How to Analyse a Competitor's Telegram Channel

To analyse a competitor's Telegram channel, collect what Telegram shows publicly: subscriber count, posts, views on each post, reactions, comments, posting times and the ads they run or carry. Record it over a few weeks in a simple sheet, then compare it with your own channel to find what they do better, what they neglect, and which gaps you can fill. You do not need any special access; the detailed statistics only admins see are not available to you, and you do not need them.

This guide gives you a repeatable method: what to collect, how to read it without fooling yourself, and how to turn it into a plan. It sticks to public information and fair practice.

Why analyse competitors at all

A competitor analysis is not about copying. It answers practical questions you cannot answer by looking only at your own channel:

• What do readers in your niche respond to?
• How often do successful channels post, and at what times?
• Which formats get views and which get ignored?
• How do they make money, and does it seem to hurt their engagement?
• Where do their subscribers come from?
• What do they not cover that readers clearly want?

The last question is usually the most valuable. A gap you can fill well is worth more than a format you imitate slightly worse.

Before you start

Pick the right competitors

Choose three to five channels, not twenty. A useful set contains:

• One or two direct competitors: same topic, same language, similar audience, similar size or a little bigger.
• One aspirational channel: clearly larger and well run, in your niche or a close one.
• One adjacent channel: a different topic, but the same audience. A channel about personal finance and one about career advice may share readers.

How to find them:

1. Search Telegram for your main keywords, both in the global search and in public post search. Our guide on Telegram public post search explains how that works.
2. Open a strong channel in your niche and look at Telegram's similar-channel suggestions on its profile.
3. Browse your category on TGDirectory's categories and the best Telegram channels ranking, which orders channels by their real subscriber count.
4. Note which channels advertise in your niche, and which channels your own readers mention.

Set up a simple tracking sheet

A spreadsheet with one row per observation is enough. Useful columns: date, channel, subscriber count, post date and time, post type, topic, length, views, reactions, comments, whether it was an ad, and a notes column. One tab per competitor keeps it readable.

Decide how long to observe

Two to four weeks gives you a fair picture. A single day is misleading: one viral post, one quiet holiday, or one big ad campaign can distort everything.

Step 1: Record the basics

Start with what anyone can see on the channel's profile.

1. Subscriber count. Shown on the channel's info page. Note it on day one and again at the end of your observation.
2. Name, username and description. How do they describe themselves? What promise do they make? Our guide on writing a channel description explains what good ones contain.
3. Pinned post. Often a welcome, an index or an offer. It tells you what they most want new visitors to do.
4. Links. A linked discussion group, a website, a bot, other channels in their network.
5. Badges. A verification checkmark from Telegram, or a scam or fake label. Our guide on third-party verification icons explains what those different marks mean.
6. Age. Scroll to the first post to see when the channel started. A large channel built over years is different from one that grew in months.

Step 2: Audit the content

Read the channel as a subscriber would, then go through the last few weeks of posts systematically. You can read a public channel's posts in the app or on its web preview page without joining.

Topics

Group posts into a handful of topic buckets. For a hypothetical cooking channel these might be recipes, techniques, product reviews, news and personal stories. Count how many posts fall into each. The mix tells you what the owner thinks their readers want; the views tell you whether readers agree.

Formats

Note the format of each post: text only, photo with caption, album, video, voice message, poll, document, link with preview, forwarded post. Some channels lean heavily on one format. If every top post in your niche is a short video and you only post text, that is a finding.

Length and structure

Is the typical post three lines or thirty? Does it use headings, bullets, bold text? Does it have a clear first line? Our guide on writing Telegram posts people read explains what to look for in the writing itself.

Calls to action

What do posts ask readers to do: react, comment, share, click a link, buy something, join another channel? A channel that asks for something in every post trains readers differently from one that rarely asks.

Original or reposted

Count how much is original and how much is forwarded or rewritten from other sources. Heavy reposting can build a big audience fast but often comes with weak loyalty.

Step 3: Map the posting rhythm

Posting rhythm is easy to measure and often overlooked.

1. List the time of every post over two weeks.
2. Count posts per day and per week.
3. Note any regular slots, such as a morning digest or a weekly roundup.
4. Note quiet days, such as weekends.
5. Compare the busiest days with the highest-view posts.

Remember that times appear in your own time zone in the app. If the competitor's audience is in another region, convert before drawing conclusions. TGDirectory channel pages show posts per week for listed channels, measured from the public posts, which saves counting by hand. Our guide on how often a channel should post helps you interpret what you find.

Step 4: Read the engagement figures correctly

This is where most analyses go wrong. The numbers are easy to collect and easy to misread.

Views per post

Every channel post shows a view count. It grows for days after posting, quickly at first and then slowly. So compare posts at the same age: record views when posts are, say, two days old, or compare only posts from the same week once they have settled.

Views relative to subscribers

Average views divided by subscribers is the engagement rate. It lets you compare channels of different sizes: a 5,000-subscriber channel getting 2,500 views per post is more engaged than a 50,000-subscriber channel getting 5,000. Our guide on Telegram channel engagement rate explains how to calculate it and what affects it. TGDirectory channel pages show average and median views and engagement rate where they can be measured; see how to read a TGDirectory channel page.

Average versus median

One viral post can push the average far above what a normal post gets. The median, the middle value when you sort posts by views, is more honest about a typical post. Record both if you can.

Reactions and comments

Reactions and comments show active interest. A post with high views and almost no reactions was seen but not felt. A post with modest views and many comments touched something. Note which topics produce discussion; that tells you what the audience cares about enough to speak.

Compare like with like

Engagement depends on the kind of channel as much as on its quality, so be careful which channels you compare.

• News channels post often, and each post gets most of its views within hours. Many posts per day naturally lower views per post.
• Evergreen channels post less often, and posts keep collecting views for days or weeks through forwards and search.
• Channels with many forwards gain views from people who are not subscribers, which can push views above what the subscriber count suggests.
• Channels in different languages or regions have different reading habits and peak hours.

So a news channel with modest views per post may be healthier than it looks, and an evergreen channel with high views may simply post rarely. Compare a competitor mainly with channels of the same type, and treat comparisons across types as rough.

Signs that numbers are inflated

Some channels buy subscribers or views. Warning signs include:

• Very high subscriber count with very low views per post.
• Views that are almost identical on every post, whatever the topic.
• Sudden jumps in subscribers with no visible promotion.
• Comments that are generic, repetitive or unrelated to the post.

Our guide on checking a channel for fake subscribers goes through these signals in detail. If a competitor's figures look inflated, compare yourself to their real engagement, not their headline count. Why bought subscribers hurt explains why matching them by buying is a bad idea.

Step 5: Look for growth signals

You cannot see a competitor's join sources, but you can see clues.

• Subscriber count over time. Note it weekly. On TGDirectory, listed channels show a growth chart built from one real subscriber count per day since we started watching, once enough daily points exist.
• Ads for the channel elsewhere. If you see their ads in other channels, they are buying growth. Note which channels carry them.
• Cross-promotion. Mentions or reposts between their channel and others suggest swap deals. Our cross-promotion guide explains how these work.
• External traffic. Links to the channel from a website, a video channel or social profiles.
• Giveaways and boosts. Giveaways can bring sudden spikes. Channels asking for boosts are working on Telegram's own features.
• Folder links. Some channels grow by being bundled in shared folders with partners. See folder links for growth.

Step 6: Understand how they make money

Monetisation affects content and engagement, so it belongs in the analysis.

• Sponsored posts. Count ads and note how they are labelled. Our guide on sponsored post disclosure explains good practice. A channel running many ads may have lower trust or engagement on those posts.
• Telegram's own ads. Large public channels may show Telegram's sponsored messages; owners of eligible channels can receive a share of that revenue. That is not a choice made post by post.
• Paid channel or group. A link to a paid tier, a bot that sells access, or paid media posts.
• Products and services. Courses, consulting, shops, affiliate links.
• Stars features. Paid reactions, paid media, gifts and subscriptions.

Note what readers seem to accept. If a competitor's sponsored posts get noticeably fewer views than their normal posts, that tells you something about ad tolerance in your niche.

Step 7: Study the community around the channel

If the channel has comments enabled or a linked discussion group, read it.

• How quickly do admins reply?
• What do readers ask repeatedly? Repeated questions are content ideas.
• What do readers complain about? Complaints are gaps you can fill.
• Is the discussion friendly, or full of spam and arguments?

Read without disrupting. Do not post links to your own channel in their comments; it is rude, it usually breaks their rules, and it gets you removed.

Step 8: Read their positioning and voice

Numbers say what works; positioning says why readers chose that channel over others. Spend twenty minutes on these questions:

• What is the one-line promise? It is usually in the description or the pinned post: "daily deals", "explained simply", "news before anyone else". Write it down in your own words.
• Who is it for? Beginners, professionals, a city, an age group? Look at the vocabulary. Jargon-heavy posts signal an expert audience.
• What is the tone? Formal, chatty, funny, urgent? Note two or three example phrases.
• Is there a face? Some channels are clearly one person with opinions; others are anonymous news feeds. Personal channels often have more loyal readers; anonymous ones scale more easily.
• What does the avatar and name signal? A clear, readable name and simple avatar help in search results and chat lists. A cluttered one gets lost.

The point is to find a position the competitor does not hold. If every channel in your niche is urgent and anonymous, a calm channel with a named author who explains things may stand out.

Step 9: Turn findings into a plan

Data is only useful if it changes what you do. After your observation period, write a one-page summary.

Use a simple strengths and gaps list

For each competitor, write:

1. Three things they do well that you could adapt in your own way.
2. Three things they do badly or not at all that your readers would value.
3. One thing you do better, which you should keep and make more visible.

Example findings

Hypothetical example for a channel about remote work:

• Competitor A posts six times a day, mostly reposted job links. Views per post are low relative to subscribers, and the comments ask for advice on applications. Gap: practical application advice. Action: a weekly post reviewing a real (anonymised, permission given) application.
• Competitor B posts twice a day with long original guides. Engagement is high, but there is no community. Readers ask questions in the comments that go unanswered. Gap: discussion and answers. Action: add a linked discussion group and answer questions daily.
• Competitor C runs many sponsored posts that get far fewer views than normal posts. Insight: this audience tolerates few ads. Action: keep sponsored posts rare and clearly relevant.

Prioritise

Pick two actions for the next month, not ten. Measure your own channel before and after. Our weekly stats checklist gives you a routine for tracking your own figures.

Worked example: two weeks of observation

This is a hypothetical example with invented round numbers, to show the method and the arithmetic.

You run a channel about home gardening with 3,000 subscribers. You pick a competitor with 12,000 subscribers and record their posts for two weeks.

What you record

• They post 21 times in 14 days, so about 10 posts a week, mostly at 07:00 and 19:00 your time.
• Topic mix: 9 seasonal how-to posts, 6 plant photos with short captions, 3 product recommendations with affiliate links, 2 polls, 1 sponsored post.
• Views two days after posting range from 1,200 to 9,000. Sorted, the middle value is 2,400, so the median is 2,400. The average is 3,100, pulled up by two posts that went far wider than the rest.

What the numbers say

• Median engagement is 2,400 ÷ 12,000, which is 20 per cent of subscribers seeing a typical post within two days.
• Your own median is 900 views on 3,000 subscribers, which is 30 per cent. Your audience is smaller but relatively more engaged.
• Their two highest posts were both seasonal how-to posts with a short checklist. Their product posts were all below the median. Their sponsored post had the lowest views of the period.
• In the comments, five different readers asked about growing vegetables on balconies. Nobody answered.

What you decide

1. Add a weekly seasonal checklist post, written your own way, because that format clearly travels in this niche.
2. Start a short series on balcony vegetables, the unanswered question.
3. Keep affiliate posts rare, since readers here seem to skip them.
4. Do not chase their posting volume; your engagement suggests your current rhythm suits your readers.

Notice that the most useful findings came from the comments and from comparing post types, not from the subscriber count.

Analysing a competing group, bot or Mini App

Not every competitor is a channel. The method adapts.

A public group

• Member count and activity. Telegram shows member numbers and how many members are online. Look at how many different people post in a day, not just the number of messages.
• Rules and moderation. Read the rules and watch how spam is handled. A group drowning in spam is an opening for a well-moderated alternative. Our group rules template shows what good rules cover.
• Structure. Are topics used? Is there slow mode? Who answers questions, admins or members?
• Recurring activities. Weekly threads, voice chats, challenges. See which ones get participation.

A bot or Mini App

• Use it as a customer would. Note how many steps the main task takes and where you got confused.
• Read the description and commands. They show what the owner considers the core features.
• Look at how it is promoted: which channels mention it, and what promise those ads make.
• Check user feedback in any linked channel or group. Repeated complaints are your opportunity.

Studying a competitor's advertising

If a competitor buys ads in other channels, those ads tell you a lot.

1. Note where the ads appear. These channels share your target audience, so they are candidates for your own promotion or cross-promotion.
2. Copy down the headline idea, not the text. What benefit do they lead with? Is it a giveaway, a free guide, a strong opinion?
3. Follow the ad as a reader would. Does it lead to the channel, a bot, a join request, or a website? A smooth path suggests a competitor who tests their ads.
4. Watch for repetition. An ad that appears again and again in different channels is probably working for them.
5. Check the timing. Ad bursts often line up with launches or seasonal peaks in your niche.

Our guide on buying ads in Telegram channels explains how to approach the same channels yourself.

What you can and cannot know

Being honest about the limits keeps the analysis useful.

What you can see

• Subscriber count and how it changes.
• Every public post, its views, reactions and, if enabled, comments.
• Posting times and frequency.
• Visible ads, cross-promotions and links.

What you cannot see

• The competitor's own statistics screen: where subscribers came from, how many left, view sources, and demographics. Only the channel's admins can see those. Our guide on Telegram channel statistics explains what that screen contains.
• What they paid for ads, or what they earn.
• Private channels and groups, unless you join them through a legitimate invite.

Third-party analytics websites present estimates for many channels. Read how they gather data before trusting their numbers; our guide on how third-party analytics sites get their numbers explains the common methods and their limits.

Fair practice

Analysis is legitimate; some things are not.

• Do not copy posts. Taking ideas, formats and topics is normal. Copying text, images or videos is not, and it can get your channel reported. If someone copies you, see what to do when someone copies your posts.
• Do not impersonate. Never create look-alike names, usernames or logos.
• Do not spam their audience. Messaging their subscribers or commenters to recruit them is spam and can get your account restricted.
• Do not file false reports. Reporting a competitor to get them removed, when they have broken no rule, is abuse of the reporting system.
• Do not use leaked data. If someone offers a competitor's private statistics or member lists, refuse.

Doing it regularly

A one-time analysis goes stale. A light routine keeps it fresh.

• Monthly: note each competitor's subscriber count, average views on recent posts and any new formats or offers.
• Quarterly: repeat the full content audit for your top two competitors and check whether new channels have appeared.
• When something changes: a competitor's sudden growth, a new paid tier or a change in style is worth a closer look.

Keep the notes in the same sheet so you can see trends over months.

If you have not launched yet: using analysis to choose your angle

Competitor analysis is especially useful before you post anything, because it is cheaper to choose a good position than to change one later.

1. List every channel you can find in the niche in your language, then shortlist the five strongest.
2. For each, write its promise in one line. If five channels all promise "daily news", the niche has a crowded centre.
3. Look for missing audiences. Beginners in an expert-heavy niche, a specific country, a specific profession, or people who want depth rather than speed.
4. Look for missing formats. If nobody does weekly summaries, video explanations or Q&A, that is a format gap.
5. Check that the gap has demand. Gaps are only useful if readers ask for them. Search comments and groups for questions that match.
6. Write your own one-line promise that sits in the gap, then test it with your first twenty posts.

Our guides on channel niche ideas and creating a channel take it from there. When the channel is ready, list it for free on TGDirectory; listed channels get their own page with measured statistics, which also makes your own progress easy to follow.

What to do next

• Run the full analysis once for your top three competitors and write the one-page summary.
• Pick two actions and put them in your content calendar.
• Set a monthly reminder for the light check.
• Revisit your channel description and pinned post with what you learned about positioning.

Common mistakes

• Comparing headline subscriber counts. Engagement matters more, and headline counts can be inflated.
• Comparing views on posts of different ages. A post from an hour ago is not comparable with one from last week.
• Watching for one day. A single day is noise. Observe for at least two weeks.
• Copying the biggest channel's style. What works for an established brand may not work for a new channel. Fill gaps instead.
• Analysing too many channels. Twenty competitors produce a spreadsheet nobody reads. Three to five is enough.
• Never acting on the findings. Pick two changes and measure them.
• Ignoring your own strengths. The analysis should also show what you do better.

FAQ

Can I see another channel's statistics?

No. The detailed statistics screen is only for that channel's admins. You can see public figures: subscriber count, views on each post, reactions and comments.

Is it legal to analyse a competitor's channel?

Studying public posts and figures is normal market research. Copying content, impersonating the channel or using leaked private data is not acceptable and may break laws and Telegram's rules. This is general information, not legal advice.

How do I know if a competitor bought subscribers?

Look for a large subscriber count with very low views, identical view counts on every post, sudden unexplained jumps, and generic comments. No single sign proves it, but several together are strong evidence.

Should I join competitors' channels?

Joining a public channel to read it is fine, and you can also read many public channels on their web preview without joining. Do not use their comments to promote yourself.

How often should I repeat the analysis?

A quick monthly check and a fuller review every few months is enough for most channels, plus a closer look when a competitor changes something significant.

What is the most useful thing to look for?

Repeated questions and complaints in their comments. They show what readers want and are not getting, which is the clearest opportunity for your channel.

Summary

Analysing a competitor's Telegram channel means collecting public figures and posts over a few weeks, then reading them carefully: compare views at the same post age, use engagement rate rather than subscriber counts, and watch for inflated numbers. Audit topics, formats, rhythm, growth signals, monetisation and community. Turn the findings into two concrete actions, measure your own channel before and after, and repeat lightly each month. Learn from competitors, fill their gaps, and never copy or impersonate.