Selling on Telegram: a complete guide for businesses (2026)
TL;DR: Quick Summary
- You can sell on Telegram through bots, groups, channels, and Telegram Ads, and customers can pay without leaving the app.
- Telegram requires Stars for digital goods, and sellers receive rewards worth US$0.013 per Star as of 23 Oct 2026.
- Telegram's FAQ puts groups at 200,000 members and says channels can have an unlimited number of subscribers.
- Per Telegram's ad guidelines, an ad is 160 characters of text plus a button, and its link must be live.
- Sell digital goods through Telegram Stars and physical goods through a payment provider, then price on what you receive.
A customer messages your Telegram channel and asks, "Can I order here?" If your answer is "visit our website," you've added a step to the sale. Telegram lets you take the order inside the app instead.
There are four ways of selling on Telegram: bots, groups, channels, and Telegram Ads. Each has its own limits, payment rules, and costs.
Digital goods must be paid for with Telegram Stars, and VAT and other fees can reduce what you receive. Physical goods can use a payment provider.
This guide explains how each route works, which one fits your products, and what to check before you set a price. It then shows how SleekFlow connects your Telegram bot to a team inbox, so your team can answer every customer.
How do you sell on Telegram?
You sell on Telegram through four routes: bots that take orders and payments in chat, groups for community selling, channels for broadcasts, and Telegram Ads for paid reach. Bots handle checkout. Groups and channels build an audience, and ads promote a link to it.
How do you sell with a Telegram bot?
To sell with a Telegram bot, create it in BotFather, add payments with the Bot Payments API, test it, and go live. Digital goods must use Telegram Stars, and physical goods can use a payment provider. Keep the bot token private, and price on what you receive after VAT and fees.
How do you create a Telegram bot?
Search for @BotFather in Telegram and send /newbot.
Enter a name, then a username that ends in "bot".
Copy the token and treat it like a password.
You can also build Mini Apps, which are flexible interfaces that open inside Telegram.
How do bot payments work?
Your bot creates an invoice with the sendInvoice method. When the customer taps pay, Telegram sends a pre_checkout_query, and you must answer it with answerPrecheckoutQuery within 10 seconds, or the transaction is canceled. Deliver the goods only after the successful_payment update arrives. Telegram's Bot Payments guide has the full steps, and a Stripe test mode bills no accounts, so test before you go live.
How do Telegram Stars affect what you earn?
Telegram's developer terms require Stars for digital goods and services. On 23 Oct 2026, the terms said developers receive rewards worth US$0.013 per Star, while each Star is worth US$0.02 in ad credit. Telegram says it sets the reward value at its sole discretion, and that the ad credit value may fluctuate.
Telegram's Stars documentation says the amounts a seller receives differ between buyers because of VAT and other fees outside Telegram's control. Price on what you receive, and ask local counsel about VAT and consumer law.
How do groups and channels help you sell on Telegram?
Groups and channels build the audience your bot sells to. A group lets members talk to each other and has a limit of 200,000 members. A channel broadcasts one way to unlimited subscribers. Use groups for conversation and support, use channels for offers and updates, and point both to your bot for checkout.
How do you sell in a Telegram group?
Members can ask questions and see each other's replies, which suits community selling. Telegram's FAQ gives the 200,000 limit, and it warns that the page may contain outdated information.
How do you sell in a Telegram channel?
Open the new-chat menu and select "New Channel".
Choose public or private. A public channel has a username and is searchable, and a private channel needs an invite link.
Share your channel link to attract subscribers.
Telegram's channels FAQ is undated, and menu names change, so check the current app. Post offers and product updates, and add a link to your bot so interested subscribers can order.
Should you verify your channel?
Telegram verifies official channels, bots, and public groups, not user accounts. You need notable verified accounts on at least two platforms from a list that includes TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube, plus at least two press links.
Verified chats get a badge in chat lists and search results, and verification isn't an endorsement. See Telegram's verification page for current steps.
How do Telegram Ads work?
Telegram Ads promote a link to people reading public channels. Each ad is 160 characters of text at most, plus a button, and you choose the channels where it shows. The destination must work without a paywall or login. Telegram's ad FAQ and guidelines differ on whether outside websites are allowed, so confirm in your Ads account.
What do Telegram's ad rules require?
Telegram's ad guidelines set these rules:
The destination must match the ad text.
A promoted channel, bot, or account needs a profile image and complete text.
A promoted channel needs at least one post in the two weeks before review.
A destination bot must respond to commands.
How do you start a Telegram ad?
Log in at Telegram's Ads platform with your phone number in international format, then confirm in Telegram.
Add the Telegram link you want to promote and write your ad text.
Choose the channels where the ad should show.
Ads on Telegram show in public one-to-many channels, and Telegram's ad FAQ page describes them as channels with 1,000 or more subscribers, so confirm the threshold in your Ads account. Budget and bidding options appear only after you log in, so this guide doesn't cover them.
How does SleekFlow help you sell on Telegram?
SleekFlow connects your Telegram bot to its team inbox, so your team answers every customer in one place. An admin connects the bot with its token, and SleekFlow generates a link and QR code that customers use to start a chat.
How do you connect a Telegram bot to SleekFlow?
Create the bot in BotFather, then paste its token into SleekFlow. The Help Center guide has the steps, and only admin users can connect a bot. Businesses can't message customers first on Telegram.
How can you answer common questions automatically?
Flow Builder's Reply by keyword template replies automatically when an incoming message matches the keywords you choose, and Telegram is one of the channels you can pick. Check out our Help Center article on the Reply by keyword flow template for more info.
What can you send customers on Telegram?
The Help Center Telegram overview lists text, documents, images, videos, voice notes, product messages from your SleekFlow product catalog, and payment links. Payment links need the payment feature turned on. Use them for physical goods, because digital goods sold in a bot must use Stars.
How did NNIO use an AI agent?
NNIO, a Singapore electronics brand, used SleekFlow on WhatsApp, not Telegram, so read this as an example of an AI agent on a chat channel. Customers could only phone NNIO, and more than half of about 15 daily calls went unanswered. NNIO made WhatsApp its main support channel and added an AgentFlow AI agent as first-line support. Results from the story:
40% faster response times
30% of inquiries resolved by AI, a maximum figure in the story
20% more completed checkouts and a 5% higher conversion rate
How do you start selling on Telegram?
Pick one route and test it with a small product range. Set up your bot first if you sell digital goods, and price on what Stars pay out. If you sell physical goods, plan your payment provider before you launch.
To answer every Telegram customer from one inbox, talk to SleekFlow's team.
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