Telegram Paid Channel: How to Sell Monthly Access for Stars

A Telegram paid channel is a private channel people pay to join. Telegram has a built-in way to run one: a subscription invite link that charges a monthly fee in Telegram Stars, renews every 30 days, and adds the Stars to your channel's balance. If you want to sell a group instead, or charge once instead of monthly, you need a bot that takes the payment and lets people in.

This guide covers both routes step by step, what your subscribers see, and how you get your Stars out.

Two ways to run a paid channel

How to create a Telegram paid channel with a Stars subscription link

Telegram added paid subscription links in August 2024 (Telegram). Telegram's docs describe them as links "that allow joining a channel in exchange for a monthly payment in Telegram Stars", made for a private channel you want to sell access to (Telegram).

1. Create a private channel, or make an existing one private. This is what people pay to get into.
2. Post some content first, so new subscribers find something on day one.
3. Create the paid link. When Telegram launched the feature, the path was Channel Settings > Channel Type > Manage Invite Links > Create a New Link, then turn on Require Monthly Fee (Telegram).
4. Set the price in Stars. The period is always 30 days, and the price can be from 1 to 10,000 Stars (Telegram).
5. Name the link so you can tell your links apart later.
6. Share it in your free public channel, your bio, and anywhere your audience follows you.

Each payment moves Stars to your channel's balance (Telegram).

What the subscriber sees

From your subscriber's side, it works like this (Telegram):

1. They tap your link and see the channel and its monthly price in Stars.
2. They pay with Stars. If they don't have enough, they can buy more in the app.
3. As soon as the payment goes through, Telegram adds them to the channel. They don't need to tap "join" separately.
4. Every 30 days, the subscription renews by itself and takes the Stars from their balance.

If they cancel, the app tells them they "will still be able to access your subscription until" the end of the period they paid for (Telegram translations). If their balance is too low on the renewal date, the subscription expires, and they can renew it from the app (Telegram).

How to join a paid Telegram channel

If you're on the other side and want to join one: open the creator's subscription link, check the monthly price, and pay with Stars. You can cancel later in the app and keep access until the end of the 30 days you paid for.

Selling access to a private group, or one-off access

Telegram's subscription links are documented for channels only, and they always bill monthly (Telegram). For anything else you need a bot:

• a paid group, where members can talk to each other;
• one-time access, such as a course group or an event chat;
• different prices for different products in one place.

A subscription bot does four jobs. It takes the payment, sends the buyer a personal invite link, keeps track of when each person's access ends, and removes them when it does. To create invite links and remove people, the bot must be an admin in your channel or group.

If you sell digital goods or access inside Telegram through a bot, Telegram requires the payment to be in Stars. Your bot must also answer the /paysupport command and handle payment disputes (Telegram).

How to create a Telegram payment bot yourself

If you can code, here's the outline of the do-it-yourself route with the Bot API:

1. Create the bot with @BotFather and keep its token private.
2. Make the bot an admin of your private channel or group with the rights to invite and ban users.
3. Create a payment link in Stars with createInvoiceLink. For monthly billing, set subscription_period to 30 days.
4. When a payment arrives, create a one-person invite link with createChatInviteLink and send it to the buyer.
5. When access ends, remove the member with banChatMember, then unbanChatMember so they can rejoin if they pay again.
6. Handle /paysupport, and refund with refundStarPayment when a refund is fair (Telegram).

You'll also need a server that stays online, and a way to store who paid and until when.

Ready-made subscription bots

If you'd rather not build it, there are services for this. One example, as of October 2026: InviteMember describes itself as a membership management service that "connects together Telegram API and various payment gateway APIs (like Stripe and PayPal)". It accepts cards and crypto, and when a subscription ends, it "removes access automatically". Its bot needs only the "Add users" and "Ban users" permissions (InviteMember). It suits creators who want to charge in regular money rather than Stars.

Withdrawing your Stars

Stars from subscriptions and other channel sales build up in your channel's balance. From there you can (Telegram):

• withdraw them through Fragment as Gram, the cryptocurrency Telegram uses (older Telegram posts call it Toncoin), once you have the minimum balance Telegram sets;
• spend them on Telegram Ads to promote your channel.

Telegram's creator terms add a few rules (Telegram):

• Stars become available to withdraw 21 days after you earn them.
• Stars are valid for 3 years from the day you receive them.
• The value the app shows in dollars or euros is an estimate.
• Withdrawals can't be reversed, so check your wallet address.
• Taxes on what you earn are your responsibility.

Paid Channel in PowerTeleBot

PowerTeleBot is a Telegram mini app that creates bots for channel owners. Its ready-made Paid Channel bot sells access to your private channel or group in Stars. People get in and out automatically.

• A channel is sold by the month with Telegram's own subscription link, on the Growth and Scale plans. There's no fee: the Stars go straight to your channel.
• A group can be sold by the month or once, on any plan. Power keeps 5% of those Stars.

Setup works like this:

1. Open PowerTeleBot in Telegram and add your channel link.
2. Describe what you want to sell in plain words. Power points you to Paid Channel.
3. Fill in a few fields. Power creates the bot in Telegram for you, names it and gives it a profile photo. There's no BotFather step and no coding.
4. Build and test it privately, free for 3 days. Only you can see it.
5. To take real payments, pick a plan and go live. Power gives you a post ready to share in your channel.

Plans are paid monthly in Stars: Growth is 5,000 Stars for up to 50,000 users a month, and Scale is 10,000 Stars for up to 200,000. Selling a group works from Basic, at 450 Stars a month.

If you also sell presets, packs or guides, PowerTeleBot's Digital Store sells them for Stars with a pay link you can post anywhere. That's a simple Telegram shop bot without building one.

Tips for a paid channel people keep paying for

• Keep a free public channel. It's where new people find you and see what they'd get.
• Say exactly what's inside. How often you post, and what kind of posts.
• Post on a schedule. A channel that posts regularly gives people a reason to renew.
• Start with one simple price. You can add a second option later.

For more ways to earn, see how to monetize a Telegram channel. If you want to grow the free channel that feeds your paid one, a fair giveaway helps.

FAQ

How do renewals work?

A subscription renews automatically every 30 days and takes the price from the subscriber's Star balance (Telegram).

What happens when a subscription expires?

If a subscriber cancels, they keep access until the end of the period they paid for. If the renewal fails because their balance is too low, the subscription expires, and they can renew it from the app.

Can subscribers get a refund?

Telegram's Stars terms say buying Stars is final, and Telegram doesn't refund unwanted purchases. If a bot fails to deliver what it sold, its developer can refund the Stars, and buyers are told to send /paysupport first (Telegram). Telegram's docs don't describe a refund option for channel subscription links.

Can I sell a paid group with a subscription link?

Telegram's subscription links are documented for channels. For a paid group, use a bot that sells access and removes people when their time is up.

How much should I charge?

There's no standard price. Look at what similar channels in your niche charge, start with one price, and change it based on how many people join and renew.

If you want a paid channel or group without building a bot, open PowerTeleBot in Telegram and describe what you want to sell.