Is Creating a Telegram Bot Free? Costs and Limits
Yes. Creating a Telegram bot is free: you register it with @BotFather at no cost, and Telegram does not charge bots for sending messages within its normal limits. What can cost money is keeping the bot online (a server, or a hosted builder plan) and selling through it (Telegram's share of Stars payments, or crypto network fees). On TeleCrow you can run one bot on the Free plan for $0, with a limit of 50 new users a day and a small TeleCrow ad inside the bot.
Prices and rates checked on 16 October 2026. TeleCrow plans come from the live pricing page. Telegram Stars figures come from the Telegram Bot Platform Developer Terms (section 6.2.4), which say the values can change.
Short answer: what is free and what costs money
"Is a Telegram bot free?" mixes three different costs. Most answers lump them together, which is why they disagree.
| Cost | Free? | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| Creating the bot in @BotFather | Yes | Nobody |
| Sending messages to your users | Yes, within Telegram's rate limits | Telegram, only if you turn on paid broadcasts |
| Keeping the bot online 24/7 | Sometimes | Your server host, or a builder's monthly plan |
| Selling with Telegram Stars | No | Telegram and the app stores keep part of each payment |
| Selling for crypto | No | The payment processor and the blockchain network |
| TeleCrow commission on your sales | 0% | TeleCrow charges only the plan fee |
What Telegram charges for a bot
Nothing, for normal use. You open a chat with @BotFather, send /newbot, pick a name and a username, and BotFather gives you a token. A bot does not need its own phone number or a paid account. If you need help with this step, our bot token tool walks you through it.
Telegram's bot FAQ says bots can message their users at no cost. There are limits: about one message per second in a single chat, 20 messages a minute in a group, and about 30 messages a second when you broadcast to many users. Very large bots (at least 100,000 monthly users and 100,000 Stars on balance) can turn on paid broadcasts in @BotFather to send faster, at 0.1 Stars for each message over the free 30 per second. Most bots never need it.
What it costs to keep a bot running
A bot is a program that has to be online to answer. Telegram does not run it for you. You have three options:
- Your own server. You pay for hosting and do the upkeep: updates, restarts after crashes, error monitoring and keeping the token safe.
- Free hosting tiers. They can work for a test bot, but many put idle apps to sleep or limit running hours, so the bot answers late or not at all. Our guide on what Telegram bot hosting costs compares the options by message volume.
- A hosted builder. You configure the bot in a dashboard and the builder runs it. The plan fee covers hosting. This is how TeleCrow works: you create the bot without coding and TeleCrow keeps it online.
TeleCrow's Free plan, exactly
This is what the live pricing page lists for the Free plan:
- $0, with no card needed and no time limit.
- 1 live bot.
- 50 new users a day for that bot (explained below).
- Basic support.
- A small TeleCrow ad inside your bot. Every paid plan removes it.
- 0% TeleCrow commission on anything you sell.
Plans differ on how many bots you run and how many new people can join each day, not on which bot type you may use. Every bot type on the bot types page is available from the Free plan: a digital product shop, a paid channel or group, support tickets, a welcome and captcha bot, autofunnels, a personal AI bot, giveaways and a file library. Some dashboard tabs are locked on Free and Basic: Configuration (where you edit the bot's greeting, messages and settings), Button Layout and Monitoring open on Pro and Ultra.
What "50 new users a day" means and what happens at the limit
The limit counts new people, per bot, per day. A new user is a Telegram account that has not used this bot in the last 30 days. People who already use your bot don't count again, and they are never blocked by the limit. Only private chats with the bot are counted. The day resets at midnight UTC.
When your bot goes over its limit, nothing is blocked at first. TeleCrow handles it in this order:
- Warnings first. You get an email that says your bot "reached its daily user limit", with "warning 1 of 3". Everyone can still use the bot that day.
- Three separate days. Warnings count only on days the bot actually goes over, and only once a day. Until three warnings have been sent, everyone is let in.
- Then only new users past the limit wait. After three warnings, on a day the bot goes over again, a new user beyond the limit sees "⏳ This bot is full for today" and can try again the next day. You get an email when this starts (at most once a week).
- The bot is never stopped. Your existing users, orders and subscriptions keep working.
- A quiet month resets it. If the bot stays under its limit for 30 days, the next time it goes over starts again at warning 1.
If your bot regularly gets more than 50 new people a day, Basic raises the limit to 100, and Pro and Ultra have no daily limit.
Free, Basic, Pro and Ultra compared
| Plan | Price | Bots | New users a day, per bot | Ad in your bot | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 | 50 | Yes | Basic |
| Basic | $3.99 a month | 1 | 100 | No | Priority |
| Pro | $6.99 a month | 2 | Unlimited | No | Premium |
| Ultra | $11.99 a month | 4 | Unlimited | No | VIP |
Pro and Ultra also add analytics and monitoring, custom buttons and layouts, and the Configuration tab. Billing is monthly. There is no annual plan at the moment.
What selling through a bot costs
TeleCrow takes no commission on sales on any plan. The costs below are charged by Telegram or by the payment network, not by TeleCrow.
Telegram Stars
Buyers pay with Stars inside Telegram. Telegram keeps part of each payment:
- Bought through an app store, 500 Stars cost a buyer about $9.99. Prices vary by store, country and where the Stars are bought.
- When you withdraw, you receive the equivalent of $0.013 per Star (developer terms, section 6.2.4).
- New Stars can be held for up to 21 days before you can withdraw them. Telegram lets you withdraw from 1,000 Stars, paid in TON through Fragment.
- Fragment may not be able to pay out in some countries (section 6.2.4.1). Check this before you rely on Stars.
TeleCrow sets prices at $1 = 50 Stars by default. A $10 item is then 500 Stars: the buyer pays about $9.99 through an app store, and you receive about $6.50.
Crypto and the in-bot balance
Buyers can also top up a balance inside your bot with crypto and pay from it. The payment processor and the blockchain network can charge their own fees. Where the money goes depends on the option you pick:
- TeleCrow's wallet: TeleCrow holds the money for you. You press Withdraw on the Earnings & Withdrawals tab, and a TeleCrow admin checks the request and sends it to your wallet by hand, in BTC, LTC or USDT (TRC20).
- Scuntra: top-ups are paid straight into your own Scuntra.com account, and you withdraw them there.
Hiring a developer instead: what you pay for
A custom bot can make sense when you need logic no template has. Quotes vary widely, so compare them on what is included, not just the build price:
- The build: the bot's features, menus and messages.
- Hosting and monitoring: who pays for the server, and who notices when the bot stops answering at night.
- Payment duties: a bot that sells for Stars must answer the
/paysupportcommand and handle refunds (developer terms, section 6.2.1). - Updates: changes when Telegram updates its Bot API or your offer changes.
- Token security: who holds your bot token, and how it is changed if a developer leaves.
If a template covers what you need, starting on a builder's free plan costs nothing and you can still move to a custom bot later.
Start free on TeleCrow
Create your bot in @BotFather, then sign up for TeleCrow free and pick a bot type. No card is needed. If a bot you already run has gone quiet, see why a Telegram bot stops responding. If you buy from bots, read how to check a Telegram seller before you pay.
Frequently asked questions
Is creating a Telegram bot free?
Yes. Registering a bot with @BotFather is free and needs no extra phone number or paid account. Telegram also lets bots message their users at no cost within its rate limits. You only pay to keep the bot online (your own server or a builder plan) and, if you sell, Telegram's share of Stars payments or crypto network fees.
Is there a free Telegram bot builder?
Yes. TeleCrow's Free plan runs one live bot for $0, with no card. It allows 50 new users a day per bot and shows a small TeleCrow ad inside the bot. Every bot type is available on it, and TeleCrow takes no commission on sales.
Can I host a Telegram bot for free?
You can, with limits. Free hosting tiers often put idle apps to sleep, so the bot may answer late or stop. A hosted builder's free plan keeps the bot online for you; on TeleCrow the trade-off is the daily new-user limit and the in-bot ad.
How much does it cost to build a Telegram bot?
Building one yourself with a no-code builder can cost $0. TeleCrow's paid plans are $3.99, $6.99 and $11.99 a month. Hiring a developer costs more and should include hosting, monitoring, payment support and updates, not only the build.
Does Telegram take a cut of bot sales?
For Telegram Stars, yes. A buyer pays about $9.99 for 500 Stars through an app store, and you receive $0.013 per Star when you withdraw, so about $6.50 for a $10 item at TeleCrow's default rate. TeleCrow itself takes 0%.