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How does Telegram make money?

Telegram’s business model explained: Telegram Premium subscriptions, the official Telegram Ad Platform, Telegram Stars, Fragment username and number auctions, bonds — and how channel owners and Mini Apps earn too.

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Telegram paper plane surrounded by Premium star, sponsored message, coins, TON coin and auction gavel feeding a rising chart — how Telegram makes money
Telegram paper plane surrounded by Premium star, sponsored message, coins, TON coin and auction gavel feeding a rising chart — how Telegram makes money

Content owner: Adsun Editorial & Ad Operations Team · Last verified:

Quick answer

Telegram makes money mainly from Telegram Premium subscriptions, the official Telegram Ad Platform (sponsored messages in large public channels, with revenue shared with channel owners), Telegram Stars used for digital goods in bots and Mini Apps, and Fragment auctions of collectible usernames and anonymous numbers. It has also raised money through bonds. Telegram reported becoming profitable in 2024. Creators earn separately — for example through third-party ad networks like Adsun inside Mini Apps, bots and channels.

Key takeaways

  • Telegram Premium is a paid subscription with extra features and no official ads.
  • The official Ad Platform sells sponsored messages in big public channels.
  • Telegram Stars power in-app purchases for bots and Mini Apps.
  • Fragment sells usernames and anonymous numbers on TON.

Telegram’s main revenue streams

  • Telegram Premium subscriptions.
  • Telegram Ad Platform: sponsored messages in public channels with 1,000+ subscribers.
  • Telegram Stars: users buy Stars to pay for digital goods and services.
  • Fragment: auctions of collectible usernames, anonymous numbers and gifts.
  • Debt financing such as bond issues.

How channel owners and developers make money

  • Ad revenue share from the official platform for eligible channels.
  • Paid posts, subscriptions and Stars reactions.
  • Sponsored posts sold directly to advertisers.
  • Ad networks like Adsun that pay USDT for Mini App, bot and channel inventory.

Earn from your own Telegram traffic

Create a free publisher account at adsun.io, add your Mini App or bot, create Reward, Interstitial or Task blocks, paste the SDK or bot snippet and follow earnings per block and country. Payouts are in USDT.

Metric definitions and formulas

CPM
Cost per mille: what an advertiser pays for 1,000 ad impressions.CPM = (Ad spend ÷ Impressions) × 1,000
CPC
Cost per click: average price an advertiser pays for one click.CPC = Ad spend ÷ Clicks
CTR
Click-through rate: the share of impressions that produced a click.CTR = (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100%
eCPM
Effective CPM: what a publisher earns per 1,000 impressions, whatever the pricing model.eCPM = (Publisher earnings ÷ Impressions) × 1,000
Fill rate
The share of ad requests that returned an ad.Fill rate = (Filled ad requests ÷ Total ad requests) × 100%

More terms in the glossary and the advertising metrics guide.

Worked example

Hypothetical example — not real Telegram or Adsun data

A new channel owner spends $50 on an Adsun CPC campaign at $0.05 per click = 1,000 clicks. 35% join the channel = 350 subscribers, so cost per subscriber = 50 ÷ 350 ≈ $0.14. Use your own campaign reports for real numbers.

Adsun measurement methodology

Adsun counts an impression when an ad is rendered in a publisher block, a click when the user opens the ad destination, and a reward only after the server-to-server Reward URL confirms completion. Debug-mode traffic is excluded from billing and reports. Metrics are shown per platform, block and country in the partner and advertiser dashboards. Adsun does not publish aggregate network benchmarks in this guide; any number below marked “Hypothetical” is illustrative only. See the SDK documentation for integration details.

About Adsun

Adsun is a Telegram advertising network operated by Adsun. Products: Rewarded ads, Interstitial ads, Task ads, Native ads. Platforms: Telegram Mini Apps, Telegram bots, Telegram channels. Learn more about Adsun.

Start earning or growing with Adsun

Publishers earn USDT from Mini Apps, bots and channels. Advertisers reach Telegram users with CPM or CPC campaigns.

Become a publisher — sign up freeStart advertising

Frequently asked questions

Does Telegram show ads?

Yes, the official Ad Platform shows short sponsored messages in large public channels. Telegram Premium users do not see them. Private chats have no official ads.

Is Telegram profitable?

Telegram stated it became profitable in 2024; check its official announcements for current figures.

How do Telegram creators make money?

Through sponsored posts, paid content, Stars, the official revenue share and ad networks such as Adsun.

Sources

Update log

  • 2026-10-22: First published. Telegram features are described generally; check telegram.org and core.telegram.org for current rules.
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