Does your website use third-party services? Get GDPR compliant in minutes.
Try FlowConsentFree plan · 10-min setup
ProfitWell, now part of Paddle and rebranded as Paddle ProfitWell and Paddle Retain, is a US based subscription analytics platform headquartered in Boston. It pulls subscription metadata from Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly or Braintree to compute MRR, ARR, churn and retention metrics, and ships a Retain JavaScript snippet that intercepts cancellations inside the SaaS application to offer pause, downgrade or discount alternatives. Data is processed on AWS US East; transfers require SCCs and the EU US Data Privacy Framework.
ProfitWell is a subscription analytics and retention platform incorporated as ProfitWell Inc. in Boston, Massachusetts. After Paddle.com Market Limited acquired the company in 2022, the product line was rebranded as Paddle ProfitWell (free subscription metrics) and Paddle Retain (paid retention and cancellation optimisation). It targets SaaS founders, finance teams and growth engineers who need accurate MRR, ARR, churn and LTV without building their own data pipeline.
ProfitWell connects to Stripe, Chargebee, Recurly, Braintree, Zuora and other billing systems through OAuth and webhooks. It also offers a JavaScript snippet that runs on the SaaS application to identify the logged in user, intercept cancellations and run A/B tests on retention offers.
The ProfitWell snippet loaded from public.profitwell.com / pw.profitwell.com writes first party cookies on the SaaS application (pw_user, pw_session) and a localStorage object that stores the ProfitWell user identifier, the company identifier and a small event queue. Cancellation funnels trigger additional cookies that remember the offer the user has been shown and the outcome. On the server side, ProfitWell ingests the full billing history of each customer (subscription items, currency, plan, MRR contribution, refunds, cohort information) from the connected billing provider.
The pw_user and pw_session cookies are not strictly necessary for the SaaS service the customer pays for, so Art. 5(3) ePrivacy requires prior consent in the EU even for authenticated B2B users. The subscription analytics processing can usually be grounded on legitimate interest with a documented LIA, since the customer base is known and the data is operational. ProfitWell Retain, by intercepting cancellations and offering alternative plans, is closer to profiling and benefits from a clear privacy notice.
Get GDPR compliant in 10 minutes
Free plan available · No credit card required
On the SaaS application, gate the ProfitWell snippet behind a product analytics toggle in user settings or in a CMP. Inside Retain, document the legitimate interest of preventing involuntary churn, the customer''s right to object and the limits of the personalisation logic. Server side ingestion of subscription metadata from Stripe and others does not depend on cookies and is governed by a B2B legitimate interest balancing test.
ProfitWell processes EU subscription data on AWS US East. The DPA, now part of the Paddle group, includes the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (modules 2 and 3) and the UK International Data Transfer Addendum, and ProfitWell is self certified under the EU US Data Privacy Framework. A Transfer Impact Assessment should evaluate US surveillance laws and access to subscription metadata.
Sign the Paddle ProfitWell DPA, gate the snippet behind a product analytics toggle, list ProfitWell (Paddle group) and the connected billing provider in your privacy notice and Article 30 record, document the US transfer with SCCs and DPF, complete a DPIA when Retain is in use and offer customers a clear way to object to retention nudges.
Websites using ProfitWell must obtain user consent under GDPR regulations.
DPIA considerations
A DPIA is recommended when ProfitWell Retain is deployed on the SaaS app because the cancellation interception is a form of profiling and automated nudging. The DPIA should cover the tracking cookies, the Retain logic, the US transfer of subscription metadata and the integration with the billing provider.
Sample consent text
We use ProfitWell (ProfitWell Inc., a Paddle company, United States) to compute subscription metrics and to power the cancellation Retain flow. Subscription metadata from our billing provider is sent to AWS US East, and the Retain widget sets analytics cookies in our app. International transfers are covered by Standard Contractual Clauses and the EU US Data Privacy Framework.
Third-party domains contacted
profitwell.compublic.profitwell.compw.profitwell.comapi.profitwell.comCookies placed
| Name | Type | Duration | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| pw_user | first_party | 1 year | ProfitWell long lived user identifier used to attribute events and Retain interactions to the same authenticated SaaS user. |
| pw_session | first_party | Session | ProfitWell session cookie used to mark which recording the current page view belongs to. |
| ProfitWell.companyId | first_party | Persistent (localStorage) | localStorage key holding the ProfitWell company identifier for the logged in customer used to map events to the correct subscription. |
| pw_retain_offer | first_party | 30 days | Stores the cancellation offer shown by ProfitWell Retain and the customer's decision, used to avoid showing the same offer twice. |
ProfitWell collects user analytics data — you legally need a consent banner. Try FlowConsent free.
The ProfitWell snippet writes first party cookies pw_user (long lived user identifier) and pw_session (session identifier), plus localStorage entries for the company ID and the event queue. ProfitWell Retain may add cookies to remember the offer shown to a cancelling customer.
Yes for the cookies and localStorage identifiers under Art. 5(3) ePrivacy, even for authenticated B2B users. The behavioural analytics processing itself can be supported by B2B legitimate interest with a documented LIA.
Legitimate interest (Art. 6(1)(f) GDPR) for subscription analytics on authenticated B2B users with a documented LIA. Consent (Art. 6(1)(a) and Art. 5(3) ePrivacy) for cookies. Contract performance (Art. 6(1)(b)) for the Retain cancellation flow which is part of the subscription lifecycle.
Yes. ProfitWell Inc. is based in the United States and processes EU subscription metadata on AWS US East. Transfers are covered by the EU Standard Contractual Clauses, the UK IDTA and the EU US Data Privacy Framework. Since the Paddle acquisition the DPA is harmonised with Paddle.
A DPIA is appropriate when ProfitWell Retain is in use because the cancellation interception is profiling and automated nudging. For pure subscription analytics, a Legitimate Interest Assessment is usually enough.
Sign the Paddle ProfitWell DPA, gate the snippet behind a product analytics toggle, list ProfitWell (Paddle group) and the billing provider in your privacy notice and Article 30 record, document the US transfer with SCCs and DPF, and run a DPIA covering Retain.
Subscription analytics alternatives include Baremetrics (US with DPF), ChartMogul (Estonia and US, EU friendly), Stripe Sigma (Ireland and US) and self built dashboards on top of Stripe Sigma, Snowflake or BigQuery. Retention alternatives include Vitally Retain, Catalyst and ChurnZero.
List the pw_user and pw_session cookies and the ProfitWell localStorage in your cookie policy under product analytics. In your privacy notice describe ProfitWell as your subscription analytics processor, the US storage on AWS, the SCCs and DPF, and the Retain flow with a clear right to object.