Is the Telegram Bot API free: the short answer
Yes. Telegram’s introduction to bots says the Bot Platform “is free for both users and developers”, and the Bots FAQ adds that by default bots message their users “at no cost”. The documentation doesn’t describe a paid plan or a price per request.
Two things can still cost money:
- Paid broadcasts, if you choose them. A bot that must send bulk messages faster than about 30 per second can pay 0.1 Telegram Stars for each message above the free amount.
- Everything around the API. A server, a database and third-party services are billed by other companies, not by Telegram.
The figures below come from Telegram’s documentation at the time of writing. Telegram notes that limits may change, so check the Bots FAQ and the Bot API reference before you plan around them.
What is free of charge
“Telegram bot API free of charge” covers more than sending text. In the documentation none of the following has a price:
- Creating a bot. You register it with @BotFather and receive its token. No phone number is needed.
- Sending messages. Private chats, groups and channels, within the limits in the next section.
- Receiving updates through long polling or webhooks.
- Files: sending and downloading within the size limits.
- The payments platform. Telegram calls Bot Payments “a free and open platform”.
- The Bot API server itself. Its source code is published, and you may run your own copy.
One restriction has nothing to do with money: bots can’t start conversations. A person has to message the bot or add it to a group first.
Telegram Bot API limits you hit before you pay
Free doesn’t mean unlimited. These are the limits a growing bot meets first.
| Limit | Value | Source page |
|---|---|---|
| Messages in a single chat | Avoid more than one per second; short bursts may be allowed | Bots FAQ |
| Messages in a group | No more than 20 per minute | Bots FAQ |
| Bulk notifications | About 30 messages per second | Bots FAQ, Bot API |
| Downloading a file | Up to 20 MB | Bots FAQ, Bot API |
| Uploading a new file | 10 MB for photos, 50 MB for other files | Bot API |
| Sending a file by URL | 5 MB for photos, 20 MB for other content | Bot API |
| Resending a file by file_id | No limits | Bot API |
Values as stated in Telegram’s documentation at the time of writing.
A bot that goes over a sending limit starts receiving 429 errors. For bulk notifications the FAQ gives a free workaround: spread the broadcast over a longer interval, for example 8–12 hours.
For planning: at about 30 messages per second, a notification to 100,000 people takes 100,000 ÷ 30 ≈ 3,333 seconds, a little under an hour.
Telegram Bot API pricing: what Telegram charges for
The only price for sending messages in the Bot API documentation is for paid broadcasts. By default every bot can broadcast up to 30 messages per second. With Paid Broadcasts enabled in @BotFather, the limit rises to 1000 messages per second.
- Price: each message broadcast over the free 30 per second costs 0.1 Telegram Stars, taken from the bot’s balance.
- In code: send methods accept the allow_paid_broadcast parameter; passing True applies the higher limit and the fee.
- What is charged: only messages that are broadcast successfully.
The requirements differ between two pages. At the time of writing, the Bot API reference asks for at least 10,000 Stars on the bot’s balance. The Bots FAQ asks for at least 100,000 Stars and at least 100,000 monthly active users. Check the current condition in @BotFather.
Example calculation
An example with round numbers: 200,000 messages of a broadcast go out above the free rate, so 200,000 × 0.1 = 20,000 Stars. The same broadcast at the free rate costs nothing and takes longer.
We don’t convert Stars into dollars here: Telegram’s page on payments in Stars says the amounts vary from user to user because of VAT and other fees.
Local Bot API server: larger files
The file limits above apply to the official server at api.telegram.org. Telegram publishes the source code of the Bot API server, and you can run your own copy. The documentation compares the two:
| Setting | Official server | Local server |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum file download | 20 MB | Unlimited |
| Maximum file upload | 50 MB | 2000 MB |
| Webhook URL | HTTPS | HTTP |
| Webhook port | 443, 80, 88, 8443 | Any port |
| Maximum webhook connections | 1–100 | 1–100000 |
The docs don’t mention a fee for the local server, but it runs on your hardware, so it adds to your hosting bill. Before redirecting requests to it, call the logOut method.
What a Telegram bot costs to run
The real Telegram bot cost sits outside Telegram. The documentation says bots are connected to their owner’s server, which processes requests from users.
- Hosting. A bot has to answer at any hour. Telegram’s tutorial suggests renting a VPS or an equivalent service.
- A database. Telegram doesn’t host an update database for you: user lists and settings have to be stored by the developer.
- Third-party APIs. Language models, speech recognition, maps and similar services usually bill per use.
- A certificate for webhooks. Webhooks need a valid SSL certificate; a self-signed one can be used.
We don’t quote prices, because they depend on the providers you choose. The pattern matters more: costs grow with every active user, especially when each request calls a paid outside service.
How a bot pays for itself
Telegram Stars and Telegram’s own tools
If a bot sells digital goods or services, the payment must be made in Telegram Stars (currency XTR). Users get Stars through in-app purchases from Apple and Google or through @PremiumBot. The documentation also lists paid photos and videos and subscription plans.
A bot can use the Stars it receives to increase message limits, send gifts to users, place Telegram Ads or accept rewards in Toncoin. The bot owner handles refunds and payment disputes.
Ads through an ad network
A bot that gives its service away can show ads instead. HiViews is an ad network inside Telegram bots, and it pays the bot owner like this:
- Welcome impression: the ad arrives right after /start, before the bot’s own greeting. $4.80 per 1,000 impressions.
- Regular impression: requested after the bot has delivered its result, so the ad is the last message in the chat. $2.40 per 1,000 impressions.
- Clicks: $0.04 per click on pay-per-click ads.
- With the BotFather token: one API call, HiViews sends the ad, and every impression and click is paid at the rates above.
- Without a token: the bot requests a ready post and sends it itself. It is paid for clicks and for each impression whose sending Telegram confirmed, at a lower rate per impression.
- Payouts: earnings become withdrawable after 7 days and can be withdrawn from $50 in USDT (TRC20).
Example, not a forecast. A bot connected with a token shows 10,000 welcome and 20,000 regular impressions in a month: 10,000 ÷ 1,000 × $4.80 = $48, and 20,000 ÷ 1,000 × $2.40 = $48, so $96 in total. Real numbers depend on the bot’s audience and on the campaigns running in the network.
More in How to monetize a Telegram bot and How much a Telegram bot earns. If you’d rather not share the token, read monetizing a bot without a token. The API call is in the docs.
FAQ
Is there a paid tier of the Bot API?
No. Telegram’s documentation says the Bot Platform is free for both users and developers and doesn’t describe a subscription or a fee per request. The only paid option we found there is paid broadcasts, which raise the bulk sending limit.
Do I pay per message?
Not by default: bots message their users at no cost, within the limits. With paid broadcasts enabled, each message broadcast over the free 30 per second costs 0.1 Telegram Stars from the bot’s balance, and only successfully broadcast messages are charged.
Is the local Bot API server free?
Its source code is open and Telegram’s documentation doesn’t mention a fee for using it. You run it on your own machine, so you pay for that machine. In return the bot can download files without a size limit and upload files up to 2000 MB.
Do I need a server to run a Telegram bot?
Yes. According to Telegram’s documentation, bots are connected to their owner’s server, which processes requests from users. Telegram doesn’t host an update database for you either.
Can a bot earn money?
Yes. A bot can sell digital goods, paid media and subscriptions for Telegram Stars, take part in revenue sharing from Telegram Ads, or show ads through an ad network. None of this guarantees income.