3 ways to charge for a Telegram group
Every paid Telegram community runs on one of these three setups. The difference is how members pay, how you get paid, and who does the adding and removing.
| Setup | Members pay with | You get paid in | Removal when they stop paying |
|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram Stars subscriptionBuilt into Telegram, channels | Stars bought in the Telegram app | Stars, cashed out as Toncoin through Fragment | ✓Automatic |
| Membership botNiceFunnel, InviteMember, LaunchPass | Card (and wallets the provider supports) | Your bank account, through Stripe | ✓Automatic |
| By handPayment link + admin work | Whatever you set up | Depends on the payment link | –You check and remove people yourself |
Doing it by hand works for your first ten members. After that, people who cancel stay in for free, and chasing them takes more time than the group itself.
Option 1: Telegram Stars subscriptions
Telegram lets channel owners put a monthly price in Stars on an invite link. Anyone who joins through it pays that price every month, and Telegram removes them if they stop. It takes a minute to set up and needs no other service.
Where it falls short
- It’s for channels. Telegram’s documentation describes subscriptions for bots and channels. A discussion group needs another way in.
- You’re paid in Stars, not money. To cash out you withdraw through Fragment and receive Toncoin, which you then sell on an exchange.
- You keep less. Members buy Stars through the App Store or Google Play first. One published estimate puts what creators keep at about 65% of what members pay.
- You don’t get emails. You can’t follow up with members, sell them a course, or move them if you ever leave Telegram.
Small channels, tips, or testing whether anyone will pay at all. Once the group is a real income, card payments to your own bank account are simpler.
Option 2: a membership bot with card payments
A membership bot sits between your payment page and your group. When someone pays, it lets them in. When their subscription ends, it takes them out. You never touch the member list.
What separates the services is mostly price and what else you can sell next to the group:
| Service | Price | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| NiceFunnel | $0 a month + 5% per sale, or $25 a month ($250 a year), 0% per sale | Also sells downloads, courses and 1:1 calls from the same page. Monthly billing only. |
| InviteMember | $19 to $1,499 a month depending on your monthly sales (billed monthly), no per-sale fee | Your plan steps up as sales grow: $19 up to $500, $39 up to $1,000, $79 up to $2,000, $149 up to $5,000 a month, and so on. |
| LaunchPass | $29 a month per community + 3.5% per payment | The free Basic plan can’t charge members. Billed per community. |
Card processing (Stripe’s fee) comes on top for all three. Want the exact numbers for your group? Try the membership fee calculator.
Set up a paid Telegram group with NiceFunnel
You need a Telegram group or channel you own, and about 10 minutes. The bot never posts in your group and never messages your members first.
Create your free NiceFunnel account
Pick your page address, like
nicefunnel.com/yourname. No card needed.Create a membership
Go to Products → Add product → Membership. Give it a name, a monthly price (from $1.99), and a few lines about what members get. You can add members-only lessons and files too.
Connect Stripe
Payments go straight to your own Stripe account and from there to your bank. NiceFunnel never holds your money.
Connect your Telegram group
Save the membership, then find Members’ community, and tap Connect Telegram. Then tap Add @NiceFunnelBot to your group. Telegram opens with the two rights the bot needs already picked: Invite users via link and Ban users. The group links itself.
For a channel, make the bot an admin with those two rights and post the
/linkcode NiceFunnel shows you. The code works for 30 minutes.Publish and share your link
Put
nicefunnel.com/yournamein your bio, your channel description and your posts. New members pay there and join with one tap.

Telegram’s small “basic” groups can’t use join requests. In the group settings, set Chat history for new members to Visible. Telegram upgrades it to a supergroup and keeps your messages.
Your group could be paid by tonight
Start on Free and pay nothing until you sell. Switch to Creator when 5% of your sales passes $25 a month.
What your members see
After paying, a member lands on their membership page. They tap Join next to your Telegram group, Telegram opens, and the bot approves them. If they lose the link, they come back to the same page and get a fresh one.

- Personal links. Each invite lasts 24 hours and is approved only for the Telegram account tied to that membership. Forwarded links don’t let anyone else in.
- One account per membership. If two memberships try to use the same Telegram account, NiceFunnel flags it as a possible shared account instead of letting both in.
- Managing the plan. Members get a welcome email and can see their next payment, manage their card or cancel from the same page.
What happens when someone stops paying
This is the part that takes hours by hand. NiceFunnel follows what Stripe reports:
| What happens | Their access |
|---|---|
| They cancel | They stay until the end of the month they paid for, then they’re removed. |
| Their card fails | They stay while Stripe retries the payment. If the subscription ends, they’re removed. |
| You refund them in full | Removed. |
| They dispute the charge with their bank | Removed. |
| You remove them yourself | Removed now. Their subscription keeps running until you cancel or refund it. |
Removals happen about five minutes after Stripe tells NiceFunnel. In Telegram, the bot removes the member and immediately lifts the ban, so they can come back later through a new paid membership.
How to price a paid Telegram group
There’s no standard price. People pay for an outcome, so price what the group helps them do, not the number of messages.
- Start with one monthly price. One clear plan converts better than three you have to explain.
- Reward your first members. Open at a lower launch price for your first members, then raise it once the group proves itself.
- Say exactly what’s inside. “Weekly live Q&A, a monthly template pack, and answers within 24 hours” sells better than “exclusive content”.
- Add something people keep. A downloadable guide or a short course next to the group makes it easier to say yes. NiceFunnel can sell both from the same page.
Rules to check before you charge
- Payments rules. Stripe doesn’t allow some businesses, and others need extra review. Check Stripe’s restricted businesses list before you launch.
- Investment and trading groups. Paid signals or personal financial advice can need a licence where you or your members live. If that’s your topic, check the rules first.
- Refunds. Tell members your refund rule before they pay. NiceFunnel shows your policy at checkout and lets members ask for a refund that you approve or decline.
- Taxes. Membership income is taxable in most countries, and some require sales tax or VAT on digital services. Your accountant can tell you what applies to you.
Questions people ask
Can I charge for a Telegram group without a bot?
Only by hand: you collect payments yourself, send invite links, and remove people who stop paying. Telegram's built-in Stars subscriptions work on channel invite links, not on groups, so for a paid group most people use a membership bot.
Does it work with Telegram channels too?
Yes. NiceFunnel works with private groups, supergroups and channels. For a channel, make @NiceFunnelBot an admin with the rights to invite users via link and ban users, then post the short /link code NiceFunnel gives you.
Can members share the invite link with friends?
Not usefully. Every paying member gets a personal join link that lasts 24 hours and is approved only for the Telegram account tied to that membership. One Telegram account can hold one membership per group.
What happens when a member's card fails?
Nothing right away. While Stripe retries the payment, the member keeps access. If the subscription ends, they are removed from the group about five minutes after Stripe tells NiceFunnel.
Who holds the money?
You do. Members pay through your own Stripe account and Stripe pays out to your bank. NiceFunnel never holds your money. On the Free plan NiceFunnel takes 5% per sale; on Creator ($25 a month) it takes 0%.
Which countries can I sell from?
Creators can sell from the 39 countries where Stripe accounts and Stripe Connect are generally available, including the US, Canada, the UK, most of the EU, Australia, Japan and Singapore. Members can join from anywhere with a card.
Can I offer a yearly price or a free trial?
Not yet. NiceFunnel memberships are billed monthly today. You can still run a launch price by setting a lower monthly price for your first members.
Keep reading
Sources
Prices and rules were checked on October 26, 2026. Platforms change their pricing; check their pages before you decide.
Start your paid Telegram group
Membership, checkout, automatic join and removal, and a page to share. Set up in about 10 minutes.
Start freeNo card needed. Upgrade to Creator ($25/month, 0% per sale) only when it saves you money.