shared.register("premium_feature_accessed", {
    featureName: "advanced_analytics",
    source: "home_screen",
  });

  // This callback only fires if user has/gets access
  // Superwall calls this after successful purchase or if already subscribed
  navigateToAnalytics();
}

// Custom handler with callbacks
async function openPremiumWithCallbacks() {
  await Superwall.shared.register(
    "export_data",
    { format: "csv" },
    {
      onPresent: (paywallInfo) => {
        analytics.track("Paywall Shown", { id: paywallInfo.identifier });
      },
      onPurchase: () => {
        analytics.track("Paywall Converted");
      },
      onRestore: () => {
        analytics.track("Purchases Restored");
      },
      onDismiss: (paywallInfo, result) => {
        analytics.track("Paywall Dismissed", { result });
      },
    }
  );
}

Superwall Attributes for Targeting

// Set attributes to target paywalls to specific user segments
async function updateSuperwallAttributes(user: User) {
  await Superwall.shared.setUserAttributes({
    // Standard attributes
    email: user.email,
    name: user.name,

    // Custom attributes for targeting logic
    daysActive: daysSinceSignup(user.createdAt),
    sessionsCount: user.sessionCount,
    hasCompletedOnboarding: user.onboardingComplete,
    plan: user.plan,
    referralSource: user.utmSource,

    // Feature usage — trigger paywall when hitting limits
    reportsCreated: user.stats.reports,
    exportsThisMonth: user.stats.exports,
  });
}

// Superwall dashboard: "Show paywall_B to users where daysActive >= 3 AND reportsCreated >= 2"
// No code changes needed — all logic in dashboard

---

Feature Comparison

Feature	RevenueCat	Adapty	Superwall
Core focus	Subscription management	Subscription + paywalls	Paywall conversion
Manages purchases	✅	✅	❌ (delegates to RC/StoreKit)
Paywall builder	✅	✅	✅ Most advanced
A/B testing	✅ Basic	✅ 30+ variants	✅ Advanced
Analytics	✅ Revenue analytics	✅ Revenue + funnel	✅ Paywall-focused
Trigger system	❌	❌	✅ Event-based triggers
Webhooks	✅	✅	✅
React Native SDK	✅	✅	✅
Cross-platform state	✅ Entitlements	✅ Access levels	❌ (via RC)
Server-side validation	✅	✅	❌ (via RC)
MRR free tier	Up to $2,500	Up to $2,500	$0 free (per event pricing)
iOS + Android	✅	✅	✅ (iOS-first)
GitHub stars	2.1k	220	280

---

When to Use Each

Choose RevenueCat if:

• You want the most mature, battle-tested subscription infrastructure
• Cross-platform subscription state (iOS + Android) is critical
• Integration with third-party analytics (Amplitude, Mixpanel, Slack) via webhooks
• The paywall builder is sufficient for your needs
• You want the largest community and most Stack Overflow answers

Choose Adapty if:

• RevenueCat-compatible API but lower cost at early MRR levels
• More aggressive paywall A/B testing (30+ variants vs RevenueCat's basic tests)
• Profile-based targeting — show different paywalls based on user attributes
• You want to test an alternative to RevenueCat without rewriting all purchase code

Choose Superwall if:

• Your existing RevenueCat setup handles purchases, but conversion is low
• You want to run sophisticated paywall experiments without engineering changes
• Event-based paywall triggers — "show paywall when user creates 3rd project"
• Paywall personalization by user segment, usage pattern, or acquisition source
• Marketing/product teams want control over paywall copy/design without deploys

---

Methodology

Data sourced from official RevenueCat documentation (rev.cat/docs), Adapty documentation (docs.adapty.io), Superwall documentation (docs.superwall.com), GitHub star counts as of February 2026, pricing pages as of February 2026, and community discussions from the RevenueCat community forums, Indie Hackers, and r/iOSProgramming.

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Related: Expo EAS vs Fastlane vs Bitrise for the CI/CD pipeline that builds and ships the apps using these SDKs, or React Native MMKV vs AsyncStorage vs Expo SecureStore for persisting subscription state locally.