This study examines the influence of various shape memory alloys (SMAs) on enhancing the performance of a superelastic friction pendulum (S-FP) under cyclic loading and investigates the impact of different SMA wire configurations on S-FP’s design. To achieve this, S-FP system was developed by integrating four types of SMA wire (NiTi, Fe-based, and Cu-based) into FP isolator in three distinct configurations, namely X, V, and W shapes. A comprehensive nonlinear finite element (FE) analysis is performed using ABAQUS to assess the effects of different SMA material and geometric configuration on the force-displacement response, recentring capability, and energy dissipation efficiency of S-FP isolation system, relative to the FP system. Numerical findings indicate that, the Fe-based SMA (FeNCATB) exhibits superior recentring ability and energy dissipation compared to the NiTi and Cu-based SMAs, making it the most effective choice for the vibration control applications. Furthermore, among different types SMA wire configuration, W-shaped arrangement demonstrates the highest energy dissipation capacity (EDC) and damping ratio, followed by the V-shaped and X-shaped configurations. These results provide critical insights into the optimal selection of SMA materials and configurations for S-FP system, facilitating the development of customized S-FP systems tailored to specific performance requirements in structural vibration mitigation.