Reference
Telegram Limits
Telegram's quantitative limits for accounts, chats and channels, messages and files, bots, stickers, stories and gifts. Each limit shows what changes with Telegram Premium. Checked against the Telegram and Bot API documentation.
Rows found: 0
Nothing found. Try a shorter word.
Checked: 28.09.2026
Most asked
- Text message length up to 4096 characters Premium: up to 32,768 characters
- File size up to 2 GB Premium: up to 4 GB
- Media caption up to 1024 characters Premium: up to 4096 characters
- Supergroup members up to 200,000
- Channel subscribers unlimited
- Channels and supergroups you can join up to 500 Premium: up to 1000
- Number of folders up to 10 Premium: up to 30
- Broadcast across chats about 30 messages per second
Accounts
Profile attributes
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Username length | 5–32 characters | same | Latin letters, digits and underscores. A collectible username from Fragment can be 4 characters long |
| Profile bio | up to 70 characters | up to 140 characters | The “Bio” section |
| First name | 1–64 characters | same | Display name, required |
| Last name | up to 64 characters | same | Optional |
| Video avatar length | 1–10 seconds | same | Video up to 800×800 px and 2 MB |
| Contact note | up to 128 characters | same | A private note only you can see |
| Passkeys | up to 5 | same | Sign in without an SMS code |
| Auto-terminate inactive sessions | after 1 week, 1, 3, 6 or 12 months | same | A session ends if it has not been used for the chosen period |
| Changing your birthday | up to 3 times a week | same | Birthday in the profile |
| Intro title in an empty chat | not available | up to 32 characters | Telegram Business: the card people see before the first message. Business is included in Premium |
| Intro text in an empty chat | not available | up to 70 characters | Telegram Business |
| Business chat links | not available | up to 100 | Opens a chat with a predefined message. Telegram Business |
Account content
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saved GIFs | up to 200 | up to 400 | Saved section of the GIF panel |
| Sticker packs | up to 200 | same | Installed packs |
| Favorite stickers | up to 5 | up to 10 | Quick access in the sticker panel |
| Emoji packs | up to 200 | same | Custom emoji packs. Sending custom emoji requires Premium |
| Public groups and channels you own | up to 10 | up to 20 | Chats with a public @username count |
| Messages in private chats and basic groups | unlimited | same | The 1,000,000 visible message cap was lifted in 2018 |
User actions
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creating groups and channels | up to 50 per day | same | Daily limit for new chats |
| Channels and supergroups you can join | up to 500 | up to 1000 | Including the ones you created |
| Pinned chats in the main list | up to 5 | up to 10 | The “All Chats” folder |
| Accounts in one app | up to 3 | up to 4–6 | Depends on the app |
| Deleting an inactive account | after 1, 3, 6, 12, 18 or 24 months | same | 18 months by default |
| Username hold after a change | 15–30 minutes | same | During this time only the previous owner can take the old username back |
| Username ownership before selling on Fragment | at least 14 days | same | A username can't be auctioned earlier |
Chats and channels
General restrictions
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group or channel name | 1–128 characters | same | Displayed chat name |
| Group or channel description | up to 255 characters | same | Text in the chat profile |
| Administrators | up to 50 | same | Per group or channel. In a channel bots count too, since a bot can join a channel only as an admin |
| Editing your messages | within 48 hours | same | No time limit for channel posts, Saved Messages and group admins who can pin messages |
| Auto-delete timer | from 1 day to 1 year | same | Applies to messages sent after it is turned on |
| Mentions in one message | up to 50 | same | Only the first 5 get notified |
| Notification sound | up to 5 seconds | same | Custom sound: file up to 300 KB |
| Saved notification sounds | up to 100 | same | Custom sounds for chats |
| Reactions allowed in a chat | up to 100 | same | When an admin picks reactions manually |
| “Recent actions” log | last 48 hours | same | Available to group and channel admins |
| Members per invite link | 1–99,999 | same | If a limit is set. Link name up to 32 characters |
| Welcome messages | up to 3 | same | Visible only to new members of a group or channel. Since August 2026 |
Private chats
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Self-destructing photos and videos | 1–60 seconds | same | The sender sets the timer |
| Read time in private chats | shown for 7 days | same | How long after sending you can see when a message was read |
Group chats
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supergroup members | up to 200,000 | same | Unlimited in a broadcast group |
| Basic group members | up to 200 | same | It turns into a supergroup automatically once supergroup features are used |
| Bots in a group | up to 20 | same | How many bots one group can have |
| Visible supergroup history | last 1,000,000 messages | same | Older messages are not shown |
| Group statistics | from 500 members | same | Statistics become available from this size |
| Who read a message | in groups up to 100 members | same | Only the sender sees it, for 7 days after sending |
| Admin title | up to 16 characters | same | No emoji |
| Member tag | up to 16 characters | same | A label next to the name in a group, no emoji. Since March 2026 |
| Telegram anti-spam | from 200 members | same | Automatic spam removal |
| Group sticker pack | from 100 members | same | A sticker set shared by members |
| Hiding the member list | from 100 members | same | Only admins see the list |
| Broadcast group | from 199,000 members | same | A supergroup can become one: unlimited members, only admins can post |
| Visible member list | up to 10,000 | same | Large groups do not show every member |
Channels
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Channel subscribers | unlimited | same | No cap on channel audience |
| Subscribers visible to admins | up to 200 | same | How many show in the subscriber list |
| Inviting subscribers from contacts | up to 200 people | same | After that people join on their own, e.g. via a link |
| Channel statistics | from 50 subscribers | same | Statistics become available from this size |
| Previewing a private channel without joining | 5 minutes once a day | same | For channels with 200+ subscribers |
| Editing posts | no time limit | same | With a linked discussion group, edits to posts older than 2 weeks are not synced to it |
| Deleting a channel with over 1000 subscribers | only from a session that is a few days old | same | And only if two-step verification has been on for a few days |
| Public search: minimum subscribers | from 100 subscribers | same | From this size a channel takes part in global search |
| Similar channels | from 300 subscribers | same | Also depends on channel content |
Voice and video chats
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Video chat participants | up to 1000 | same | Camera or screen sharing. Channel live streams have no viewer cap |
| Voice chat listeners | unlimited | same | Audio-only participants |
| Scheduled video chat | up to 7 days ahead | same | Announced with a countdown |
| Voice chat title | up to 40 characters | same | Stream title |
| End-to-end encrypted call by link | up to 200 participants | same | Group calls since 2025 |
| Comment in a video chat | up to 128 characters | same | Shown for 10 seconds unless pinned. Comments work in groups under 1000 members |
Messages
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text message length | up to 4096 characters | up to 32,768 characters | With Premium, long texts are sent via the rich text editor (since July 2026) |
| Media caption | up to 1024 characters | up to 4096 characters | Caption for photos, videos and files |
| File size | up to 2 GB | up to 4 GB | Any files: documents, video, audio |
| Items in an album | up to 10 | same | Photos, videos or files in one message |
| File name length | up to 60 characters | same | Longer names are cut on sending |
| Scheduled messages | up to 100 per chat | same | Messages queued for later |
| Scheduling range | up to 365 days | same | How far ahead you can schedule |
| Video message length | up to 60 seconds | same | Round videos in chat |
| Video message size | up to 12 MB | same | Round video file |
| Video message diameter | 384 px | same | Round video resolution |
| Custom emoji per message | only in Saved Messages | up to 100 | Extra ones turn into standard emoji |
| Links per message | up to 100 | same | Clickable links |
| Unique reactions per message | up to 11 | same | Different reaction emoji under one message |
| Reactions from one user | 1 | up to 3 | Per message |
| Quote length | up to 1024 characters | same | Quoted fragment in a reply |
| Quick replies | not available | up to 100 templates | Telegram Business, included in Premium |
| Voice and video message transcription | trial, with a weekly limit | unlimited | Unlimited for everyone in groups boosted to level 6 or higher |
| Transcription length | up to 5 minutes | no limit | Maximum audio length |
| Compressed photo resolution | up to 1280 px, 2560 px in HD | same | Longest side, bigger photos are downscaled. HD arrived in June 2025 |
Chat folders
Regular folders
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of folders | up to 10 | up to 30 | Custom chat folders |
| Folder name | up to 12 characters | same | Folder name in the app |
| Chats per folder | up to 100 | up to 200 | Chats added by type (e.g. all channels) don't count, exceptions do |
| Pinned chats in a folder | up to 100 | up to 200 | Except “All Chats”. Reduced by the number of chats added to the folder manually |
Shareable folders
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shareable folders | up to 2 | up to 20 | Folders you can share via a link |
| Chats per shareable folder | up to 100 | up to 200 | Groups and channels in the folder |
Topics
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Topics per group | up to 1,000,000 | same | Forum topics in a supergroup |
| Topic title | 1–128 characters | same | Topic heading |
| Pinned topics | up to 5 | same | At the top of the topic list |
Bots
Profile and commands
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bots per account | up to 20 | up to 40 | Created via @BotFather |
| Bot username | 5–32 characters | same | Must end in “bot” |
| Bot name | up to 64 characters | same | Can be set per language |
| Bot description | up to 512 characters | same | The “What can this bot do?” block in an empty chat |
| Bot short description | up to 120 characters | same | Shown in the bot profile and when its link is shared |
| Commands in the menu | up to 100 | same | The bot command list |
| Command length | 1–32 characters | same | Lowercase Latin letters, digits and underscores |
| Command description | 1–256 characters | same | Hint in the command menu |
| Deep link ?start= parameter | up to 64 characters | same | Latin letters, digits, underscore and hyphen. Encode binary data as base64url |
| Transferring a bot to another owner | up to 5 per day | same | Via @BotFather |
| Verification description | up to 70 characters | same | Badge text set by a verifying organization |
Buttons and inline mode
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttons per message | up to 100 | same | Inline keyboard under a message |
| Keyboard markup size | up to 10 KB | same | All button data combined |
| Button callback_data | 1–64 bytes | same | Per button |
| Callback alert text | up to 200 characters | same | answerCallbackQuery method |
| Copy button text | 1–256 characters | same | Copies text to the clipboard |
| Input field placeholder | 1–64 characters | same | For reply keyboards and ForceReply |
| Users picked with one button | 1–10 | same | The request users button |
| Inline query | up to 256 characters | same | Text after the bot's @username |
| Inline results per answer | up to 50 | same | The rest go to the next page |
Sending rate and broadcasts
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messages to one chat | about 1 per second | same | Short bursts are allowed, then error 429 |
| Messages to a group | up to 20 per minute | same | To the same group |
| Broadcast across chats | about 30 messages per second | same | Free for all bots |
| Paid broadcasts | up to 1000 messages per second | same | 0.1 Stars per message above 30 per second, only delivered ones are billed. Enabled in @BotFather with 100,000 Stars on balance and 100,000 monthly active users |
| Updates per getUpdates call | 1–100 | same | 100 by default |
| Webhook connections | 1–100 | same | 40 by default. Up to 100,000 on a local Bot API server |
| Webhook secret token | 1–256 characters | same | Sent in the X-Telegram-Bot-Api-Secret-Token header |
Files and media
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bot file upload | up to 50 MB | same | Photos up to 10 MB. Without a local Bot API server |
| Sending by URL | photos up to 5 MB, other files up to 20 MB | same | Telegram downloads the file itself |
| Bot file download | up to 20 MB | same | The download link stays valid for at least 1 hour |
| Local Bot API server | upload up to 2000 MB, download with no limit | same | The telegram-bot-api server on your own machine |
| Photo dimensions | width plus height up to 10,000 px | same | Aspect ratio up to 20 |
| Album from a bot | 2–10 items | same | sendMediaGroup method |
| Live photo | video up to 10 seconds and 10 MB | same | A photo with a short video, since May 2026 |
Messages and payments
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Message text | 1–4096 characters | same | After entity parsing |
| Media caption | up to 1024 characters | same | After entity parsing |
| Formatting entities per message | up to 100 | same | Bold, italic, links and others |
| Rich message | up to 32,768 characters | same | Up to 500 blocks, 16 nesting levels, 50 media, 20 table columns. Since June 2026 |
| Deleting messages as a bot | not older than 48 hours | same | deleteMessages removes up to 100 per call |
| Invoice | title 1–32, description 1–255 characters | same | payload 1–128 bytes, hidden from the user |
| Premium gift from a bot | 1000, 1500 or 2500 Stars | same | For 3, 6 or 12 months |
Mini Apps
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| CloudStorage | up to 1024 keys per user | same | Key 1–128 characters, value up to 4096 characters |
| DeviceStorage | up to 5 MB per user | same | Stored on the device, since April 2025 |
| SecureStorage | up to 10 items per user | same | Encrypted storage for tokens and secrets |
| showPopup dialog | title up to 64, text 1–256 characters | same | 1 to 3 buttons |
| Mini App previews in the profile | up to 12 per language | same | Photos and videos for the main Mini App |
Business accounts
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Business bot for an account | available without Premium | same | Since May 2026 a bot can manage the account without a subscription |
| Business account profile via a bot | first name 1–64, last name up to 64, bio up to 140 characters | same | Username up to 32 characters |
| Deleting business account messages | 1–100 per call | same | All from the same chat |
| Moving Stars from a business account to the bot | 1–10,000 Stars | same | For later withdrawal |
| Story on behalf of the account | photo 1080×1920 up to 10 MB, video 720×1280 up to 30 MB | same | Video up to 60 seconds, caption up to 2048 characters, up to 3 links |
Stickers
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stickers per set | up to 120 | same | Since March 2024 static, animated and video stickers can share one set |
| Emoji per set | up to 200 | same | A custom emoji set |
| Sticker dimensions | 512 px on one side | same | The other side 512 or less. Emoji exactly 100×100 |
| Static sticker | up to 512 KB | same | PNG or WEBP |
| Animated sticker | up to 64 KB | same | TGS format, 512×512 canvas |
| Video sticker | up to 256 KB | same | WEBM with VP9, no audio |
| Animation length | up to 3 seconds | same | For animated and video stickers |
| Frame rate | TGS: 60, WEBM: up to 30 | same | Frames per second |
| Set title | 1–64 characters | same | Shown to users |
| Set short name for the link | up to 62 characters | same | The t.me/addstickers/… address. Sets made by bots end in _by_<bot username> |
| Sticker emoji and search keywords | 1–20 emoji, up to 20 keywords | same | Keywords up to 64 characters in total |
| Set thumbnail | 100×100 px, up to 128 KB | same | Animated TGS thumbnail up to 32 KB |
Stories
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stories without Premium, lifetime | up to 3 | does not apply | Every story ever posted counts, deleted ones too. In some countries stories are Premium-only |
| Active stories at once | 1 | up to 100 | The limit resets 24 hours after the first story |
| Stories per week | up to 3 | up to 700 | Rolling weekly limit |
| Stories per month | up to 10 | up to 3000 | Rolling monthly limit |
| Story lifetime | 24 hours | 6, 12, 24 or 48 hours | Then it goes to the archive or the profile |
| Video length | up to 60 seconds | same | The editor splits longer videos into several stories |
| Story caption | up to 200 characters | up to 2048 characters | Text under the story |
| Links in a story | not available | up to 3 | Link stickers |
| Reaction stickers | 1 | up to 5 | Reactions placed on the story |
| Viewer list | 24 more hours after the story expires | unlimited | After that, without Premium, only the view count remains |
| Stealth mode | not available | once every 3 hours | Hides your views for 5 minutes before and 25 minutes after turning it on |
| Pinned stories | up to 3 | same | At the top of the profile |
| Story albums | up to 100 | same | Grouping stories in the profile |
Polls
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question | 1–255 characters | same | Up to 300 characters via the Bot API |
| Answer options | 1–12 | same | Up to 12 since June 2025. Voters can suggest their own options |
| Option text | 1–100 characters | same | Each answer option |
| Quiz explanation | up to 200 characters | same | Shown after a wrong answer, no more than 2 line breaks |
| Poll description | up to 1024 characters | same | Bot API limit |
| Poll duration | up to 30 days | same | Up to 2,628,000 seconds, then the poll closes |
| Country restriction | up to 12 countries | same | Only users from the chosen countries can vote |
| Members-only voting | in the chat for over 24 hours | same | An option for polls in channels |
| Poll statistics | after 100 votes | same | Not available earlier |
Gifts
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gifts pinned in the profile | up to 6 | same | Gift showcase |
| Gift collections | up to 10 | same | Grouping gifts in the profile |
| Gifts per collection | up to 500 | same | How many gifts one collection holds |
| Gift message | up to 128 characters | same | Text attached to a gift, bots included |
| Converting a gift to Stars | within 7 days of receiving it | same | The gift disappears and you get fewer Stars than it cost |
| Converting to Stars from a new session | 7 days after login | same | Protection against gift theft |
| Transferring a gift | after 21 days | same | If it was bought with Stars purchased for money |
| Reselling a collectible gift for Stars | 125–100,000 Stars | same | Marketplace price range |
| Reselling a collectible gift for TON | 7–100,000 TON | same | Paid in Toncoin |
| Gift crafting | up to 4 gifts at once | same | More gifts raise the chance. Since February 2026 |
Stars and earnings
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid reaction | 1–10,000 Stars | same | Amount of one paid reaction |
| Paid media in a post | 1–25,000 Stars | same | Up to 10 photos or videos in one post |
| Paid channel or bot subscription | 1–10,000 Stars per 30 days | same | The period is always 30 days |
| Withdrawing Stars | 1000–25,000,000 Stars at a time | same | For channels, groups and bots, via Fragment |
| When Stars can be withdrawn | 21 days after they are earned | same | Buyers can get refunds for Stars within 21 days |
| Charging for private messages | not available | 1–35,000 Stars per message | Contacts and people you messaged first write for free |
| Charging for messages in a group or channel DMs | 1–35,000 Stars per message | same | Admins write for free |
| Payment for a suggested post | 24 hours after posting | same | If the post is removed earlier, the money goes back |
| Suggested post schedule | from 5 minutes to 31 days ahead | same | If the author sets a time |
| Suggested post price in TON | 0.01–10,000 TON | same | TON payments can't be refunded by the buyer |
| Affiliate commission in a bot referral program | 0.1–80% | same | Per referred user |
| Minimum TON withdrawal | 10 TON | same | From the account balance |
Search
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Global search query length | at least 4 characters | same | For finding channels and chats |
| Username lookups via API | up to 200 per day | same | For bots and user accounts |
| Hashtag search results | about 5000 latest messages | same | Global hashtag search |
| Recommended similar channels | up to 10 | up to 100 | In search and on a channel page |
Checklists
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creating checklists | not available | in any chat | Anyone can tick items if the author allows it. Bots send checklists only on behalf of a business account |
| Items per checklist | 1–30 | same | Task list in a chat |
| Checklist title | 1–255 characters | same | List name |
| Item text | 1–100 characters | same | One task |
Boosts and channel levels
| Parameter | Regular | Premium | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boosts from your own Premium | 4 | same | Right after subscribing |
| Boosts from gifted Premium | 1 | same | When someone gifts you Premium |
| Boosts from giveaway Premium | 0 | same | Premium won in a giveaway gives no boosts |
| Boosts for gifting Premium | +3 | same | On top of the ones you have |
| Moving a boost to another channel | once every 24 hours | same | A boost can't be revoked, only moved |
| Boosts per giveaway winner | 4 | same | For each Premium giveaway winner |
| Channels in a joint giveaway | up to 10 | same | Joint giveaways |
| Countries in a giveaway | up to 10 | same | Limiting entrants by country |
| Giveaway duration | up to 31 days | same | Maximum length |
| Channel levels | 1–100 | same | Levels unlock features |
| Auto-translation for everyone | channel level 3+ | same | Subscribers without Premium see translations |
| Emoji in message accent | channel level 4+ | same | Icon in the accent of replies and link previews |
| Group emoji pack | group level 4+ | same | Its emoji work for every member, even without Premium |
| Channel color | level 5+ | same | Some colors need a higher level |
| Profile background and emoji | channel level 7+, group level 5+ | same | Chat profile design |
| Transcription for everyone | group level 6+ | same | Without Premium and without using the free quota |
| Emoji status | level 8+ | same | For channels and groups, official sets only |
| Preset chat theme | level 9+ | same | For channels and groups |
| Custom chat wallpaper | level 10+ | same | For channels and groups |
| Turning off ads in a channel | level 50+ | same | Ads disappear for all subscribers |
Questions
How many characters can one Telegram message have?
A regular message holds up to 4,096 characters and a photo or video caption up to 1,024. With Telegram Premium the caption grows to 4,096 characters, and the rich text editor sends up to 32,768 characters (since July 2026).
What is the maximum file size in Telegram?
Up to 2 GB per file, or 4 GB with Premium. Through the regular Bot API bots send files up to 50 MB and download up to 20 MB. With a local Bot API server a bot sends files up to 2,000 MB.
How many members can a group or a channel have?
A supergroup holds up to 200,000 members, a basic group up to 200. A supergroup can become a broadcast group with no member limit, where only admins can post. A channel can have any number of subscribers.
How many channels and groups can I join?
Up to 500 channels and supergroups, or 1,000 with Premium. You can create up to 50 groups and channels a day and own up to 10 public ones with a @username, or 20 with Premium.
How many messages per second can a bot send?
About 1 message per second to one chat, up to 20 per minute to one group and about 30 per second when broadcasting to different chats. Paid broadcasts raise the limit to 1,000 messages per second at 0.1 Stars for each message over 30 per second. They are enabled in @BotFather once the bot has 100,000 Stars on its balance and 100,000 monthly active users.
Which limits does Telegram Premium raise?
1,000 channels and supergroups instead of 500, 30 folders instead of 10, 20 owned public chats instead of 10, 4 GB files instead of 2 GB and 4,096-character captions instead of 1,024. Premium also unlocks Telegram Business: quick replies, business chat links and a greeting in an empty chat.
Sources: Telegram documentation on core.telegram.org (Bot API and changelog, Bots FAQ, client configuration, Mini Apps, stickers), the telegram.org FAQ and blog. Values from app settings were cross-checked with limits.tginfo.me. Limits on which official sources disagree are not included.