Telegram Ads: AdsGram Opens Up Buying in Channels and Bots
On August 7, 2026, AdsGram – a network best known for Telegram Mini Apps monetization – announced a product expansion: the same ad dashboard can now buy impressions not just in mini apps, but in regular Telegram channels and bots too. This isn’t a change from Telegram itself, but an expansion of a third-party product operating inside its ecosystem – yet for advertisers it means another traffic-buying channel, separate from the official Telegram Ads Platform.
What happened
According to the company’s official release, AdsGram added:
- New placements – besides Mini Apps, channels and bots are now available within the same publisher network.
- Ad formats – post-style image ads, video ads, and task-based campaigns (a format common in crypto and GameFi projects, where a user completes an action in exchange for a reward).
- Targeting – by geography, interface language, device type, VPN usage, and Telegram Premium status.
- Bidding models – CPM and performance-based.
- Dashboard tools – audience segmentation, creative testing, anti-fraud filtering, and reporting.
The company cites network scale: 74 countries, 15+ million daily impressions, 75,000+ advertisers, and 35,000+ publishers (channels, bots, and mini apps that have already integrated AdsGram). Elizaveta Bydanova, Principal BD Manager at AdsGram, commented: “Telegram Mini Apps have developed into a serious advertising and monetization space in a very short time. The addition of Telegram Ads functionality to our platform gives advertisers a clearer path into Telegram.”
Why it matters
The official Telegram Ads Platform, which we use for clients (more on our Telegram Ads page), consists of text-only ads with no images, shown in channels with 1,000+ subscribers, with manual language and topic targeting through Telegram’s own ad manager. It’s a transparent tool, but limited in formats and targeting.
AdsGram is a completely different, third-party network: it doesn’t replace the official platform, it runs in parallel, through apps, channels, and bots whose owners have integrated its ad-serving code themselves. Until August 2026, this network gave access mainly to the Mini Apps audience – games and crypto/fintech apps inside Telegram. The expansion into channels and bots matters because the same self-serve dashboard, with more flexible targeting (device, VPN, Premium status) and CPM/performance models, now covers classic formats where previously there was essentially only Telegram’s own, less flexible tool.
How it works
| Before | Now | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| AdsGram only gave access to the Telegram Mini Apps audience | AdsGram combined Mini Apps, channels, and bots in one ad dashboard | Treat AdsGram as an additional buying channel that complements the official Telegram Ads Platform, not a replacement for it |
| Flexible targeting (device, VPN, Premium status) and performance-based pricing were available only within Mini Apps | The same targeting options and pricing models (CPM, performance) now apply to channels and bots too | Assess whether this level of targeting matters for your niche – most relevant for performance offers |
| Bot advertising as a buying channel was fragmented, with no single self-serve dashboard | One dashboard with access to a network of 35,000+ publishers across 74 countries | Check inside the AdsGram dashboard whether the network includes publishers relevant to your audience |
Who it fits
The expansion makes the most sense for performance niches typical of the Telegram Mini Apps ecosystem: gambling and gaming, crypto/web3, fintech, and apps built around a “complete a task, get a reward” model. These niches already run task-based campaigns and pay for action, so extra channels and bots in the same dashboard are a direct reach extension without changing the buying approach.
For businesses targeting a specific-language audience in topical channels – news, niche, or regional – the official Telegram Ads Platform and manual seeding in channels picked for relevance and engagement (not just subscriber count) remain the main tool. AdsGram here is more of an additional reach to test than a replacement for an already-established approach.
Editorial take
Honestly: the announcement is too fresh for us to have our own numbers. None of the client accounts we run through the official Telegram Ads Platform and channel seeding have tested placements through AdsGram’s channel or bot formats yet – we simply haven’t had a reason to go beyond the official tool for our niches. But the mechanics themselves – a self-serve dashboard with CPM and performance pricing, audience segmentation, and anti-fraud filtering – are already familiar from other networks (Meta, TikTok), so the technical barrier to entry is low. We’ll update this piece once we have our own first numbers.
Practical example
Imagine a crypto/web3 product with a $1,000 test budget. Through the official Telegram Ads Platform, that budget is limited to text ads in channels with 1,000+ subscribers, with the audience picked manually by language and channel topic. The same budget in AdsGram can be split across several formats at once (post, video, task) and several placement types (mini apps, channels, bots), with targeting by device and Premium status, and results measured not just by impressions but by actual action – an app install or a signup.
What to do now
- Check your product niche: if it’s gambling, gaming, crypto, fintech, or task-based offers, it’s worth testing AdsGram with a separate, small budget.
- Don’t drop the official Telegram Ads Platform and channel seeding – these are different channels with different audiences and different placement-selection logic.
- Compare the cost per lead or install through AdsGram (CPM + performance) against your current traffic-buying channels.
- Ask AdsGram which specific channels and bots in their 35,000+ publisher network are relevant to your niche before committing your full budget to a campaign.
Expert tip. Start your AdsGram test with a small budget and compare cost per action separately for each placement type – Mini Apps, channels, bots. Performance across these three traffic types for the same niche often varies several-fold, and an averaged campaign-wide number hides that.
Watch out for. AdsGram is a third-party ad network, not an official Telegram product. The quality and brand safety of specific publishers (channels and bots) in the network are worth checking manually, as with any programmatic buying through third-party networks, rather than relying solely on the dashboard’s automatic anti-fraud filtering.
FAQ
What is AdsGram? A third-party ad network that originally specialized in Telegram Mini Apps monetization and, as of August 2026, added the ability to buy ads in Telegram channels and bots too, through a single self-serve dashboard.
How does AdsGram differ from the official Telegram Ads Platform? Telegram’s official platform is text-only ads with no images in channels with 1,000+ subscribers, with manual targeting by language and topic. AdsGram is a separate network with image, video, and task formats, more flexible targeting (device, VPN, Premium status), and CPM plus performance-based pricing.
Does AdsGram replace official Telegram advertising? No, it’s a parallel buying channel, not a replacement. The official platform and manual channel seeding remain a separate tool with their own audience.
What ad formats does AdsGram support? Post-style image ads, video ads, and task-based campaigns, where a user completes an action in exchange for a reward.
Who benefits most from buying through AdsGram? Performance niches typical of the Telegram Mini Apps ecosystem: gambling, gaming, crypto/web3, fintech, and apps built around a “complete a task, get a reward” model.
Does AdsGram have anti-fraud protection? The company states it has built-in anti-fraud filtering in the dashboard, but for third-party networks, the quality of specific publishers is worth checking manually rather than relying solely on automatic filters.
Should you move your whole budget from the official Telegram Ads Platform to AdsGram right now? No. These are different channels with different audiences and placement-selection logic – it makes sense to test AdsGram with a separate budget rather than replace an already-established approach.
Conclusion
AdsGram’s expansion isn’t official news from Telegram, but it’s a signal that the ecosystem of third-party ad networks around the platform is growing and becoming more flexible: one self-serve dashboard now covers Mini Apps, channels, and bots at once, with targeting and pricing models the official Telegram tool doesn’t have. For performance niches like gambling, gaming, or crypto, this is a genuine additional reach channel. For businesses working through topical channels, the official platform and manual seeding remain the main tool, and AdsGram is more of a reason to test extra reach with a small budget.
If you want to figure out which Telegram ad-buying channel fits your product, and how to set up a campaign correctly from the start – let’s talk it through in an audit. More on how we run Telegram Ads campaigns is on the Telegram Ads page, and for choosing between ad platforms, see Google Ads vs. Meta Ads vs. TikTok Ads: How to Choose.