Telegram Ads · Analysis
Telegram Ads in 2026: what it costs and how the auction really works
Benchmarks from 202 of our campaigns in July–September 2026: median CPM, CTR and CPC, how the auction ranks ads, how fast a target burns out and why ads get declined.
Contents · 9 sections
In short
Telegram Ads stopped being an experiment some time ago. What is still missing is honest numbers: most articles quote the minimum bid, which tells you very little about what a campaign actually costs.
Below are benchmarks from our own accounts, and what we learned about the auction from hourly data on about 30,000 campaigns.
What you can buy in Telegram Ads
A Telegram ad is a short sponsored message: up to 160 characters of text, an optional picture or video, and a link. It can appear in four places:
- channels with at least 1,000 subscribers, chosen one by one or by topic and language;
- bots, at the bottom of a bot chat;
- search results for keywords;
- users by country, city, language, interests and device.
You buy impressions with a CPM bid. Campaigns run from one of three account types: EUR, TON or Stars. Since August 2026 TON and EUR accounts have the same targeting, but TON cannot promote websites and does not show ads in Russia and Ukraine. We compared them in detail in TON vs EUR account.
What it costs: our benchmarks for Q3 2026
| Metric | EUR accounts | TON accounts |
|---|---|---|
| Campaigns with 10,000+ impressions | 90 | 112 |
| Median CPM | $2.32 | $2.78 |
| Middle half of CPMs | $1.79–3.51 | $2.11–3.27 |
| Median CTR | 1.34% | 1.48% |
| Median cost per click | $0.17 | $0.20 |
The minimum bid in both account types is about $0.15–0.17 per 1,000 impressions. The median campaign paid 15–19 times the floor. A bid near the minimum rarely wins good channels: the auction is decided by the advertisers next to you, not by the floor.
How the auction decides who is shown
We compared hourly spend and impressions on about 30,000 campaigns. Four things stood out.
The daily budget resets at 00:00 UTC. The share of the auction you win stays flat through the day. The daily shape of impressions simply follows when the audience is online.
Targets burn out, campaigns do not
A campaign that runs on the same channels slowly gets fewer impressions at the same bid.
Impressions on the same target at the same bid
Daily impressions as a share of the first days
The obvious fix is to relaunch the campaign, but that does not work. A fresh copy on the same target at the same bid got the same volume as the old one. The audience burns out, not the ad. Volume comes from two levers: a higher bid, and more parallel campaigns on new targets. Each doubling of campaigns on a target gave about 1.56 times the total impressions.
Moderation: plan for declines
Declines are part of the process. In July 2026, 46% of a batch of 126 new English-language campaigns were declined on the first review. On a mini app flight in the spring, 73% of campaigns were declined at some point after they started.
What we learned:
- Telegram remembers its verdict for the same content. If you recreate a declined ad with the same text and picture, it is declined again within seconds.
- A new ad with different text goes to a real review, which takes tens of minutes. An instant decline means the content was judged before.
- A declined ad does not spend its budget. Deleting it returns the money to the account balance.
- If the destination itself is rejected, for example a channel or a bot, new texts will not help.
Who Telegram Ads works for
The format works best when the user can act without leaving Telegram: start a bot, open a mini app, join a channel. In our accounts the largest categories are VPN services, crypto and trading communities, games and mini apps, and media channels.
It is harder for products that need a website and a long funnel. A website can be promoted only from an EUR account, and there is no tracking pixel inside Telegram that would follow the user to your checkout.
How to start
- Decide where the click goes. A bot or mini app gives you the most control and the cleanest tracking. Put a unique start parameter in every campaign link.
- Start with specific channels and bots. They give real audiences. Treat user targeting in tier-1 countries with caution: a large part of cheap traffic there is bots.
- Bid for the channels you want, not the floor. Expect a median CPM of $2–3 and adjust by GEO.
- Measure the action, not the click. Compare campaigns by cost per engaged user in your bot or app.
- Plan for burnout and declines. Add new targets every week and keep a few spare texts ready for moderation.
Questions and answers
How much does Telegram Ads cost in 2026?
In our campaigns with 10,000+ impressions in July–September 2026 the median CPM was $2.32 in EUR accounts and $2.78 in TON accounts. The median CPC was $0.17 and $0.20. The minimum bid is far lower, about $0.15–0.17, but competitive targets cost 10–20 times the floor.
Does a higher CTR make Telegram Ads cheaper?
No. Telegram Ads is a first-price auction ranked by bid. In our data CTR had no measurable effect on how many impressions a campaign won at the same bid. A better CTR lowers your cost per click, not your CPM.
What is the minimum budget for Telegram Ads?
There is no official minimum campaign budget. A TON account can be funded from about 20 TON. EUR accounts are opened through resellers, who usually ask for a first top-up of about €500 and add 20–30% commission.
Why do Telegram ads get declined?
Moderation looks at the text, the picture and the destination. Telegram remembers its verdict for the same content, so editing a declined ad rarely helps. A new ad with different text goes to a real review. A declined ad does not spend its budget, and deleting it returns the money to the account.
Methodology and sources
Benchmarks: all RA Agency campaigns with at least 10,000 impressions between 1 July and 30 September 2026, 90 in EUR accounts and 112 in TON accounts, 17.3 million impressions and $47,200 in total. Medians are per campaign; spend is converted to dollars at the daily rate. Interquartile range of CPM: $1.79–3.51 in EUR, $2.11–3.27 in TON.
Auction and burnout: hourly snapshots of about 30,000 campaigns in 109 accounts, April–October 2026, plus the logs of our bid management. Moderation: our own launches in July–September 2026.
