How to Make Money With Telegram Stars: Earn and Withdraw (2026)

Telegram Stars are the in-app currency behind most paid features on Telegram: bot purchases, Mini App items, channel subscriptions, paid media and paid messages. They are also the official way for a developer or creator to get paid for digital goods inside Telegram. This guide explains how people actually earn Stars, what a Star is worth to you, and how to turn them into real money, including the waiting period and fees that many guides skip.

Key takeaways

Telegram's payments documentation expects digital goods and services sold in bots and Mini Apps to be paid for in Stars, so Stars are the main way to get paid inside Telegram.
Developers receive about $0.013 per Star, which is less than buyers pay in the app. Price with your net amount in mind.
To cash out you need at least 1,000 Stars, every Star must be 21 days old, and you withdraw through Fragment to a TON wallet.
Only Stars you earned can be withdrawn. Anything that promises free Stars or "instant withdrawals" is a scam.

What Telegram Stars are and what they are worth

Stars are virtual items that people buy once and spend across Telegram. Buyers use them for digital goods and services in bots and Mini Apps, for subscriptions to bots and channels, for paid reactions and paid media, and to tip creators. The Stars section of Telegram's API documentation describes every place they can be earned and spent.

The number that matters to you is not what a buyer pays. App stores take a commission when someone buys Stars on a phone, so buyers typically pay somewhere between about 1.3 and 2 cents per Star depending on where and how they buy. Telegram's Bot Platform Developer Terms put the reward at the equivalent of $0.013 for each Star you receive. That figure can change, so check the current terms before you build a pricing model around it.

The gap between what buyers pay and what you receive is mostly app store fees. Plan around the lower number.

5 ways to earn Stars

1. Sell digital goods or services in a bot

This is the most direct route. A bot sends an invoice priced in Stars, the user confirms with one tap, and the Stars land in the bot's balance. You do not need a payment provider account for this. Typical products are premium features, usage credits, reports, templates, e-books, AI generations and access passes. Read the Bot Payments with Stars guide before you design your checkout, because the invoice and refund rules are specific. If you have not built a bot yet, start with our guide to creating a Telegram bot.

2. Offer a subscription

Bots and channels can charge a fixed number of Stars on a recurring basis, currently every 30 days. Subscribers can cancel inside Telegram, so what keeps them paying is a result they get every month, not an archive. Predictable income is the big advantage, so track churn from the first month.

3. Sell items inside a Mini App

Games, tools and utilities built as Mini Apps can sell upgrades, boosts, extra attempts or premium tiers through the same Stars flow. If you are weighing whether to build a Mini App or a plain bot, our beginner's guide to Telegram Mini Apps covers the trade-offs.

4. Earn from your channel

Channels can earn Stars through subscriptions to private content, paid media that readers unlock with Stars, and paid reactions that fans send to support a post. Availability of some features depends on your channel and region, so check what your channel settings show. Combine this with the ad revenue and paid community ideas in our guide to making money on Telegram.

5. Charge for messages

Telegram lets accounts charge Stars for messages from people who are not in their contacts. According to Telegram's Stars terms at the time of writing, the recipient receives 85% of the Stars paid. This suits experts, consultants and busy public figures far more than most people, but it is a real option if strangers regularly try to reach you.

How to withdraw your Stars, step by step

From the first sale to money in your bank usually takes more than three weeks.

Check your balance and eligibility. Stars are held in the balance of the bot or channel that earned them. Creator guides report a minimum of 1,000 Stars, and each Star only becomes withdrawable 21 days after you received it. Batches do not combine early: 500 Stars earned in May and 500 earned in June do not unlock a 1,000 Star withdrawal in May.
Turn on two-step verification. Telegram's API requires your 2FA password to withdraw and refuses the request if two-step verification is not enabled. It also blocks withdrawals if the password was changed, or the login session was created, in the last 24 hours, so set this up well before your first payout.
Tap Withdraw. Only the owner of the bot or channel can do this. Telegram gives you a link to Fragment, which is Telegram's partner platform for TON payouts.
Connect a TON wallet. On Fragment you log in with your Telegram account and enter the address of the wallet that should receive the payout. Double-check the address, because blockchain transfers cannot be reversed.
Convert TON to cash if you need to. Most people send the TON to an exchange, sell it for a stablecoin or local currency, and withdraw to a bank. Expect fees along the way. One 2026 creator guide estimates about 5% in total, but the exact amounts depend on volume and the exchange you use, so look at the numbers on screen before you confirm.

Only Stars earned through bots, channels and other Telegram monetization show a withdraw option. Stars you bought for yourself are for spending. Payouts are income in most countries, and exchanges may ask for identity checks, so keep records and check your local tax rules.

What you can realistically earn

These examples use the $0.013 developer rate and are illustrations, not forecasts. They ignore Fragment and exchange fees, so expect to keep roughly 5% less.

A bot with a 150 Star monthly plan and 100 paying users: 15,000 Stars a month, about $195.
A bot with a 750 Star pro plan and 40 paying users: 30,000 Stars a month, about $390.
A Mini App selling 300 purchases a month at 50 Stars each: 15,000 Stars, about $195.

The hard part is not the withdrawal. It is getting 100 or 40 people to pay, which is why discovery matters as much as the payment flow. Our guide to getting your first 100 users covers that side.

Pricing and cash-flow tips

Price in round Star amounts that make sense to the buyer, then work out your net with the $0.013 rate, not the retail price of Stars.
Plan for the 21-day gap. You can be making sales for three weeks before the first Star is withdrawable, so do not count on early income to cover costs.
Offer a free tier. People pay for bots they already trust. A free version that does something useful is the best sales page you have.
Handle refunds properly. Developers can refund Stars to a buyer, and a quick refund usually costs less than a dispute or a bad review.
Keep your own records. The balance in Telegram is the source of truth, but you want your own log of what was sold and when.

Scams to avoid

"Free Stars" generators, bots and websites. Real Stars are bought or earned, never generated.
Third-party "withdraw your Stars" services. Fragment is the official payout route.
Anyone who asks for your login code or your 2FA password. Telegram will never ask for either.
"Discounted" Stars sold in direct messages. Buy only through Telegram's own flows or its official Stars purchase bot.

Your next step

Pick one product you can sell for Stars, such as a premium feature or a monthly plan, and add it to a bot people already use. Once it works, put the bot where people browse for bots: launch it on Kiver and see how other makers present theirs in the bot directory.

Frequently asked questions

How much is a Telegram Star worth?

As a developer you receive about $0.013 per Star under Telegram's Bot Platform Developer Terms, so 1,000 Stars is about $13 before conversion and exchange fees. Buyers usually pay more per Star because app stores take a commission when Stars are bought on a phone.

How long does it take to withdraw Telegram Stars?

Each Star becomes withdrawable 21 days after you receive it, then you withdraw through Fragment to a TON wallet. In practice, plan on at least three weeks from your first sale to your first payout.

Can I withdraw Stars that I bought myself?

Creator guides report that the withdraw option applies to Stars earned through Telegram monetization, such as bot payments, subscriptions and tips. Stars you buy for yourself are meant to be spent.

Do I need a channel to earn Telegram Stars?

No. A bot or a Mini App is enough to sell digital goods and subscriptions for Stars. A channel adds options such as paid media, paid reactions and channel subscriptions.

Can I accept other payment methods instead of Stars?

Telegram's payments documentation says digital goods and services sold in bots and Mini Apps must be paid for with Stars. Other payment providers are intended for physical goods and services. Rules change, so read the current documentation before you launch.