Telegram Ads cost comes down to one auction number: you pay a CPM you set yourself, and the minimum bid on Telegram's own ads platform is 0.1 Toncoin per 1,000 views. Telegram names no minimum total budget on its self-serve page, but third-party Euro-account resellers advertise entry deposits from about €500, and resellers report median text-ad CPMs of roughly €1.2–€1.7 in most niches, climbing past €3 in competitive ones. The catch that surprises new advertisers: sponsored messages only run inside public channels with 1,000+ subscribers, and every ad passes moderation before it spends.
- Telegram Ads bill per 1,000 views (CPM); you set the bid and the official minimum is 0.1 Toncoin.
- No minimum total budget on Telegram’s self-serve page; Euro resellers advertise deposits from about €500.
- Resellers report median text CPMs near €1.2–€1.7, with competitive niches above €3.
- Ads only appear in public channels with 1,000+ subscribers, and moderation applies to every ad.
- Compare Telegram’s CPM against cost per conversion — cheap views on the wrong audience still lose money.
How Telegram Ads pricing works
Telegram Ads is a CPM auction. You write the sponsored message, choose the channel targeting, and set a CPM — the price for 1,000 views of that message. Your ad budget is the amount you commit to that one ad; it keeps showing until the budget is spent. If you stop and delete the ad, the unspent remainder returns to your overall budget.
Three consequences follow from that model:
- You pay for views, not clicks or sign-ups. Like popunder traffic, Telegram carries none of your conversion risk — the optimization burden sits with you.
- Your bid decides placement, not price alone. A higher CPM wins contested channel audiences; a low bid still buys leftover impressions at quiet hours.
- The budget is per ad. You scale by creating similar ads with their own budgets, not by raising one campaign cap.
What the minimum CPM actually buys
A 0.1 Toncoin minimum CPM gets you into the auction, but in contested channels it rarely wins impressions. Where your real cost lands depends on who else is bidding for the same subscribers:
- Niche competition. Crypto, betting and finance offers bid aggressively for the same Telegram audiences, pushing clearing CPMs above the median; entertainment and broad-interest channels stay near the floor.
- Audience size. Broad country-level channel targeting spreads your bid across more inventory; a handful of large crypto channels concentrates it.
- Creative approval. Every ad is reviewed. A rejected submission costs no money but costs time — write compliant copy the first time.
Two ways to fund a Telegram Ads account
There is no official EZmob-style free-form self-serve signup for Telegram Ads in most markets; advertisers either use Telegram's own TON-denominated flow or buy through an authorized Euro-account reseller:
| Route | Billing | Typical entry | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-serve TON account | Paid in TON, balance in USD value | Minimum CPM 0.1 Toncoin; no stated minimum budget | Crypto on-ramp and TON price exposure |
| Euro reseller account | EUR, card or invoice | Deposits advertised from about €500 | Fees on top; reseller handles the auction plumbing |
Resellers also unlock targeting that Telegram's basic flow keeps narrow — country, city, language and device targeting on top of channel selection. Confirm current requirements with the reseller before funding: these entry points change.
Telegram Ads cost vs the traffic you probably know
Telegram sells channel views; the networks media buyers use daily sell different units. On EZmob, popunder campaigns bill on CPM the same way Telegram does, but the impressions come from website and app inventory instead of channel feeds, and you can start from a $100 test budget with no sales call. Push notification ads bill per delivery to a subscriber, and native ads bill per on-page click — units with more intent attached than a channel view.
That difference is the honest way to judge the price. A €1.50 CPM on a crypto Telegram channel and a $1.00 CPM on popunder inventory are not comparable numbers until each is divided by conversions. Cheap views that never convert are the most expensive traffic you can buy.
How to test Telegram Ads without overpaying
- Pick one niche and one audience shape. Multi-niche first tests make the CPM data unreadable.
- Start near the minimum CPM and accept slow delivery. Leftover impressions are the cheapest data in the auction.
- Write compliant copy up front. Moderation rejects cost days; conservative claims cost nothing.
- Track beyond the platform. Tag destination URLs so views can be joined with clicks and conversions in your tracker.
- Judge on cost per result, not CPM. A low CPM on the wrong subscribers is a loss dressed up as savings.
Related questions
Is there a minimum budget for Telegram Ads?
Telegram's own page names no minimum total budget — you set a per-ad budget in TON. In practice, Euro reseller accounts advertise deposits starting around €500, so the smallest practical entry depends on which route you use.
Why are Telegram Ads CPM-only?
Sponsored messages are sold as channel views, so advertisers pay for delivery, not clicks. That keeps the entry price low and moves conversion risk to the advertiser — the same economics that make popunder traffic cheap per impression.
Can small advertisers afford Telegram Ads?
Yes, on the TON route: with a 0.1 Toncoin minimum CPM and a self-chosen per-ad budget, a small test costs little. The limiting factor is delivery — low bids win little volume in contested channels.
FAQ
How much does it cost to advertise on Telegram in 2026?
You pay a CPM you set yourself, with an official minimum of 0.1 Toncoin per 1,000 views. Resellers report median text-ad CPMs around €1.2–€1.7, and Euro reseller accounts advertise entry deposits from about €500.
Does Telegram Ads have a minimum deposit?
Telegram’s self-serve page names no minimum budget — the budget is per ad, in TON. Euro reseller accounts are the route with a stated deposit floor, advertised from about €500.
What is the minimum CPM on Telegram Ads?
0.1 Toncoin per 1,000 views. Winning impressions at that bid depends on competition for the channels you target.
Where do Telegram Ads actually appear?
Only in public channels with 1,000 or more subscribers. You cannot place sponsored messages in private chats, groups or small channels.
Do Telegram Ads get moderated?
Yes — every sponsored message passes review before it runs. Rejected ads cost no money but delay your test, so keep claims conservative the first time.
Is Telegram Ads cheaper than push or pop traffic?
Per unit, channel views can look cheap, but the units are not comparable. Judge each channel on cost per conversion from your own tracker, not on sticker CPM.
One last thing
The number that decides whether Telegram deserves budget is not the CPM you bid — it is the cost per conversion your tracker reports after a week of leftover-impression delivery. Bid near the floor, record what 1,000 views actually cost in conversions, and let that number decide the second deposit.
Related guides
- How much does push notification advertising cost?
- How much does popunder traffic cost in 2026?
- Where to buy website traffic: self-serve platforms and networks
Ready to test cheaper channels alongside Telegram? Start advertising on EZmob and launch pop, push, native or display campaigns self-serve from a $100 test budget.