This article examines whether entrepreneurial competencies increase the subjective well-being of subsistence entrepreneurs. We anchor our study in the theoretical context of the theory of entrepreneurial competency and the capabilities lens combined with a resource-based view. We hypothesize that the business performance of subsistence enterprises mediates the impact of entrepreneurial competencies on the subjective well-being of subsistence entrepreneurs. We collected data from 1,346 sub- sistence entrepreneurs in India and analyzed it using PLS-SEM. Our results indicate that entrepreneurial competencies posi- tively impact the business performance and subjective well- being of subsistence entrepreneurs. While nonfinancial perfor- mance mediates the relationship between entrepreneurial com- petencies and subjective well-being for subsistence entrepreneurs, financial performance does not. Further, the direct effect of entrepreneurial competencies on subjective well-being is significantly higher for male entrepreneurs, and the mediation effect through nonfinancial performance is sig- nificantly higher for female entrepreneurs. Our study contri- butes to subsistence entrepreneurship literature and has implications for policymakers.