The one-minute decision
| Question | Native Telegram affiliate program | Custom referral bot or Mini App |
|---|---|---|
| What earns the promoter? | A referred user completes an eligible Telegram Stars purchase | A defined event such as qualified start, task, activation or purchase |
| What is paid? | Commission in Telegram Stars | The supported in-app reward or funded asset defined by the operator |
| Who defines attribution? | Telegram’s affiliate-program system and link | The product’s deep link, attribution and qualification rules |
| Who owns payout logic? | Telegram for the Stars commission | The operator and product ledger for custom rewards |
| Best fit | Mini Apps already selling digital goods for Stars | Refer-and-earn, airdrop, GRAM-labelled or action-based campaigns |
How Telegram’s native Stars affiliate program works
Telegram’s official documentation states that commission and duration can only be raised while a program is active. Lowering them requires ending the existing program and creating another after the termination state allows it. Existing affiliate entitlements can continue for their original commission period, so the owner must understand the long-tail cost before publishing terms.
- The bot owner opens a program
The program specifies a commission rate and optionally a duration. Current limits come from Telegram configuration.
- An affiliate joins
A user, channel or eligible Mini App obtains a unique affiliate link for the participating bot or Mini App.
- A referred user opens the product
Telegram imports the referral relationship through the affiliate link.
- The referred user buys with Stars
Eligible Mini App transactions generate the configured commission for the affiliate.
- The commission appears in Stars
Telegram handles the native commission path under the published program terms.
A custom GRAM referral bot is not the native affiliate program
A bot that displays GRAM rewards typically uses its own referral attribution, qualification rule, ledger and withdrawal policy. The label alone does not make the balance Telegram Stars, TON or an on-chain asset. The owner must state what GRAM means in that product, what event earns it and what funding makes redemption possible.
Custom systems are useful when a purchase is not the desired acquisition event. A campaign may require the referred user to start the bot, complete onboarding, remain eligible through a hold period, join a channel or perform a useful in-product action. Each promise needs proof that matches the action and one replay-safe credit.
- Reward asset or point type is named precisely
- Deep link preserves referrer and campaign
- Self-referral and duplicate edges are rejected
- Qualification event is explicit
- Ledger entry is idempotent
- Hold and review status are visible
- Withdrawal funding and timing are published
Do not pay twice for one relationship by accident
A product can use both a native Stars affiliate program and a custom referral system, but the policies must define whether one user can create both obligations. A promoter could otherwise receive a custom acquisition reward and an ongoing Stars commission for the same referred buyer without the owner including both costs in the unit economics.
Store the attribution source, program type and qualifying event. Explain which link the promoter should share and which reward it produces. Never silently replace a native affiliate link with a custom campaign link or describe a raw custom start as a Telegram-verified Stars affiliate conversion.
| Event | Possible obligation | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate link imported | Future native Stars commission | Record program and duration terms |
| Custom referral qualified | One-time or rule-based custom reward | Store referral edge and idempotency key |
| Stars purchase completed | Native commission plus product revenue effects | Reconcile transaction and program cost |
| Withdrawal requested | Custom funded payout obligation | Separate pending, approved, sent and failed states |
Choose the program from the growth outcome
| Growth outcome | Better starting model | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Recruit promoters for a Stars-selling Mini App | Native affiliate program | Commission is tied to purchase revenue and paid in Stars |
| Reward a qualified bot start | Custom referral system | The event is acquisition, not a Stars transaction |
| Run refer-and-earn with GRAM-labelled rewards | Custom referral system | Reward definition, ledger and payout policy are product-specific |
| Pay for a completed onboarding milestone | Custom referral system | Qualification requires product state |
| Share recurring purchase revenue transparently | Native affiliate program | Telegram exposes program terms and transaction-linked commission |
| Combine acquisition reward and revenue share | Both, deliberately | Model both liabilities and disclose both links or rules |
Model commission before opening the program
For the native program, estimate Stars gross revenue from referred users, the commission rate, the commission duration, refunds or revenue adjustments permitted by the platform and the remaining contribution after product and acquisition costs. An indefinite or long-duration percentage can outlive the campaign that justified it.
For a custom program, model reward issuance per qualified edge, fraud and hold loss, redemption rate, payout cost and retained value by cohort. A high headline reward is not a growth strategy when qualification is weak or the payable balance is unfunded.
- Use contribution after commission—not gross Stars sales
- Separate one-time acquisition cost from recurring revenue share
- Stress-test referrals who buy much later
- Record terms by program version
- Do not change user-facing economics without preserving prior obligations
A practical implementation checklist
If using Telegram’s native program, follow current official API and client documentation rather than copying a fixed rate or limit from an old tutorial. If using a builder, ask whether it supports the native affiliate program, a custom referral ledger or both; those are different capabilities.
- Choose native, custom or both and write the reason
- Name the exact qualifying event
- Name the reward asset or point type
- Publish commission/reward and duration or hold terms
- Test a new-user link on a real Telegram client
- Test an existing user and a repeated link
- Test self-referral and duplicate purchase/callback behavior
- Expose the owner-side attribution and liability
- Give promoters share copy that matches the actual program
- Reconcile one complete commission or payout cycle before scaling
Common questions
What is a Telegram bot affiliate program?
Telegram’s native affiliate program lets promoters earn a configured share of Telegram Stars purchases made by users they referred to a participating bot or Mini App.
Is a Telegram affiliate program the same as a referral bot?
No. The native program is tied to Stars purchase commissions. A custom referral bot can reward other qualified events through its own balance and payout rules.
Can a Telegram referral bot pay GRAM?
A custom bot can display and account for GRAM-labelled rewards, but the owner must define whether that balance is an in-app point, promotional reward or funded asset and publish the withdrawal rules.
Can I use native affiliate links and custom referral links together?
Yes, but the owner must define attribution and model both obligations so one relationship does not create accidental double payment.
Does Mini Empire manage Telegram’s native Stars affiliate program?
This guide does not claim that capability. Mini Empire focuses on supported custom referral bots and reward Mini Apps with owner-defined operations.
Sources and further reading
Technical and product claims were checked against these primary sources.