Why You Probably Shouldn’t Pay for Telegram Premium
No free service stays free forever. Some apps, like Instagram, pay ads for you to sign in, and you’re likely to see more ads the longer the service has been around. Others end up trying to get their users to pay for a subscription. Telegram , the popular messaging app that competes with WhatsApp, has taken the latter route.
Telegram Premium is a paid subscription designed for the most dedicated Telegram users. It adds features such as increased file and group size limits, special stickers, and confirmation badges for paying members. However, none of these features will matter to people who use Telegram as a messaging app and not something like a Discord server. Telegram is trying to target a small portion of its user base to fund server and developer costs, and most people are better off not paying for the service. That’s why.
The Best Telegram Premium Features (And Why You Don’t Need Them)
Telegram has a very generous free tier that allows you to chat, upload files up to 2GB, and create groups of up to 500 people. Telegram Premium allows you to upload files up to 4 GB in size, create groups of up to 1000 members, and connect six different phone numbers to your account. These extra features are nice, but it’s clear that the free tier is good enough for just about everyone.
The paid subscription also doubles down on some other restrictions that will only be useful to those who practically live inside Telegram. For example, the premium tier increases the number of chat folders to 20 (instead of 10), allows you to store up to 200 chats per folder (instead of 100), saves up to 400 pictures in your account (instead of 200), and allows you to reserve 20 public links (instead of 10 ).
A really great feature for paid Telegram enthusiasts is the removal of download speed limits in the app. Theoretically, you could use this as an opportunity to opt out of using WeTransfer or other cloud storage in favor of Telegram .
A big benefit for many will be the ability to better manage their chats. Telegram Premium’s chat management features let you hide chats from people who aren’t in your contact lists and automatically archive chats from people who spam you. (However, Telegram’s free tier also allows you to automatically delete chats .)
Telegram Premium will also let you quickly transcribe incoming voice messages, but only certain languages are supported.
Otherwise, you’ll get a profile badge to brag to others about giving Telegram money, unique emoji reactions, animated profile pictures, and premium stickers. However, if one premium user adds a unique emoji reaction to a post, free tier users can also tap on it to “use” the reaction, and the free version of the app already includes tons of stickers.
How much does Telegram Premium cost and is it worth buying?
Telegram Premium costs $5 per month and you can subscribe from the app on all platforms. However, based on the feature set that Telegram offers at the moment, most people should not consider it.
You can continue to use Telegram for free, and there are so few ads on Telegram that most users won’t see them anyway. In short, the free tier is good enough for almost everyone.
If you’re a dedicated Telegram user who hosts large groups and constantly uses the app to send files, then a paid subscription offers good value for money. At least its chat management features alone are worth the asking price – the ability to automatically archive and hide chats is great if you use it heavily. But at the current price, Telegram Premium is only worth it for a small part of its user base. If you’re not sure it’s you, it probably isn’t.