--- title: "Telegram Stars and what the channel changes" description: "Telegram's in-app currency explained from the official pages, and the honest comparison between Telegram and a content platform." url: https://ofm-course.com/modules/onlyfans-mym-telegram/telegram-stars/ module: "Module 03, OnlyFans, MYM, Telegram" updated: 2026-09-14 lang: en --- # Telegram Stars and what the channel changes ## In brief Stars are Telegram's internal currency, announced on June 6, 2024: the fan buys them through Apple and Google in-app purchases, all sales are final, and the seller withdraws the Stars earned by their bots in Toncoin via Fragment. The real change is not the commission: Telegram gives you a list and an inbox that you control, with no built-in discovery. ## What you will be able to do - Explain what a Star is, how a user gets them and how a seller recovers the value. - List the operating differences between Telegram and a content platform, beyond the percentages. - Decide whether your operation should open this channel now or later. ## What a Star is, according to Telegram The official payments documentation describes Stars as "an in-app virtual item that you can later convert to a reward". Their currency code is `XTR`. On the buyer's side, the same page states that users "can acquire Stars from Telegram using standard Apple and Google in-app purchases or via @PremiumBot and then use them to buy digital goods and services from you". The dedicated terms of service specify that "All sales of Telegram Stars are final and Telegram does not issue refunds for unwanted or unintentional purchases of Stars". On the seller's side, the official announcement of June 6, 2024 states that developers will be able to "withdraw the stars earned by their bots in Toncoins via Fragment". The payments documentation publishes a table matching a number of Stars to the "net proceeds received by the developer"; it does not state a single commission percentage. Telegram also specifies that Stars are "compliant with Apple and Google's latest policies on sales of digital products", which explains the mandatory route through in-app purchases. One point not to miss: the fact that the purchase goes through the app stores means that **the price paid by the fan and the net amount received by the seller are separated by more than a platform commission**. That is why the exercise in this lesson asks you to measure the gap yourself rather than repeat a percentage heard somewhere. ## What becomes possible inside the conversation Three official mechanisms matter for this trade, and they are dated. **Paid media.** Version 7.6 of the Bot API, published on July 1, 2024, introduces sending paid media. Concretely, a media item goes out locked in the conversation and unlocks against a payment in Stars. It is the exact equivalent of the PPV described in [The price ladder](/modules/chatting/the-price-ladder/), in module 5, but in the messaging channel you control. **Subscription inside a bot.** Version 8.0, published on November 17, 2024, adds paid subscriptions in Stars, with a configurable subscription period. This makes it possible to reproduce the recurring economy of a content platform, without the platform. **Gifts.** The same version 8.0 lets bots send paid gifts. The functional equivalent of the tip. In other words, the three revenue lines of the module 5 price ladder, subscription, single media item and tip, have all existed on Telegram since late 2024, with public documentation. ## The honest comparison It is tempting to compare the two channels on a single number. That is a mistake, because the differences that matter are not about pricing.
| Criterion | Content platform | Telegram | | --- | --- | --- | | Published commission | 20% of the fan's total payment | Published table between Stars bought and the developer's net proceeds, Apple and Google in-app purchases upstream | | Who owns the audience | The platform | You, within the limits of your accounts | | Built-in discovery | Yes, partial | No, all traffic comes from outside | | Selling inside the conversation | Yes | Yes, since API 7.6 of July 1, 2024 | | Recurring subscription | Yes | Yes, since API 8.0 of November 17, 2024 | | Documented automation | No public API on the creator side | Public and documented Bot API | | Refunds | Handled by the platform | Stars sales final under the published terms |
The deciding row is the second to last. On a content platform, there is no public interface to automate the conversation; module 5 comes back in detail to this point and to what the platform publishes about it. On Telegram, automation is a documented, versioned and official feature. That is the only structural difference between the two channels. Everything else is a matter of tuning. ## What Telegram does not give you The other half has to be said, otherwise the picture is dishonest. **No discovery.** A content platform brings part of the traffic. Telegram brings none. One hundred percent of your audience comes from module 4, and if your acquisition stops, your Telegram channel dries up with nothing to compensate. **No pre-installed trust.** A fan who pays on a well-known platform pays within a frame he knows. On Telegram, trust rests entirely on the conversation, hence on the persona and the script. **No mediation.** There is nobody to arbitrate a dispute. The published terms on Stars state that sales are final, which protects the seller in one direction and leaves him alone facing the fan in the other. **A dependence on the app stores.** The purchase mechanism goes through Apple and Google. Any change in their policies is passed on mechanically. ## Opening this channel now or later Three situations, three answers. **You do not yet have stable acquisition.** Do not open this channel. It will produce nothing and it will add a conversation load. Stay in module 4 until step 4 of the funnel gives a regular number. **You have acquisition and a single platform.** Open the channel in parallel, with a dedicated acquisition account so you can compare. Duplication is the subject of module 7. **You already have both.** Your question is no longer the channel but the conversation volume, and it starts at [module 5, Chatting](/modules/chatting/). ## Key takeaways - Stars were officially announced on June 6, 2024. Telegram describes them as a virtual in-app item that can then be converted into a reward. - Users buy Stars through Apple and Google in-app purchases or through the official bot. Telegram publishes that all Stars sales are final and non-refundable. - Developers can withdraw the Stars earned by their bots in Toncoin via Fragment, according to the official announcement. - The real change is not the commission rate, it is that Telegram gives you a list and a messaging channel you control. ## Do this now Test a payment end to end, on a minimal amount, and document each tier. Thirty minutes. 1. On your test account, buy the smallest possible amount of Stars and note the price paid, in your currency, taxes included. 2. Note what the table published in the payments documentation shows as net proceeds for a seller at that level. The gap between the two is your real channel cost. 3. Write in the offer file the conversion of your four tiers into Stars, with the expected net amount for each. 4. Compare that net to the net of the same sale on the content platform, after its 20% commission. One line of conclusion, not a paragraph. ## Sources - Telegram, Telegram Stars (official announcement of June 6, 2024), https://telegram.org/blog/telegram-stars, checked on 2026-09-14 - Telegram, Terms of Service for Telegram Stars, https://telegram.org/tos/stars, checked on 2026-09-14 - Telegram, Bot API, payments for digital goods and services in Stars, https://core.telegram.org/bots/payments-stars, checked on 2026-09-14 - Telegram, Bot API changelog (version 7.6, paid media, July 1, 2024), https://core.telegram.org/bots/api-changelog, checked on 2026-09-14 - OnlyFans, Terms of Service (20% commission), https://onlyfans.com/terms, checked on 2026-09-14