VestreamSuperfluid is best known for streaming payments – its 'money streams' have powered DAO payroll and continuous subscriptions for years. The same primitive underlies a more recent product: the Vesting Scheduler, which combines a one-time cliff payment with a continuous Superfluid flow for the remainder of the schedule.
If you have used Sablier you'll find Superfluid's mental model adjacent but not identical. This guide walks through the differences and where Superfluid excels.
How the Vesting Scheduler Works
Superfluid's vesting scheduler decomposes a vesting position into two parts:
- 1Cliff payment: at the cliff timestamp, a one-time token transfer fires to the recipient. This represents the portion of the allocation that vests at the cliff.
- 2Continuous flow: immediately after the cliff transfer, a Superfluid flow opens, streaming the remaining tokens to the recipient at a constant flow rate until the end timestamp.
Think of it as: 'lump-sum at cliff, then drip the rest continuously.' The cliff is a discrete transfer; the post-cliff portion uses the same Superfluid flow primitive that powers DAO payroll.
How Superfluid Flows Differ From Sablier Streams
Both protocols release tokens continuously, but the underlying mechanics are meaningfully different:
| Aspect | Sablier | Superfluid |
|---|---|---|
| Token wrap | Native ERC-20 | Wrapped 'Super Token' (1:1 wrapper) |
| Accounting | Per-stream balance | Per-account net flow rate |
| Cliff | Inline parameter | Separate cliff transfer + flow |
| Cancelability | Optional, at creation | Flows always cancellable by sender |
| Best fit | Discrete vesting positions | Mix of vesting + ongoing payroll |
The Super Token wrapper is the most important thing to understand. To use Superfluid, the underlying ERC-20 must be wrapped into a Super Token (e.g. USDC → USDCx). The wrapper is 1:1 and reversible, but recipients see Super Tokens in their wallet, not the underlying.
Supported Chains
- Ethereum – full vesting scheduler deployment
- Base – heavy Superfluid usage given low L2 fees
- BNB Chain – fewer projects, but supported
- Polygon – historical major deployment
Vestream queries Superfluid's hosted subgraphs for each chain – these don't require a Graph API key, so the adapter is unusually lightweight to operate.
When to Choose Superfluid
Superfluid is the right fit when:
- Your project is already running streaming payroll or subscriptions on Superfluid – you keep one financial primitive.
- You want a single cliff plus a smooth continuous flow, and you're comfortable with the Super Token wrapper.
- You value the option to ramp flow rate up or down later (Superfluid flows are dynamic).
- You're vesting on Base or Polygon where the gas savings make per-second flow economically natural.
If you don't already use Superfluid for payments, the wrapper friction may not be worth it for vesting alone. In that case, see Sablier for a streaming-native alternative without the wrap step.
Reading a Superfluid Vesting Position
On-chain, a Superfluid vesting schedule is recorded with these fields:
- cliffDate – when the cliff payment fires
- cliffAmount – size of the one-time cliff transfer
- endDate – when the post-cliff flow ends
- flowRate – tokens per second after the cliff
- superToken – the wrapped ERC-20
Multiply flowRate by (endDate − cliffDate) and you get the total post-cliff allocation. Add cliffAmount for the grand total. Vestream surfaces all five fields plus the computed claimable balance in a single card.
Cancellability and Edge Cases
Unlike a hard-locked Sablier stream, the sender of a Superfluid flow can always close it. Vesting deployments rely on the sender (typically the project) honouring the schedule rather than on cryptographic enforcement of immutability.
This isn't a bug – it's a deliberate design choice that mirrors traditional employment vesting (where a company controls the eventual payout). For vesting that must be cryptographically immutable, Sablier or Hedgey lockup plans are stronger guarantees.
Tracking Superfluid Vesting on Vestream
Add any wallet on Ethereum, Base, BNB, or Polygon and Vestream surfaces every Superfluid vesting schedule it owns or receives. Sign in at <a href="/login">Vestream</a> to view it alongside Sablier, Hedgey, UNCX, and Streamflow streams.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to wrap my tokens to use Superfluid?
Yes – Superfluid operates on Super Tokens, which are 1:1 wrappers around an underlying ERC-20. Wrap and unwrap are permissionless and instant.
Can a Superfluid vesting flow be cancelled?
The sender can close any Superfluid flow they originated. This is by design but can surprise recipients used to immutable streams.
How is Superfluid different from Sablier?
Sablier holds tokens in a per-stream contract and computes claimable balance on read. Superfluid uses a per-account net-flow accounting model with a wrapper token. Sablier is more 'vesting-native'; Superfluid is more 'payments-native'.
Does Superfluid support tranched vesting?
Not natively – Superfluid is flow-first. For tranched schedules, Sablier's LockupTranched is a better fit.