Telegram has 900+ million active users in 2026, and businesses are increasingly using Telegram bots for customer support, sales automation, content delivery, and internal operations. As a developer who has built multiple commercial Telegram bots — including one that reached 500 paying users in 3 months — I will break down exactly how much it costs and what return you can expect. ## Quick Price Guide | Bot Type | Development Cost | Timeline | |---------|-----------------|----------| | Simple command bot (menu, FAQ, links) | EUR 300–500 | 2–5 days | | Notification/broadcast bot | EUR 400–800 | 3–7 days | | Order/booking bot | EUR 800–1,500 | 1–2 weeks | | AI-powered assistant | EUR 1,000–2,500 | 2–3 weeks | | Bot with billing system | EUR 1,500–3,000 | 2–4 weeks | | Full platform bot (AI + billing + admin) | EUR 2,500–5,000+ | 4–8 weeks | These are freelance developer prices. Agency quotes are typically 3–5x higher. ## What Drives the Cost ### Complexity Tiers **Tier 1 — Simple bot (EUR 300–800):** Commands, menus, buttons, static content delivery. Sends scheduled messages or notifications. No database required (or minimal). Examples: company info bot, link hub, announcement channel bot. **Tier 2 — Interactive bot (EUR 800–2,000):** User registration, data collection forms, order placement, appointment booking, basic analytics. Requires a database and basic admin panel. Examples: food delivery order bot, appointment scheduler, feedback collector. **Tier 3 — AI-powered bot (EUR 1,500–3,500):** Natural language conversations using OpenAI or similar. Context-aware responses, document/knowledge base retrieval. User sessions and conversation history. Examples: customer support bot, product recommendation engine, educational tutor. **Tier 4 — Platform bot (EUR 3,000–10,000):** Multiple AI models, credit/subscription billing, admin dashboard, analytics, user management, API integrations. This is essentially a product built inside Telegram. Examples: AI aggregator, SaaS-in-a-bot, marketplace bot. ### Feature Cost Add-Ons | Feature | Additional Cost | |---------|----------------| | Admin panel (web-based) | EUR 300–800 | | Payment integration (Stripe/Telegram Payments) | EUR 300–600 | | OpenAI/AI integration | EUR 300–800 | | Multi-language support | EUR 200–400 per language | | Analytics dashboard | EUR 400–800 | | CRM integration | EUR 300–700 | | Inline mode | EUR 200–400 | | Group management features | EUR 300–600 | | Webhook integrations | EUR 200–500 | ## Real Project: Telegram AI Aggregator This is my most successful Telegram bot project. Here are the real numbers: **What it does:** Unifies multiple AI models (GPT-4, Claude, DALL-E, Stable Diffusion) in a single Telegram interface. Users buy credits, choose a model, and interact via chat. **Development cost:** Approximately EUR 3,000 (my own project, so this represents time investment) **Features built:** - Multi-model AI conversations - Credit-based billing system - Subscription tiers - Admin panel for user management and analytics - Usage tracking and limits - Referral system - Auto-scaling task queue (Celery + Redis) **Results:** - 500 paying users in 3 months - Monetized from month 1 - Monthly recurring revenue from subscriptions - Architecture scales to 10,000+ users without changes **Tech stack:** Python, aiogram, Django, PostgreSQL, Celery, Redis, OpenAI API ## Ongoing Costs After Development | Cost Item | Monthly Range | |-----------|-------------| | Server (VPS) | EUR 5–30 | | Database hosting | EUR 0–20 (included in VPS for small bots) | | OpenAI API (if AI-powered) | EUR 10–200 | | Telegram API | Free | | Monitoring (optional) | EUR 0–15 | | Maintenance retainer (optional) | EUR 50–200 | **Total monthly running cost:** - Simple bot: EUR 5–15 - AI bot: EUR 20–100 - Platform bot: EUR 50–300 ## ROI Calculation: Customer Support Bot **Scenario:** A business receives 30 customer inquiries per day via Telegram. **Without a bot:** - 30 inquiries x 5 min each = 2.5 hours/day - 2.5 hours x EUR 12/hour x 22 working days = EUR 660/month **With an AI bot (handles 60% of inquiries):** - 12 inquiries handled by humans = 1 hour/day - 1 hour x EUR 12 x 22 = EUR 264/month - Bot running cost: EUR 40/month **Monthly savings: EUR 356** **Development cost: EUR 1,500** **Payback period: 4.2 months** After the payback period, the bot saves EUR 4,000+ per year — indefinitely. ## ROI Calculation: Sales Automation Bot **Scenario:** A business uses a Telegram bot to qualify leads and take orders. **Without a bot:** - Sales team responds to inquiries manually: 2 hours/day - Average response time: 2 hours (during business hours only) **With a bot:** - Bot qualifies leads 24/7, instant response - Only hot leads go to sales team: 30 minutes/day - 20% increase in conversion (faster response = higher conversion) **If average deal value is EUR 500 and the business closes 20 deals/month:** - 20% conversion increase = 4 extra deals = EUR 2,000/month additional revenue - Time saved: 1.5 hours/day x EUR 15/hour x 22 = EUR 495/month **Total monthly benefit: EUR 2,495** **Bot cost: EUR 2,000** **Payback period: Less than 1 month** ## Common Mistakes That Increase Cost 1. **Over-scoping the first version.** Start with core features, launch, iterate based on real user feedback. A EUR 1,000 bot that launches in 2 weeks beats a EUR 5,000 bot that launches in 3 months. 2. **Ignoring the admin panel.** Without an admin panel, every change requires a developer. Budget EUR 300–800 for a basic admin panel — it pays for itself in saved developer time. 3. **Not planning for scale.** A bot built without proper architecture hits a wall at 100–500 users. Re-architecting costs more than building it right from the start. 4. **Choosing the wrong developer.** Telegram bot development requires specific knowledge of the Telegram Bot API, webhook management, and inline keyboards. A general web developer may take 3x longer. ## My Telegram Bot Development Process 1. **Consultation (free):** We discuss your use case, target users, and budget. 2. **Specification:** I create a detailed feature list and conversation flows. 3. **Development:** Iterative delivery with demos at milestones. 4. **Testing:** I test across platforms (mobile, desktop, web Telegram). 5. **Launch:** Deployment, monitoring setup, and handoff. 6. **Support:** 30 days of bug fixes included. Optional monthly retainer for ongoing development. I use Python with aiogram for bot development and Django for backend/admin panels. PostgreSQL for data, Celery + Redis for background tasks, and Docker for deployment. Starting from EUR 500. Based in Barcelona, working remotely with clients worldwide. Contact me for a free consultation to discuss your Telegram bot project.