Telegram Stars vs mobile money: what creators take home

Telegram Stars are Telegram's own digital currency. Fans buy them inside the app and spend them on things like reactions and subscriptions. Since August 2024, a channel owner can put a monthly price in Stars on an invite link. Telegram announced Star subscriptions here.

To set one up, open your channel's settings, go to Channel Type, then Manage Invite Links. Create a new link and turn on Require Monthly Fee, then choose the price in Stars. Anyone who opens the link pays that amount to join, and Telegram charges them again each month.

A few things are worth knowing before you start:

• The period is fixed at 30 days. Telegram's developer documentation for subscriptions says the only allowed subscription period is currently 30 days.
• Renewals come out of the fan's Star balance. If the balance is too low, Telegram prompts the fan to top up. Fans can also cancel their subscription at any time.
• It was announced for channels. If you run a group where members chat, check the current options in your app before you plan around it.
• Telegram sets the rules. Telegram also requires bots that sell digital goods and services inside its apps to take payment in Stars, as its Bot API payments page explains.

The big advantage is that nothing else is needed. No bot to add, no payment account to open. If your fans already buy things in the Telegram app, you can be charging within minutes.

This is where the two options start to differ. A fan cannot pay for a Star subscription with mobile money directly. They first have to own Stars, and Stars are sold in the app.

When Telegram launched Stars, it said they can be bought through in-app purchases via Apple and Google, or through @PremiumBot. Telegram's terms for Stars say the same, and add that buying and using Stars may be subject to additional restrictions in certain jurisdictions.

In practice, that means:

• Fans need a card or an app store balance. On iPhone and Android, Stars are bought the same way as any other in-app purchase. A fan who only pays with mobile money may not be able to buy them at all.
• App store pricing applies. Because Stars are sold as in-app purchases, the price a fan pays is set through Apple's and Google's stores, and the stores take their cut. That cost sits inside the price your fan pays, before you earn a single Star.
• The price is shown in Stars. Your fans see a number of Stars, then a price in whatever currency their app store uses. That is an extra step to think about for a fan who is used to paying in naira, shillings or CFA francs.

For a fan in Europe or North America with a card saved on their phone, none of this is a problem. For many fans in Africa, where mobile money is how people pay for almost everything, it can be the point where you lose the sale. If you want to see which methods your fans actually use, read Telegram payment methods in Africa.

Earning Stars is half the job. To spend the money, you have to turn them into cash, and that happens on Telegram's terms.

Telegram's developer documentation for Stars describes how Star revenue is withdrawn: you submit the address of a TON wallet, and the funds are sent there through Fragment. When Stars launched, Telegram said earnings would be withdrawn in Toncoin via Fragment. The same docs set out the conditions:

• A minimum balance. You can only withdraw once your balance reaches a minimum that Telegram sets.
• A rate set by Telegram. What one thousand Stars is worth when you withdraw is a dollar figure Telegram decides, and it can change.
• Withdrawal must be enabled for you. Telegram controls whether withdrawals are open on your account.

Toncoin is a cryptocurrency. Once it lands in your TON wallet, you still need a way to sell it for your own currency, usually through an exchange, before it reaches a mobile money wallet or bank account. Each step can carry its own fees and rates, and none of them are set by you.

Telegram's terms for Stars do not describe converting Stars to cash. Read them, and check the current withdrawal process in your app, before you rely on Stars as your main income.

Here is how the two compare, side by side.

With Stars, your take-home depends on three numbers you do not control: the app store price of Stars in your fan's country, Telegram's withdrawal rate, and what you get when you sell your Toncoin. With VIPpass, there is one number: the service fee.

On VIPpass, the fee already includes payment provider costs, and you decide who pays it. On a $10 plan with the 5% fee, you can add it so the fan pays $10.50, or take it from your earnings so you receive $9.50. On Pro, at $18.99 a month, the fee drops to 4%. See pricing for both plans.

Your payout goes to a mobile money wallet or bank account in your own name, after a short holding period. Creators in Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Uganda and South Africa are paid in their own currency, and creators everywhere else in US dollars. There is no coin to sell and no exchange to use.

A Star subscription has one shape: a monthly fee. That suits some channels well. If you post every day and your fans think in months, a single monthly price is simple for everyone.

But one plan leaves money on the table for many creators:

• A 7-day plan is an easy yes for a fan who has never paid you before, and it suits content that moves fast. With Stars, that fan has to commit to a month or nothing.
• A 90-day plan lets you give a discount for committing, and means fewer renewals to win back.
• A lifetime plan works as a launch offer or a reward for your most loyal fans. Star subscriptions have no one-off option.

On VIPpass, each space can have plans of 7, 30 or 90 days, or lifetime, priced in your own currency. For a method to choose the numbers, read how much to charge for a VIP group.

Renewals work differently too

Stars has one real strength here: renewals are automatic. If a fan keeps Stars in their balance, they stay subscribed without lifting a finger. That is good for keeping fans who would otherwise forget.

Mobile money does not work that way. VIPpass never charges a mobile money wallet automatically. Instead, fans get a reminder 3 days and 1 day before their plan ends, and on the day, and they renew from the reminder link or with /renew in Telegram. They can check their end date with /status. Fans stay in control of their money, and you never have to message anyone from your personal number to ask them to pay.

Neither option is right for every creator. Be honest about where your fans are and how they pay.

Telegram Stars is a good fit if

• Your fans are global and most of them pay with cards or app store balances.
• A monthly price suits your content and you do not need weekly, 90-day or lifetime plans.
• You want to start today, with nothing to set up outside Telegram.
• You are comfortable with crypto, and can hold or sell Toncoin when you withdraw.
• Your channel lives only on Telegram, so you have no WhatsApp group or Snapchat private story to manage as well.

VIPpass is the better fit if

• Most of your fans pay with mobile money, and many have never bought anything in an app store.
• You want shorter or longer plans, such as a 7-day trial, a 90-day discount or lifetime access.
• You want to be paid in your own currency, to a mobile money wallet or bank account in your name, without selling crypto.
• You also run a WhatsApp group or a Snapchat private story, and want every paid space in one dashboard.
• You want leaked links shut out. The VIPpass Bot removes anyone who joins without paying, such as through an old link or by being added by hand.

You do not have to pick only one forever. You could keep a Stars channel for fans abroad and run your main paid space through VIPpass for local fans. If you are comparing other tools as well, read the best Telegram subscription bots, and for the full setup, how to set up a paid VIP Telegram channel.