Telegram Stars: Buy in the App or Through a Bot
Stars are Telegram's internal currency. People pay with them in bots and mini apps, for paid content in channels, for subscriptions and for gifts. You can buy them in Telegram itself or through a third-party bot. Here is how the two ways differ.
What Stars are spent on
- purchases and subscriptions in bots and mini apps;
- paid posts and channel subscriptions;
- gifts, including gift Premium;
- paid reactions and support for creators.
How people buy in Telegram
Officially, Stars are sold inside the Telegram apps: on iPhone through the App Store, on Android (if Telegram is installed from Google Play) through Google Play, and in the desktop and web versions with their own payment form. The payment is processed not by Telegram but by the app store or a payment system.
The price depends on the store and the country. For reference: in the US App Store in 2026, 100 Stars cost $1.99, 500 cost $9.99 and 1,000 cost $19.99. That price includes the app store's cut.
Buying Stars in Telegram is final: you won't get your money back for Stars you don't need. And if you delete your account, the Stars on it are lost.
Why people buy through bots
- Payment. In the app you need a card that the app store in your country accepts. Through a bot you can pay with what you have: SBP (Russia's Faster Payments System), a local card, crypto.
- Price. A bot has no app store cut, so Stars often work out cheaper.
- Gifting. A bot sends Stars to any @username, and you don't need to set anything up in your own profile.
What to check if you buy through a bot
- The bot asks only for the recipient's @username. A login code, a password or "access to your account" is a sign of a scam.
- The price and the recipient are visible before you pay.
- It's clear what happens if the Stars don't arrive: a refund, an order number, support.
- The bot's username matches the one listed on the shop's official website or channel. More in the article how to spot a fake bot.
Stars in Benefit.gg
In the bot you can buy from 50 to 10,000 Stars per order, for yourself or as a gift by @username. One Star currently costs $0.01636: 100 Stars are $1.64, 500 are $8.18, 1,000 are $16.36. Stars arrive in seconds, and if the purchase doesn't go through, the money returns to your bot balance by itself.
More details are on the Telegram Stars page.