Key insights from building Telegram Mini Apps (5M+ Users)

[taurin]

I’ve had some interesting conversations lately with developers working on Telegram mini apps that have over 5M users. One thing is clear: mini apps are evolving fast. In just six months, the space has moved from basic, simple mechanics to more complex and engaging experiences. The benefits for users are becoming more obvious, and it’s only a matter of time before we see full-fledged marketplaces and even pizza ordering right inside Telegram.

Monetization is also a big part of the conversation. A lot of major apps are making their money through ads, with Telegram sharing 50% of the ad revenue in $TON. This creates a great opportunity for developers to profit. What’s even more interesting is that despite many mini apps being crypto-related, non-crypto advertisers are showing interest and jumping on board. This combination of crypto-focused products and broader advertisers is an unusual but valuable mix for developers.

On the funding side, TON Ventures has started backing early-stage projects with a $40M fund. The number of Tier 1 funds looking to invest in Telegram ecosystem products is growing, which means more support and opportunities for developers in the space.

With Telegram now boasting nearly 1 billion users, and over 100M new users this year alone, there’s never been a better time to build engaging and useful apps. The user base is expanding rapidly, and the ecosystem is ripe for innovation.

On a personal note, I’m currently working on three projects, all of them Telegram bots. Over the last month, I’ve seen significant growth in my public-facing projects, and I’m especially enjoying working with Telegram ads, which are proving to be a major driver of that growth.


The image shows rising interest in Telegram bot development, with developer numbers nearing 2.5M last month.

Anyone building something similar? Happy to exchange experiences.

 

[rodmarb2b]

Very interesting, we have a lot of oportunities here but I know nothing about it.
What type of apps do you think is interesting to create?

 

[taurin]

Very interesting, we have a lot of oportunities here but I know nothing about it.
What type of apps do you think is interesting to create?

I'm currently building:

1. a data aggregator
2. an SMM panel (when I buy jr. VIP, I'll list it on Marketplace)
3. a secret project
4. an affiliate landing page

Currently, there's hype around TON-blockchain-based apps, like mobile games back in 2010 but with "potential" high income without any investments. Users do some stuff inside your app (tap or just click every 8 hours, for example) and wait for the day you drop them rewards. But if you don't promise them anything, you're not obligated to give them any rewards. Meanwhile, you sell ads there for other crypto projects. Honestly, this is shitty traffic to flow into something serious, but it's good for transferring users from one bot to another and selling ads there. Bots with attention-addictive ideas can grow very fast—about +10k users per day in geometric progression through referral systems.

Basically, Mini Apps = regular HTML + CSS + JS sites, but inside a Telegram. Is generally its internal browser of your website

 

[rodmarb2b]

I'm currently building:

1. a data aggregator
2. an SMM panel (when I buy jr. VIP, I'll list it on Marketplace)
3. a secret project
4. an affiliate landing page

Currently, there's hype around TON-blockchain-based apps, like mobile games back in 2010 but with "potential" high income without any investments. Users do some stuff inside your app (tap or just click every 8 hours, for example) and wait for the day you drop them rewards. But if you don't promise them anything, you're not obligated to give them any rewards. Meanwhile, you sell ads there for other crypto projects. Honestly, this is shitty traffic to flow into something serious, but it's good for transferring users from one bot to another and selling ads there. Bots with attention-addictive ideas can grow very fast—about +10k users per day in geometric progression through referral systems.

Basically, Mini Apps = regular HTML + CSS + JS sites, but inside a Telegram. Is generally its internal browser of your website

Thank you very much for your explanation, I will definitely take note and look into it further. I know this new tendency but I don´t know much about.

Does it take a lot of programming knowledge to create these? Thinking of hiring someone for this.

 

[taurin]

Thank you very much for your explanation, I will definitely take note and look into it further. I know this new tendency but I don´t know much about.

Does it take a lot of programming knowledge to create these? Thinking of hiring someone for this.

There are two options:

1. You can create a simple bot through an online builder (I tried this in 2018, but I'm not sure how it works now). Just Google it, there are plenty out there.
2. Hire a developer. This requires either real talent or can be quite expensive. There are many developers on the market, but a lot of them deliver buggy, slow projects, or leave security issues. Friends who’ve hired contractors have told me it’s a headache, especially with constantly missed deadlines. But I guess that’s a common issue when hiring developers...

So it's perfect for indie-dev

 

[billythebilly]

Yes, it's definitely promising
I saw some easy-to-create TG bots on CodeCanyon
But I guess you would need to spend some money on marketing to attract users...not so easy

 

[taurin]

Yes, it's definitely promising
I saw some easy-to-create TG bots on CodeCanyon
But I guess you would need to spend some money on marketing to attract users...not so easy

regarding crypto-related games, it's easy to gain users, like a snowball effect. for a serious product, though, you need to spend money on marketing

 

[WebDevPro]

Awesome post.

This space has great potential.

I should start stocking some shovels for this new gold rush.

 

[thecryptobuddy]

Currently working on something similar, a tap to earn game. Since this is such a new concept we are struggling with the marketing side of things. Any suggestions?

Hi, is this thread still active? love to have a quick chat with you.

Bump bump bump

 

[thecryptobuddy]

Bump

 

[thecryptobuddy]

Bump

 

[thecryptobuddy]

Bump bump bump

 

[MANX Agency]

Great post thank you for sharing, haven't really had time to get this info but very good to know and great opportunities

 

[thecryptobuddy]

Bump

 

[cintex]

We are building a similar mini app with the first chunk from another microtask mini app. The result is 95% bots and 5% poor-quality users. Does anyone know about the traffic from the Telegram app center?

 

[thirstforknowledge]

im a noob so a noob question how did you achieve 5 million users? bro its like a scifi movie 5 fucking million users :|||.
like did you use other platforms to push your project (like short form on insta and tiktok stuff)
or you just used telegram to market your app.