How to Advertise on Telegram: A Beginner's Guide (2026)
Telegram ads are sponsored messages of up to 160 characters, bought in a CPM auction. There are three account types. Euro is opened through partners such as Adsly, can link to websites and is reviewed by people. TON is self-serve on ads.telegram.org, paid in Gram, and links only inside Telegram. Stars is only for channel and bot owners spending Stars their channel earned. Since August 2026 all three share one targeting form. On our own Euro accounts the average CPM is €2.97 and CTR 0.85%, from €0.25 in India to €2.68 in Russia. Through Adsly a Euro account opens in two business days with a minimum ad budget of €500 (crypto and stocks €1,000; gambling, nutra, adult and binary options €5,000), paid in any cryptocurrency, with no KYC.
Everything you need before your first Telegram ad campaign: how the auction works, which account type you need, what it costs on real accounts, how to write the ad, and the mistakes beginners make most often.
Table of Contents
- How Telegram Ads Work
- Types of Telegram Ads
- How Much Do Telegram Ads Cost?
- Step-by-Step: Your First Campaign
- Best Practices for Beginners
- Common Beginner Mistakes
- Frequently Asked Questions
How Telegram Ads Work
Telegram ads are sponsored messages: a text of up to 160 characters with a link or a button, marked as an ad. Telegram shows them in public channels with 1,000+ subscribers, and in bots and search results as well. People meet them while reading channels they already follow.
Targeting comes from what you choose in the ad form — countries, languages, topics and devices, or the specific channels, bots and search queries where the ad should appear. Telegram’s own statement on ads.telegram.org is that it does not use the contents of private chats or contact lists for ad targeting.
Telegram uses a CPM auction. You set the price you are willing to pay per 1,000 views, and your ad competes with others aimed at the same audience; a bid that is too low simply gets no views. See our 2026 pricing guide for current rates →
Types of Telegram Ads
The ad looks the same everywhere. What differs is the account you buy it from, and an account is defined by the currency it is funded in.
The table shows who can open each account, where its ads can lead and what it is paid in.
| Account | Who can open it | Where the ad can lead | Paid in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Euro | Opened through a partner such as Adsly — two business days as standard | Telegram destinations and external websites | Euro |
| TON | Anyone, self-serve on ads.telegram.org; Adsly opens them too | Telegram only: channels, bots, Mini Apps | Gram, the currency of TON |
| Stars | Only channel and bot owners, with Stars their channel or bot earned | That same channel or bot | Telegram Stars |
Since 22 August 2026 all three use the same targeting form: countries (229 options), languages (71), topics (41), devices, or specific channels, bots and search. What stays Euro-only is a link to an external website, the in-stream video format, a custom button, and human escalation of a declined ad through Adsly.
Two more differences matter to a beginner. TON-funded ads are not served in Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Palestine, so those audiences need a Euro account. And moderation is not equally strict: on our accounts the share of reviewed ads that were finally approved was 99.9% on Stars, 95.6% on Euro and 86.8% on TON (3 October 2026).
How Much Do Telegram Ads Cost?
You pay for every 1,000 views of your ad (CPM). These are figures from our own accounts, not industry estimates:
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Euro accounts, all campaigns: €2.97 average CPM and 0.85% CTR across 257.7 million impressions (7 September 2026).
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Euro accounts by country (3 October 2026): Uzbekistan €0.20, India €0.25, UAE €1.42, Brazil €2.22, Russia €2.68, Turkey €2.92 per 1,000 views.
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TON accounts: Telegram sets the minimum CPM at 0.1. On our accounts, priced in TON and never in euros, Germany and Britain ran at 0.27 TON, the USA at 0.39 and India at 0.42 (22 August–3 October 2026).
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Budget to start through Adsly: a minimum ad budget of €500 as standard, €1,000 for crypto and stocks, €5,000 for gambling, nutra, adult and binary options.
The country you target moves the price more than anything else. And CPM is not the number to optimise: what you pay per click and per subscriber decides whether a campaign works. On our Euro accounts in September 2026 a click cost €0.223 when the ad led to a bot, €0.266 to a website and €0.355 to a channel.
Not sure which account type fits your budget?
Adsly opens Euro accounts — a World account with every available country, in two business days as standard — and we will tell you how to set it up for your niche and your destination. Explore Account Options
Step-by-Step: Your First Campaign
Step 1 — Choose Your Account Type
Start from where the ad leads and where the audience lives. A Euro account covers both: it links to a website as well as to a Telegram channel, bot or Mini App, and as a World account it reaches every available country, Russia, Ukraine, Israel and Palestine included. A TON account links only to Telegram destinations and is not served in those four countries. Stars is only an option when your own channel or bot already earns Stars.
Step 2 — Define Your Targeting
Be specific. Instead of “everyone interested in finance”, try “India + English + the Crypto topic”, or the ten channels your customers already read. Every new Euro account is a World account that can advertise in every available country, so you choose the countries in each campaign, not when you order. Narrow targeting also makes it obvious afterwards what worked.
Step 3 — Write Your Ad
The format is strict:
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Text: up to 160 characters, spaces included (Telegram’s ad guidelines)
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Link: a Telegram channel, bot or Mini App; a website on Euro accounts
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Media and button: a photo or video is optional; a custom button is available on Euro accounts
Lead with a clear benefit, use numbers when you have them, and say exactly what happens after the click (“Join now”, “Get 50% off”). Telegram’s guidelines require the destination to match the ad text, so promise only what the channel, bot or page actually delivers.
Step 4 — Set Your Bid and Budget
Start near the minimum for your targeting and raise the bid in steps if the ad gets no views. Give each ad its own budget, and decide in advance how much you are prepared to spend on the whole test.
Step 5 — Launch and Monitor
Moderation is quick: over 98% of 13,199 campaigns on our accounts got a decision within three hours (September 2026). After that, watch views, CTR and cost per click. For scale, our Euro accounts average 0.85% CTR — 0.65% in Russia, 1.12% in India, 1.64% in Brazil. If you are far below the figure for your country, change the text or the targeting first.
Best Practices for Beginners
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Test several versions. Write 3–5 ads with different openings and compare them on equal volume. A working rule, not a measured threshold: wait for about 1,000 views each before judging.
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Match the channel’s context. An ad in a crypto channel should speak the language of crypto. Generic ads get ignored.
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Check what a click costs for each destination. On our Euro accounts a click to a bot or a website was cheaper than a click to a channel (September 2026). Measure your own before assuming.
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Start narrow, then expand. Begin with tight targeting. Once a combination works, widen it one step at a time.
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Track beyond clicks. Put UTM parameters on website links. For channels, a separate invite link per ad shows which ad brought the subscribers; Pro Panel creates one per campaign once you add our bot as a channel admin.
Common Beginner Mistakes
❌ Bidding too low
If your bid is below what the auction needs for your targeting, the ad is not shown at all. Start from the minimum and raise it until views appear.
❌ One ad, one audience
Beginners often create a single ad with broad targeting. Create several ads for different audience segments instead and let the numbers pick the winner.
❌ Ignoring the CTA
“Learn more” is weak. “Get free access” or “Join 10,000+ traders” is strong — as long as it is true. Always tell the reader exactly what they will get.
❌ Giving up too early
One day of data is one day of one audience. Our working advice, not a measured threshold, is to let each ad collect a few thousand views before making large changes.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do Telegram Ads work?
They are sponsored messages of up to 160 characters, marked as ads and shown in public channels with 1,000+ subscribers, in bots and in search. You pay per 1,000 views in a CPM auction where your bid competes with other advertisers aiming at the same audience.
How much does it cost to advertise on Telegram?
On our Euro accounts the average CPM is €2.97, from €0.20–€0.25 in Uzbekistan and India to €2.68 in Russia and €2.92 in Turkey. On TON accounts Telegram’s minimum CPM is 0.1, paid in Gram. Through Adsly the minimum ad budget for a Euro account is €500 as standard, €1,000 for crypto and stocks and €5,000 for gambling, nutra, adult and binary options.
What are the different types of Telegram Ads?
One ad format, three account types. Euro accounts are opened through partners, can link to websites and are reviewed by people. TON accounts are self-serve, paid in Gram, and link only to Telegram channels, bots and Mini Apps. Stars accounts exist only for channel and bot owners spending Stars their channel or bot earned. All three have shared one targeting form since August 2026.
Do I need a business to run Telegram Ads?
No. Telegram’s ad platform says “Anyone can post ads on Telegram”, and the self-serve TON platform needs only a Telegram account. A Euro account is opened through a partner; Adsly opens them with no KYC and no documents — we only ask what you are going to advertise.
How do I create my first Telegram ad campaign?
Choose the account type by destination and geography, set the targeting, write a text of up to 160 characters with a link, set the CPM bid and the budget, then launch and watch CTR and cost per click. In Adsly Pro Panel the same steps can be done in bulk — many texts, links and targets turned into separate campaigns in one pass.
What makes Telegram Ads different from Facebook or Google Ads?
Three things. The format: a short text message inside a channel rather than a banner. The targeting: by countries, languages, topics and specific channels, and Telegram states that it does not use private chats or contact lists for it. The scale: Telegram has over 1 billion monthly active users (Pavel Durov, March 2025). For numbers with sources, see Telegram Ads vs Google Ads.
What are common mistakes beginners make with Telegram Ads?
Bidding too low and getting no views; generic text that ignores the channel it appears in; targeting too broadly; testing a single ad; a vague call to action; and judging a test before the ads have collected enough views to compare.
Ready to launch your first Telegram campaign?
Adsly opens Euro accounts in two business days as standard — each a World account for every available country — paid in any cryptocurrency and with no KYC. You get access to the account itself on ads.telegram.org, plus Pro Panel at no extra cost.
Open Your Account · Try Pro Panel Free
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