How to Gift Telegram Premium

To gift Telegram Premium, open the person's profile, choose the option to send a gift, pick Premium and a duration, and pay. Depending on your platform and region you can pay with a card, through your app store, or with Telegram Stars, and channel owners can also give Premium to subscribers through a giveaway. The recipient does not need to do anything except accept it.

This guide covers each route in detail, explains what the recipient actually receives, how platform and payment choices differ, and how to avoid the "cheap Premium" scams that circulate in chats.

Before you start

A few checks save trouble later:

• Update Telegram. Gifting options sit in the newest versions. An outdated app may show fewer payment methods or none.
• Make sure you can reach the recipient's profile. You need them in your contacts, in a shared chat or findable by username.
• Know what Premium includes. If the person mostly uses Telegram lightly, a different gift may suit them better. Our comparison of Telegram Premium vs free lists the differences.
• Check the price on your own device. Telegram shows the price for each duration at the moment you choose it. Prices differ by region, by platform and by payment method, so a figure a friend quotes may not match yours.
• Decide how you want to pay. Card, app store and Stars are the common options, but not all are available everywhere.

What the recipient gets

A Premium gift gives the recipient a Premium subscription for the period you chose. During that time they get the Premium features on their account, such as larger limits, extra customisation and other perks that Telegram lists on its Premium page. When the period ends, the account returns to the free tier unless they subscribe themselves. Nothing they created while on Premium is deleted, though some limits that only Premium allows may apply again.

They receive a message in the chat with you announcing the gift. If they already have Premium, check the gift screen and Telegram's own Premium FAQ for how a gift combines with an existing subscription before you pay; the rules for stacking or extending can differ depending on how they subscribed.

Gifted Premium is not a recurring subscription. You pay once for the chosen period, and nothing renews automatically on your card or on theirs.

Choosing a duration

Telegram offers several gift lengths, and longer periods usually cost less per month. Which one to pick depends less on the discount than on the person.

• A short gift is a trial. If you are not sure the recipient will use Premium, a short period lets them find out without much money spent. If they love it, they can subscribe.
• A long gift is a statement. It suits someone you know relies on Telegram every day, such as a colleague running support chats or a friend who manages a large group.
• Match the occasion. A birthday gift for a year, a thank-you for a month of moderation help: the period can carry meaning as well as value.

Whatever you choose, the gift screen shows the exact price for each length on your device before you pay.

Method 1: Gift Premium from the person's profile

This is the most direct route and works on the mobile apps and most desktop versions.

On Android

1. Open the chat with the person, then tap their name at the top to open their profile.
2. Open the menu (the three dots) and choose the option to send a gift.
3. In the gift screen, choose Premium and pick a duration. Telegram shows the price for each.
4. Choose a payment method. Options can include a card payment, Google Play, or Stars.
5. Add a short message if the screen offers one.
6. Confirm the payment. The recipient gets the gift message immediately.

On iPhone and iPad

1. Open the chat, tap the person's name or photo at the top to open their profile.
2. Tap the menu (the three dots or "More") and choose the option to send a gift.
3. Choose Premium and a duration.
4. Pay through the method offered. On Apple devices, Premium purchases are often handled through the App Store, which can affect the price shown.
5. Confirm. The gift appears in your chat.

On desktop

1. Open the person's profile from the chat header.
2. Look for a gift option in the profile or its menu.
3. Choose Premium, a duration and a payment method.
4. Confirm.

If you do not see a gift option on desktop or web, use the mobile app; desktop and web clients do not always expose every purchase flow. Our comparison of Telegram on desktop, web and mobile explains why the apps differ.

Why the price differs between platforms

App stores take a share of in-app purchases, and Telegram's prices through them can be higher than paying directly where direct payment is offered. Region also matters: Telegram sets prices per country. If you see a higher price on one device, it is worth checking the same gift on another of your devices before paying.

Method 2: Gift Premium with Telegram Stars

If you have a Stars balance, you can use it to pay for a Premium gift instead of a card. This is useful if you have earned or received Stars and want to pass on value without spending money directly.

1. Open the recipient's profile and choose the option to send a gift.
2. Choose Premium and a duration.
3. Select Stars as the payment method. The screen shows how many Stars the chosen duration costs.
4. Confirm. The Stars are taken from your balance and the gift is sent.

If Stars are not offered as a payment option on your device, update the app, or check whether the option is available in your region. To top up, see how to pay with Stars or crypto on Telegram, and for the bigger picture of what Stars are worth and where they come from, read Telegram Stars explained.

When Stars make sense

• You already have Stars from a channel or bot. Channel owners who earn Stars through paid posts or reactions can turn some of that into gifts for helpers, moderators or loyal readers.
• You cannot use a card or app-store payment. Stars bought earlier, or received from others, give you a different way to pay.
• You are gifting to several people. Paying from one balance can be simpler than several card payments.

Example (illustrative only): Omar runs a small channel that earns Stars from paid reactions. At the end of a busy month he uses part of that balance to gift three months of Premium to each of his two volunteer moderators. No card was needed, and the gift came from the channel's own audience support.

Method 3: Gift Premium to several people at once

Telegram also offers a way to send gifts to several contacts in one flow, typically from the settings screen where gift options live, with a contact picker. The exact location and name can change between versions; look for a gift or "send a gift" entry in the main settings.

1. Open Telegram's settings and look for the option to send a gift.
2. Pick the recipients from your contacts.
3. Choose Premium and a duration.
4. Pay for all of the gifts together.

This suits small teams, families or a group of friends. For anything larger, or for strangers who follow your channel, a giveaway is the better tool.

Method 4: Give Premium through a channel giveaway

Channel and group owners can run giveaways that award Premium subscriptions to subscribers. Telegram runs the draw, picks winners at random among eligible members and delivers the prizes.

How a Premium giveaway works

1. As the owner or an admin with the right permissions, open the channel's boost or giveaway section from its settings or statistics area.
2. Choose to create a giveaway and select Premium as the prize.
3. Set the number of winners and the subscription length. Telegram shows the total price.
4. Choose who can take part, for example all subscribers or only new ones, and whether to limit by country.
5. Set the end date and, if you like, a short description of any extra prize.
6. Pay. Telegram publishes a giveaway post in the channel.
7. When the giveaway ends, Telegram picks the winners and sends each a gift code for their Premium subscription.

Why giveaways help a channel

Winners who receive Premium through a channel's giveaway also give that channel boosts, and boosts unlock extra channel features. The full mechanism is in Telegram channel boosts explained. A giveaway is also a visible thank-you to your audience. For planning, rules and avoiding abuse, see how to run a Telegram giveaway.

What a giveaway cannot do

• It cannot buy you a loyal audience. People who join only for a chance at a prize often leave afterwards. A giveaway works best for an audience that already values the channel.
• It cannot guarantee winners activate. A gift code that nobody uses still costs you. Remind winners to check their messages.
• It should not ask for anything outside Telegram's flow. If you run a giveaway, do not ask winners to message you, share codes or pay "delivery". Telegram delivers the prize itself.

Gift codes: what they are and how they are used

When Premium is given through a giveaway, the prize arrives as a gift code: a link that, when opened, activates Premium for the account that redeems it. Gift codes are also how channel prizes reach winners.

How to handle one safely:

1. A genuine gift code arrives inside Telegram, usually in a message from Telegram's service notifications or from the channel that ran the giveaway.
2. Open it in the Telegram app. It shows the subscription length and who it is from, and asks you to activate it.
3. Activate it on the account you want to receive Premium.

Two warnings. First, a gift code you have not yet used can be used by anyone you share the link with, so treat an unused code like cash. Second, a real gift code never asks for your phone number, login code or password. A "gift code" page that asks for any of those is phishing.

Gifting Premium for TON on Fragment

Fragment, Telegram's marketplace for usernames and numbers, has also offered a way to buy Premium for a Telegram username and pay with Toncoin. At the time of writing, this is an option for people who already hold TON in a wallet they control. Type Fragment's address yourself, connect your wallet only after checking the address, and check on the page exactly which account the purchase will apply to before you approve the transaction.

This route is useful if you want to pay with crypto rather than a card. If you are new to TON, read TON and Telegram explained and Tonkeeper vs Telegram Wallet first, because mistakes on-chain cannot be reversed. Nothing in this guide is investment advice.

Birthday and occasion gifting

Telegram can show contacts' birthdays, where people have chosen to share them, and suggests sending a gift on the day. When you see a birthday prompt, it leads to the same gift screen as the profile route. Premium is one option there, alongside Stars-based gifts. If you want to plan ahead, you can schedule a message for the day, but note that a scheduled message does not schedule a payment; the gift itself is sent when you pay. See how to schedule messages on Telegram for the message part.

Choosing between Premium, Stars and other gifts

Premium is not always the best present. Think about how the person uses Telegram.

Premium suits people who

• Use Telegram all day for work or a community and hit free limits, such as the number of channels they can join or folders they can create.
• Run a channel and would use Premium features for themselves or as an admin. See is Telegram Premium worth it for channel owners.
• Like customisation, such as emoji statuses and app icons.

Another gift may suit people who

• Use Telegram occasionally. A collectible-style gift on their profile may mean more than features they will not notice. See Telegram gifts explained.
• Spend in mini apps or on paid posts. Stars give them flexibility.
• Already have Premium. Check how a new gift would combine before paying.

A worked comparison (illustrative only)

Example: Lena wants to thank two people. One is a colleague who manages several work groups and keeps hitting the folder limit; Premium solves a real problem for him, so she gives three months. The other is her grandmother, who uses Telegram for family photos only; Lena sends a regular gift with a personal message instead, because Premium features would go unused.

What the recipient sees, step by step

If you are explaining a gift to someone less familiar with Telegram, it helps to know what the experience looks like on their side.

1. A message appears in your shared chat, showing that you sent them Premium and for how long. Any note you added appears with it.
2. Their account switches to Premium. On most apps a small Premium mark appears next to their name in their own settings.
3. New options become available, such as Premium-only customisation and higher limits.
4. Telegram may show a short tour of Premium features the first time they open the related screens.
5. As the end date approaches, Telegram may remind them that Premium is about to expire and offer to subscribe.

If they tell you nothing changed, ask them to restart the app after updating. A cached screen sometimes shows the free layout for a moment.

What happens when the gifted period ends

The account returns to the free tier. A few things are worth telling the recipient in advance so the change does not surprise them:

• Limits apply again. If they joined more channels or created more folders than the free tier allows, Telegram does not delete anything, but they may be unable to add more until they are under the limit. Our guide to Telegram folders explains how to tidy them.
• Premium-only cosmetics stop showing. Things like an emoji status or a Premium app icon return to the defaults.
• Their chats and media stay. Nothing they sent or saved while on Premium is removed.
• Nobody is charged. A gift is a one-off payment. If they want to continue, they subscribe themselves, or you send another gift.

Gifting across countries

Friends and family often live in different countries, and people worry about whether a gift works across borders.

• The price you see is based on your own account and payment method. You pay what your screen shows, not what the recipient would pay locally.
• The recipient's country does not usually block a gift. Premium is an account feature, not a regional download. If something does block it, the gift screen will say so before you pay.
• Currency conversion may apply. Your card provider may convert the price and add its own fee. Paying with Stars avoids card conversion, because Stars are already in your balance.

Example (illustrative only): Daniel lives in one country and his brother in another. Daniel's phone shows a price in his local currency through his app store. He compares it with the price on his desktop, which offers a direct card payment, and finds a lower figure there. He pays on desktop, and his brother's account turns Premium a moment later. Where the brother lives made no difference to the steps.

Can you gift Premium to a channel or group?

No. Premium is a feature of a person's account, not of a channel or group. What you can do for a channel you like is boost it, which is one of the Premium perks, or support it with Stars through paid reactions or paid posts where the owner has enabled them. If you want a channel to benefit from Premium-related features, the route is boosts, and giveaways are how an owner gets many of them at once. See Telegram channel boosts explained and Telegram paid reactions.

Budgeting gifts for a team

Small organisations sometimes give Premium to staff who use Telegram for work, especially for customer support or community management. A few practical points:

1. List who actually hits free limits. Premium is most useful to people managing many chats, folders or channels.
2. Choose one duration for everyone. Mixed end dates are hard to track. Note the date you gifted so you know when to renew.
3. Use one payment route. Paying the same way each time makes records simpler, which matters if the cost is a business expense.
4. Keep a receipt. Card and app-store payments give you a receipt; Stars payments show in your Stars transaction history. Check your local rules on whether such gifts count as a business expense or a taxable benefit, and ask a professional if unsure.
5. Do not share one account instead. Sharing a single Premium account between several people breaks the security of that account and makes every person's actions look like one person's. Our guide to running a channel as a team explains better ways to divide work.

If your team uses Telegram mainly for customer contact, the features in Telegram Business explained may matter more than Premium alone; check which plan includes what you need before buying.

Common problems and fixes

The gift option is missing

1. Update the app.
2. Try the mobile app if you are on desktop or web.
3. Check that you opened the person's profile, not a group or channel.
4. Some accounts, such as bots, cannot receive Premium.

Payment fails

1. Try another payment method on the same screen.
2. If you use a card, check that it allows online and international payments.
3. If you pay through an app store, check that your store account has a valid payment method.
4. Try again later; payment providers sometimes have short outages.

The recipient says they did not receive it

1. Check the chat with them for the gift message.
2. Ask them to update Telegram and look again.
3. Make sure you gifted to the right account, especially if they have more than one or changed their username.
4. If the payment went through and nothing arrived, contact Telegram's support from within the app, with the date and payment details.

You sent it to the wrong person

Premium gifts are generally not reversed. Check the recipient's name and photo on the confirmation screen every time.

Scams to avoid

Premium is one of the most common lures in Telegram scams, because people expect it to be expensive and are glad of a deal.

"Cheap Premium, just send me the code"

A seller offers Premium at a discount and says they will "activate it on your account". To do that they ask for your login code, or to log in on their device. That code gives them your account. Nobody needs your login code to give you Premium; a real gift goes to your profile while you stay logged in. Read never share your Telegram login code.

Free Premium bots

A bot promises free Premium if you share a link with your contacts, add it to your groups or enter your phone number. Real Premium comes from Telegram's own purchase flow, a giveaway run by a channel inside Telegram, or a real gift from someone you know. Our guide on how to find Telegram bots safely explains how to judge a bot.

Fake giveaway winners

You receive a message saying you won a Premium giveaway, but to claim it you must pay a fee or "verify" your account on a website. Real giveaway prizes are delivered by Telegram without any fee.

Resold gift codes

Strangers sell gift codes in chats. A code can only be redeemed once, and a seller can sell the same one to several people, or send you one that is already used. Buy Premium through Telegram itself.

For a general checklist, see how to spot Telegram scams.

Gifting Premium as a channel owner: a practical plan

If you run a channel, Premium gifts can be part of how you thank the people who help you. A simple approach:

1. Reward work, not just attention. Moderators, regular contributors and people who report spam keep a community healthy. A Premium gift recognises that effort directly.
2. Run giveaways for milestones. A giveaway when you reach a round number of subscribers, or on the channel's anniversary, gives the whole audience a reason to celebrate. Keep the rules simple and fair.
3. Explain the boost link openly. Tell readers that giveaway winners boost the channel and what the channel gains from that.
4. Never tie gifts to fake engagement. Asking people to react or comment in exchange for a chance at Premium inflates numbers that should reflect real interest. For why that matters, see Telegram channel engagement rate.

If your channel is listed on TGDirectory, its page shows measured figures such as subscribers and average views. A burst of giveaway-only joiners can show up later as a drop in subscribers or engagement, which is a useful signal about whether a giveaway attracted real readers. Our guide to how TGDirectory measures channel statistics explains what each figure means.

Common mistakes

• Paying on the first device you open without comparing. App-store and direct prices can differ.
• Gifting to the wrong account. Check the name and photo on the confirmation screen.
• Sharing an unused gift code publicly. Anyone who opens it first can redeem it.
• Buying Premium from a stranger in a chat. Discount Premium is the classic login-code scam.
• Running a giveaway with entry rules outside Telegram. It confuses winners and invites impersonators.
• Gifting Premium to someone who will not use it. A smaller gift with a personal note can mean more.
• Assuming a scheduled message also schedules the gift. It does not; payment happens when you confirm.

FAQ

Does the recipient need to accept the gift?

No special acceptance is needed for a direct gift. They see a gift message in your chat and Premium applies to their account. Giveaway prizes come as gift codes that the winner activates.

Can I gift Premium anonymously?

The gift arrives in the chat between you and the recipient, so they will normally see it is from you. Giveaway prizes show they came from the channel.

Can I pay for a Premium gift with Stars?

Often yes. Choose Stars as the payment method on the gift screen if it is offered on your device and in your region.

Will a gifted Premium renew automatically?

No. A gift covers the period you paid for. The recipient can subscribe themselves afterwards if they want to continue.

Can I get a refund if I gifted to the wrong person?

Generally no. Check the recipient carefully before confirming, and contact Telegram support from the app if something went wrong with the payment itself.

Is it safe to buy Premium from someone offering a discount?

No. Discount sellers usually ask for your login code or to log in on their device, which hands over your account. Buy Premium only through Telegram, through an official giveaway, or receive it as a gift.

Summary

Gifting Telegram Premium is a few taps: open the recipient's profile, choose to send a gift, pick Premium and a duration, then pay by card, app store or Stars, depending on what your device and region offer. You can also send gifts to several contacts at once, pay with TON through Fragment if you already use a wallet, or give Premium to your audience through a channel giveaway that also brings boosts. Compare prices across devices before paying, check the recipient on the confirmation screen, treat unused gift codes like cash, and never give anyone your login code in exchange for "cheap Premium".