Telegram Stars: what they are and how to buy them

Telegram Stars are Telegram's own currency for digital goods. You use them to pay in bots and mini apps, send gifts, react to posts with paid reactions and unlock paid content. Creators who earn Stars can withdraw them as crypto. Here is how Stars work, how to buy them, what they cost and how gifts fit in.

What Telegram Stars are

Telegram launched Stars in 2024 so that bots and mini apps could sell digital goods in a way that follows Apple and Google rules. You buy Stars once and spend them anywhere inside Telegram. Your balance is in Settings → My Stars, along with your purchase history.

What you can do with Stars

• Pay for items, upgrades and services in bots and mini apps.
• Send gifts that appear on the recipient's profile.
• Leave paid reactions to support channel authors.
• Unlock paid photos, videos and posts.
• Subscribe to paid channels.

How to buy Stars

• Inside Telegram: My Stars → Buy, paid through the App Store, Google Play or @PremiumBot.
• On Fragment: Telegram's marketplace sells Stars for crypto, usually cheaper than in-app purchases. You need a TON wallet with GRAM or USD₮; see the TON wallet guide.
• As a gift: anyone can buy Stars for your username.

Star price

On Fragment, Stars cost roughly one and a half US cents each, paid in crypto at the current rate. In-app prices are higher because app stores take a commission, and they vary by country. Bigger packs cost less per Star.

Gifts and NFT gifts

Gifts are bought with Stars and shown on the recipient's profile. Limited gifts have a fixed supply; some can be upgraded into unique collectibles with their own model, background and number. Unique gifts can be transferred, sold on Telegram's market or withdrawn to the TON blockchain as NFTs. Regular gifts can be converted back into Stars, for less than their price.

Withdrawing Stars

Stars that you buy for yourself cannot be withdrawn. Creators, channel owners and bot developers who earn Stars can withdraw them through Fragment to a TON wallet after a holding period, at a rate lower than the purchase price. That is why reselling Stars does not make sense.

Free Stars: what is real

Real ways: giveaways in channels, gifts from friends, payments for your own content. Bots that promise free Stars for tasks usually do not pay or ask you to log in, which is account theft. Never share a Telegram login code with any bot or person.

Stars are also used in mini app games. In TotalHash, a free mining game in Telegram, optional extras such as extra mining servers can be bought with Stars, while the game itself is free.

Quick answers

What are Telegram Stars used for?

Paying in bots and mini apps, sending gifts, paid reactions, unlocking paid posts and subscribing to paid channels.

How much is one Telegram Star?

About one and a half US cents on Fragment, paid in crypto. In-app prices are higher because of app store commissions.

Where can I buy Telegram Stars cheaply?

Fragment usually offers the lowest price, paid with GRAM or USD₮ from a TON wallet. Bigger packs cost less per Star.

Can I withdraw Telegram Stars?

Only Stars earned by creators, channels and bots can be withdrawn through Fragment. Stars bought for yourself cannot.