Telegram Ads: the official platform
Telegram Ads is Telegram’s official advertising platform. The ads are short sponsored messages shown in public channels with large audiences.
How it works and what you pay for
You pay per impression on a CPM model with an auction, so the price of a thousand impressions depends on competition. The self-serve dashboard runs on TON. Targeting is by channels, their topics and languages. The format is tightly regulated: limits on text length and styling, plus Telegram’s own moderation.
- Strengths: an official tool, reach across the audiences of large channels, and the platform’s own statistics.
- Limits: a high entry point for small tests, short copy, and a spot in the feed where the ad competes with the channel’s content.
For a closer look, read Bot ads vs Telegram Ads.
Telegram channel advertising: direct and via an exchange
A post in a channel is the most familiar kind of Telegram advertising. There are two ways to buy one, and both are billed the same way: per placement, not per actual view.
Direct deals with channel owners
You find a channel with the right audience, message the admin, agree on the copy, date and price, and pay for the post. It reads like a recommendation from an author the subscribers trust.
The downside: every channel is a separate negotiation, and checking it for fake subscribers and inflated views is your job.
Channel ad exchanges
An exchange is a catalogue of channels with filters and statistics, where the deal goes through the marketplace: you pick channels and submit a post, and the admin accepts or declines the request. Terms, channel selection and payment rules differ from one exchange to another, so check them before you pay.
Keep in mind: if a post gets fewer views than you expected, the money doesn’t come back. To compare channels, work out the CPM yourself: post price ÷ views × 1,000.
Telegram ad networks inside bots
This kind of Telegram ad network connects many bots and sells impressions in them. You create a post and set the targeting; the network spreads impressions across its bots. The ad arrives in the private chat with the bot as a regular message with text, media and buttons. Here is how it works on HiViews.
Formats and prices
- Welcome impression — $6 per 1,000. The ad arrives right after /start, before the bot’s own greeting.
- Regular impression — $3 per 1,000. The bot requests the ad after it has delivered its result, so the ad stays the last message in the chat.
- Pay per click — $0.05 per click. Welcome or regular placement; impressions are free. Only the first click of an impression is charged, a click within 0.5 seconds of delivery is not charged, and there is at most one paid click per person per hour.
The price is the same for every topic. Only multipliers change it: boost ×1.25–×2, Premium-only audience ×2, betting and gambling ads ×2. Click billing is explained in Pay-per-click ads in Telegram bots.
Controls and limits
Targeting: 16 bot topics, languages, a schedule by hours (Moscow time) and dates, and the whole network, only chosen bots, or all except chosen ones. Frequency per person is unique (once for the whole campaign, the default), once a week or once a day. Click tracking shows CTR for each bot.
A post is up to 6 visible lines of text. Every campaign is moderated, usually within a day. The network shows a person at most one ad per hour and six per day, so reach builds gradually. Viewer profiles are checked, suspicious bots are frozen, and their impressions are reversed with a refund to the advertiser.
Ads in Telegram mini apps
Mini apps are web apps that open inside Telegram: games, services, shops. The ad is shown in the app’s own interface, not in a chat. It is usually sold by ad networks that developers build into their apps; typical formats are a banner, a full-screen ad or a rewarded view inside the app.
What you pay for — impressions, clicks or actions — depends on the network. So do the entry point, targeting and moderation. The strength of the format is an audience used to acting inside Telegram. The limit is that the creative has to fit the network’s format, and where a view is rewarded, some people tap for the reward. Judge that traffic by what happens after the click, not by the click count.
Where to buy Telegram ads: the options compared
The comparison is qualitative: other platforms’ prices and minimum budgets change, so figures are given for HiViews only.
| Criterion | Telegram Ads | Direct channel deal | Channel exchange | Bot ad network (HiViews) | Mini apps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Per 1,000 impressions, auction | Per post placement | Per post placement | Per 1,000 impressions or per click | Depends on the network: impressions, clicks or actions |
| How the ad reaches the person | Sponsored message in a public channel’s feed | Post in the channel feed | Post in the channel feed | Message in the private chat with a bot | Ad unit in the app interface |
| Entry threshold | High for small tests | The price of one post | The price of one post | Top-up from $5 | Depends on the network |
| Moderation | Telegram’s moderation, strict copy rules | The channel admin decides | The channel admin and the exchange’s rules | Every campaign, usually within a day | The network’s rules |
| Targeting | Channels, topics, languages | Choice of a specific channel | Choice of channels through catalogue filters | Bot topics, languages, schedule, frequency, bot selection | Depends on the network |
| How fast you start | After dashboard setup and moderation | Depends on negotiations and free dates | Once the admin accepts the request | After moderation | After the network’s moderation |
Check the current terms of Telegram Ads, exchanges and mini app networks with those platforms.
How to choose by goal
- Subscribers for a channel. A post in a niche channel comes with the author’s recommendation. A bot ad network adds reach at a known price: a post with a subscribe button can be paid per impression or per click. See the step-by-step plan for promoting a channel with bot ads.
- Users for a bot. A bot ad network: the audience already uses bots, and opening yours takes one tap. For a mini app, ads in other mini apps are worth testing too.
- Sales. An expensive or niche product sells better through a post by an author people trust. A product with a broad audience fits a bot ad network and, with enough budget, Telegram Ads. On HiViews you can show ads to Premium users only, at a ×2 multiplier.
- Testing a creative on a small budget. A bot ad network. Example: $5 ÷ $3 × 1,000 ≈ 1,666 regular impressions. Run two or three post variants and compare CTR.
The options don’t exclude each other. Tag the links for each source separately and compare cost per click and per conversion, not the price of a thousand impressions.
How to advertise on Telegram with HiViews
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Top up your balance
Log in to the web dashboard or @HiViewsBot and top up from $5: by bank card, USDT (TRC20) with no fee, or CryptoBot.
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Prepare the post
Up to 6 visible lines of text, optional photo, video or GIF, and buttons. A welcome post takes up to two buttons.
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Pick the placement and billing model
A welcome impression is $6 per 1,000, a regular one $3 per 1,000, and pay-per-click on either of them is $0.05 per click.
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Set up delivery
Topics, languages, schedule, frequency per person. Leave click tracking on to see CTR for each bot.
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Send the campaign to moderation
It usually takes up to a day. An example budget for a first run: $30 buys 5,000 welcome impressions ($30 ÷ $6 × 1,000) or 10,000 regular ones ($30 ÷ $3 × 1,000), with no multipliers.
Every setting is covered step by step in the advertiser guide.
FAQ
Where can I buy Telegram ads on a small budget?
In a bot ad network or with a post in a small niche channel. On HiViews the minimum top-up is $5; a welcome impression costs $6 per 1,000 and a regular one $3 per 1,000.
What is the difference between an ad exchange and an ad network?
On an exchange you pick specific channels and pay for a post in each one. In a network you set the targeting, impressions are spread across placements automatically, and you pay per impression or per click.
What is Telegram Ads?
It is Telegram’s official ad platform: short sponsored messages in public channels, billed per impression through an auction. The entry point is high for small tests.
Can I pay only for clicks?
On HiViews, yes, for both the welcome and the regular placement: $0.05 per click, with impressions free. Pay-per-click accepts only strong posts with a clear benefit and a visible button.