What are Telegram Stars and where are they used?

On June 6, 2024 Telegram announced Telegram Stars, a payment unit for digital goods and services inside Telegram. According to the official blog, over 400 million users interact with bots and mini apps every month, and Stars let those bots sell things like e-books, online courses and in-game items.

Why Stars were introduced

Selling physical products through bots was already possible. Digital products, however, fall under Apple's and Google's app store policies, and Telegram Stars were built to comply with them: users acquire Stars through in-app purchases or @PremiumBot and then spend them on digital services in bots and mini apps. Payments for physical goods stay the same.

What can you spend Stars on?

• digital goods and services in bots and mini apps;
• items in Telegram games;
• supporting creators and gifts (Telegram said future updates would expand these).

For developers

Bot owners can accept payments in Stars. Telegram's blog says developers can withdraw the Stars their bots earn as Toncoin (TON) via Fragment. The technical details are in the Bot API documentation.

How this relates to PayStars

PayStars lets you buy Telegram Stars and Premium from a USD (USDT) balance. Prices are calculated as the Fragment price + 5% and are identical on the website and in the API.

FAQ

Sources

• Telegram Blog — Telegram Stars: Pay for Digital Goods and More (2024-06-06)
• Telegram Bot API — Payments in Telegram Stars