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A Telegram Channel is a free, public one-to-many broadcast tool with no follower cap: only the channel owner can post, and followers can only react with an emoji, not message back — unlike a Telegram Group, where every member can join the conversation. What makes Telegram structurally unique among the broadcast channels the Academy covers is the Telegram Ad Platform: channels with at least 1,000 followers can be paid 50% of the revenue from ads shown in the channel, in the cryptocurrency Toncoin via Fragment (telegram.org, confirmed live August 24, 2026). Separately, any channel owner, regardless of follower count, can set up paid channel subscriptions in Telegram Stars.
A Telegram Channel is a free, public one-to-many broadcast tool with no upper limit on followers: only the channel owner (or designated admins) can post, while followers can only react with an emoji — they can't message back or hold a conversation. That's the structural opposite of a Telegram Group, where every member can take part in a shared conversation, much like a Discord server. What makes Telegram unique among the broadcast channels the Academy already covers is the Telegram Ad Platform: a channel owner with at least 1,000 followers can be paid 50% of the revenue from ads Telegram itself displays in the channel — paid in the cryptocurrency Toncoin (TON) via the Fragment platform, confirmed directly on telegram.org on August 24, 2026. Separately, any channel owner, regardless of follower count, can set up paid channel subscriptions in Telegram Stars.
The two formats are often confused, but are technically and practically very different, and a brand needs to know which one it's dealing with before entering a collaboration:
| Channel | Group | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can send messages | Only the owner/admins | Every member (unless restricted) |
| Maximum members | Unlimited | Up to 200,000 |
| Follower interaction | Emoji reaction; comments can be enabled separately via a linked discussion group | Full group conversation |
| Publicly visible/searchable | Yes, if it has a public username | Yes, if it has a public username |
| Access to the Telegram Ad Platform (ad revenue share) | Yes, at 1,000+ followers | No — only channels are eligible |
A channel can optionally be linked to a companion discussion group where followers can comment on posts — but the channel itself remains a one-way broadcast where only the owner posts. This article covers the channel as a marketing tool; a Telegram Group is closer in its brand logic to Discord and community-based influencer marketing.
All four are, at least partly, one-to-many tools — but they diverge sharply on exactly the point that makes Telegram interesting: who actually gets paid for the format, and how.
| Telegram Channel | WhatsApp Channel | Instagram Broadcast Channel | Discord server | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tied to | A Telegram account | A phone number | An Instagram account | A standalone server |
| Follower cap | None | None | None | None (members) |
| Built-in ad revenue share to the channel/server owner | Yes — 50% via the Telegram Ad Platform, requires 1,000+ followers | No — the owner pays for Promoted Channels, doesn't earn from views | No — no ad product | No — no ad product |
| Paid subscription for followers/members | Yes, via Telegram Stars — no follower minimum | Yes, rolling out 2025-2026 | No | Server Subscriptions, requires US residency for the owner |
The point isn't that Telegram is "best" — it's that Telegram is the only one of these four formats where the channel owner can earn directly from Telegram's own ad inventory, not only from deals the brand itself arranges and pays for. See WhatsApp Channels for brand and influencer marketing and Instagram Broadcast Channels for brand and influencer marketing for the two closest related formats.
Per Telegram's own advertising and monetization pages (telegram.org/blog/monetization-for-channels and ads.telegram.org, both confirmed live August 24, 2026), the following applies to public channels:
Some secondary sources mention a revenue share as high as 70% for select channels, but that isn't confirmed on Telegram's own official pages as of writing — this article sticks to the 50% figure Telegram states directly.
Important for a brand: this revenue accrues to the channel owner from Telegram's own ad system — it isn't something a brand buys or controls. A brand that wants exposure in a Telegram channel instead pays the channel owner directly for a sponsored post, exactly as with any other influencer channel — the ad revenue share is worth knowing because it's part of why a large Telegram channel can be a serious, professionally run business for its owner, not a hobby.
Per Telegram's own blog post (telegram.org/blog/superchannels-star-reactions-subscriptions, confirmed live August 24, 2026), any channel owner — with no 1,000-follower requirement — can create a special invite link that requires a monthly payment in Telegram Stars to join the channel. This is typically used for exclusive or early-access content, similar to Patreon. Telegram states that channel owners keep 100% of Stars from reactions (Star Reactions), and that Telegram charges "next to zero" commission when Stars are converted into Toncoin rewards.
That doesn't mean the full amount a follower pays reaches the channel owner. Multiple independent guides to Telegram Stars (only secondarily confirmed, since Telegram itself doesn't publish the full fee chain) note that Apple's and Google's own app store fees of roughly 30% apply when a follower buys Stars directly inside the mobile app — that's not a Telegram-specific charge, but the same rate the App Store and Google Play take on any in-app purchase. Buying Stars via Telegram's desktop/web version avoids that fee. The practical consequence for a channel owner selling subscriptions is that the real net amount is lower than the price the follower sees — particularly for mobile followers.
DataReportal's own "Digital 2026: Denmark" report doesn't track a separate Telegram figure for Denmark — the same pattern as for WhatsApp, per the Academy's WhatsApp Channels article. That isn't evidence that Telegram is lightly used domestically, only that the platform isn't among the ones DataReportal tracks separately for the Danish market. Globally, Telegram's own founder Pavel Durov states (public post, March 2025, reiterated in 2026) that Telegram has "significantly over" 1 billion monthly active users.
In Make Influence's experience, Telegram's strength as a marketing channel is concentrated in niche audiences with a strong existing attachment to the platform — particularly finance, crypto and tech, where Telegram channels have historically played a larger role than on most other platforms. That's our operational assessment, not a documented industry figure, and shouldn't be treated as a general recommendation for every category.
| Sponsoring an existing channel | The brand's own channel | |
|---|---|---|
| Who owns the following | The channel owner/creator | The brand itself |
| Time to launch | Fast — the channel and following already exist | Slow — followers have to actively opt in from zero |
| Control over the message | Shared — the channel owner typically writes the post themselves | Full |
| Best fit | A time-limited sponsored post to an already-engaged niche group | Ongoing, direct communication with the brand's most engaged followers — product news, early access, exclusive content via a Stars subscription |
IF the target audience is already concentrated in finance, crypto or tech niche channels on Telegram → sponsor a post in an existing, relevant channel rather than trying to build a new one from zero.
IF the brand wants to offer exclusive content to its most engaged followers for a fee → consider a Stars-based channel subscription, with no follower-count requirement to get started.
IF the goal is genuine dialogue or community between followers → a channel is the wrong structure; see Discord or a Telegram Group instead.
IF the decision hinges on how much of the ad revenue actually reaches a channel owner → remember the 50% only applies to Telegram's own ads in the channel, not a sponsored post the brand itself pays for directly.
The figures below are hypothetical and illustrate only how a brand might calculate a sponsored post in a Telegram channel — they are not a documented conversion rate or industry average, and this is not a real Make Influence customer case.
A brand pays the owner of a crypto-focused Telegram channel with 40,000 followers a flat fee of DKK 8,000 for one sponsored, pinned post. Assume 20% of followers actually see the post (a hypothetical, undocumented figure used only to illustrate the calculation) — that's 40,000 × 0.20 = 8,000 views, and a cost of DKK 8,000 ÷ 8,000 views = DKK 1.00 per view. Using a unique tracking link, 3% of those who see the post click through (240 clicks), and 15% of them complete a purchase (36 purchases) at an average order value of DKK 300, producing tracked revenue of 36 × 300 = DKK 10,800 and a tracked ROAS of 10,800 ÷ 8,000 = 1.35×. As with any other tracked collaboration, correct attribution requires a unique link — see how influencer tracking actually works.
A sponsored post in a Telegram channel is advertising, regardless of Telegram being a messaging app rather than a traditional "feed." The Danish and EU disclosure baseline — covered in full in influencer marketing disclosure rules in Denmark and the EU — is medium-agnostic: what matters is whether there's a commercial relationship behind the content, not which platform or message type is used to deliver it. No documented exception for Telegram channels specifically was found.
In Make Influence's experience, Telegram isn't yet an established part of broad Danish influencer marketing practice, but it's a real and serious channel within the niches where the audience is already there — particularly finance and crypto. Our recommendation is to treat a sponsored Telegram post like any other paid collaboration: with a unique tracking link, clear disclosure, and an assessment of the channel's real view counts, not just its follower count. Telegram's own ad revenue share is useful context for why a large channel owner runs the channel professionally — but it doesn't change the fact that a brand's own sponsorship is still a separate, direct deal. As with any single channel, Telegram shouldn't stand alone — see reducing platform risk in influencer marketing.
No. The 50% goes exclusively to the channel owner from Telegram's own ad system. A brand's sponsored post inside a channel is a separate, direct payment to the channel owner, independent of the ad revenue share.
At least 1,000 followers, and the channel must be public. This is only relevant to the channel owner themselves — it isn't a requirement for a brand to sponsor a post in the channel.
A channel is one-way — only the owner posts, followers can only react with an emoji. A group lets every member take part in the conversation, much like a Discord server, and has no cap up to 200,000 members.
Yes. No documented exception for Telegram was found — the same medium-agnostic principle applies as for WhatsApp Channels, Instagram Broadcast Channels and Discord.
WhatsApp Channels resemble Telegram Channels structurally — both are free, public one-to-many tools with no follower cap — but WhatsApp has no built-in ad revenue share for the channel owner; WhatsApp's own ad product (Promoted Channels, Ads in Status) is something the channel owner pays for, not earns from. See WhatsApp Channels for brand and influencer marketing.
Discord is the opposite structural case: a private, membership-gated server with full group conversation, no ad product, and a paid subscription model (Server Subscriptions) that requires US residency for the server owner. See Discord and community-based influencer marketing.
Instagram Broadcast Channels share the same one-to-many mechanic as Telegram Channels, but are tied to an existing Instagram account rather than a standalone account, and have neither an ad product nor a paid subscription model. See Instagram Broadcast Channels for brand and influencer marketing.
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