Telegram, per founder Pavel Durov’s March 2025 channel post, crossed more than 1 billion monthly active users in March 2025.
That headline marks a 50-million jump from the 950 million monthly active users reported in July 2024 per Backlinko, and 500 million of those users open the app daily as of October 2025 per Backlinko. The platform’s H1 2025 revenue hit $870 million per DemandSage, a 65% jump from the first half of 2024, and Durov reported $547 million in profit for 2024, the platform’s first profitable year per Wikipedia’s tracker on Telegram’s corporate timeline.
Key Takeaways
- Telegram now serves 1 billion monthly active users as of March 2025, second only to WhatsApp among non-China messengers.
- 500 million daily active users log in each day as of October 2025, a 50% MAU-to-DAU ratio that beats most social platforms.
- Telegram Premium reached 15 million paying subscribers in May 2025, up from 4 million in December 2023.
- H1 2025 revenue hit $870 million, a 65% year-on-year jump, with the platform reaching profitability in 2024.
- India leads the world with 104.04 million Telegram downloads in 2025, more than the next three countries combined.
- Hamster Kombat sits at the top of the channel league with 43.14 million subscribers, ahead of Blumcrypto’s 30.3 million.
- The average Telegram user opens the app 21 times per day and spends 41 minutes inside the app.
Editor’s Choice
- Pavel Durov announced 1 billion MAU on March 19, 2025.
- Telegram was launched in 2013 by brothers Pavel and Nikolai Durov; the platform took roughly 11 years and 7 months to reach the billion-user line.
- Premium subscribers grew from 4 million in December 2023 to 15 million in May 2025, a 3.75x rise in 17 months.
- The platform handles roughly 2.5 million new sign-ups per day, sustaining the 50-million-MAU-per-eight-months growth path.
- India contributes 104.04 million Telegram downloads, more than the next three countries combined. Russia, Indonesia, and the United States together.
- The free version still dominates: Premium subscribers represent only around 1% of monthly active users, with the rest using the free version.
- Durov reported a $547 million profit in 2024, up sharply from the $870 million H1 2025 revenue trajectory.
By the numbers: Per Pavel Durov, TechCrunch, Backlinko, Statista and Cointelegraph, Telegram’s 2026 spine reads 1 billion MAU (March 2025), 500 million DAU (October 2025), 15 million Premium subscribers (May 2025), $870 million H1 2025 revenue (+65% YoY) and $547 million 2024 profit, with India contributing 104.04 million of total 2025 downloads per BankMyCell.
Telegram Monthly Active Users Over Time
Pavel Durov announced on March 19, 2025, that the app had surpassed more than 1 billion monthly active users, calling Telegram now has significantly over 1 billion monthly active users, becoming the second most popular messaging app in the world (excluding the China-specific WeChat).
| Month-Year | Monthly Active Users (millions) |
|---|---|
| March 2014 | 35 |
| December 2014 | 50 |
| September 2015 | 60 |
| February 2016 | 100 |
| December 2017 | 180 |
| March 2018 | 200 |
| April 2020 | 400 |
| January 2021 | 500 |
| June 2022 | 700 |
| July 2023 | 800 |
| April 2024 | 900 |
| July 2024 | 950 |
| March 2025 | 1000 |
Source: Statista and Pavel Durov’s Telegram channel, March 2025
Recent Developments
- 2026-06-25: The mid-year refresh confirms Telegram held the more than 1 billion monthly active user line per Durov’s March 2025 announcement, with Backlinko reporting the 15 million Premium subscriber base as of May 2025.
- March 19, 2025: Pavel Durov announces Telegram has passed more than 1 billion monthly active users.
- December 2024: Durov announces Telegram reached profitability, citing Premium subscription growth and ad sales.
- November 13, 2025: France lifted the travel ban on Pavel Durov that had been in place since his August 2024 arrest.
- August 24, 2024: Durov was arrested at Le Bourget Airport; he was indicted four days later on twelve charges including complicity in CSAM distribution.
- February 2025: The TON Foundation mandates that all Telegram Mini Apps must use TON exclusively, accelerating wallet activations sharply.
- May 2025: Premium subscribers hit 15 million, up from 4 million in December 2023.
Telegram Daily Active Users and Engagement
- Engagement intensity matches the headcount. Durov has stated that the average user opens Telegram 21 times a day and spends 41 minutes inside the app.
- Users of Telegram on Android spent approximately 4 hours and 25 minutes per month using the app in August 2024, or about 8.5 minutes of daily Android usage.
| Platform | Monthly Time on App (hours) |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 34 |
| YouTube | 28.1 |
| 19.8 | |
| 17.1 | |
| 15.8 | |
| Line | 8.2 |
| X (Twitter) | 4.7 |
| Telegram | 3.75 |
| Snapchat | 3.55 |
| FB Messenger | 3.35 |
Source: DataReportal Digital 2024 Deep Dive, January 2024
Telegram Premium Subscribers Growth Curve
Telegram Users by Country
Telegram’s regular-use share by country gives a clearer picture of cultural penetration than raw downloads. The Statista survey series shows a sharp split between high-adoption emerging markets and low-adoption developed Anglo markets.
| Country | Share Who Regularly Use Telegram |
|---|---|
| India | 45% |
| Brazil | 38% |
| Mexico | 34% |
| South Africa | 32% |
| Spain | 32% |
| Italy | 29% |
| Germany | 16% |
| France | 11% |
| United Kingdom | 10% |
| United States | 9% |
| Japan | 1% |
Source: Statista global consumer survey, 2024
Telegram Revenue and Profitability
Telegram Channels and Messaging Volume
| Channel | Subscribers (millions) |
|---|---|
| Hamster Kombat | 43.14 |
| Blumcrypto | 30.3 |
| Majors | 23 |
| Pawsupfam | 21.44 |
| TapswapAI | 20.7 |
| Empirex | 17.54 |
| Memeficlub | 17.11 |
| Seedupdates | 16.71 |
| Notcoin | 16.02 |
| Cats Housewtf | 15.82 |
Source: Statista most-subscribed Telegram channels, 2025
| Period | Active Users (millions) | Daily Messages (billions) |
|---|---|---|
| December 2014 | 50 | 1 |
| September 2015 | 60 | 12 |
| February 2016 | 100 | 15 |
Source: Wikipedia Telegram (software) historical announcements, accessed June 2026
TON Blockchain, Mini Apps and the Wallet Economy
The TON-exclusive Mini Apps mandate forces every Mini App onto TON Connect for wallet integration.
Telegram became its own blockchain ecosystem rather than buying one. TON Foundation runs the chain, but Telegram is its largest validator.
Telegram User Demographics
App Download Trends
Creator appetite for channels is the most likely driver of the high install rate against MAU.
Telegram E-Commerce and Channel Economics
The channel-economics flip is what differentiates Telegram’s monetisation from an e-commerce platform or an entertainment network: every creator with a thousand subscribers is a revenue partner rather than an inventory unit, and Fragment’s no-fee withdrawal mechanic moves the money out of the platform’s books cleanly.
Telegram’s Legal and Regulatory Footprint
The platform’s regulatory file is the second-largest variable in the near-term trajectory.
- Pavel Durov was arrested at Le Bourget Airport on August 24, 2024.
- Four days later, on August 28, 2024, he was indicted on 12 charges.
- The charges included complicity in distributing child-exploitation material and drug trafficking.
- France fully lifted his travel ban on November 13, 2025.
- That came more than 14 months after the original arrest.
Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said during the investigation that Telegram exhibited an ‘almost total failure to respond to judicial requests.’ The MAU bridge crossed in the months after the arrest is evidence that free-speech branding is, for now, a net user-acquisition asset rather than a liability.
Worth noting: Telegram’s “almost total failure to respond to judicial requests”, in the Paris prosecutor’s words, sits on top of architectural choices that remain in place: default-off encryption in groups, anonymous channel hosting and disposable-number sign-ups.
How does Telegram calculate monthly active users for bots?
Telegram counts unique users who actively interact with a bot in a given month, sending a message, tapping an inline button, or opening a Mini App, toward the bot’s reported MAU. Users who simply land on a bot’s intro screen without sending a message are not counted.
The same logic applies to channels: subscribers count toward channel reach, but only those who load the channel feed in the month count toward MAU. The platform-wide MAU figure aggregates across humans, bots, and channels to avoid double-counting.
Why does Telegram have a bad reputation for moderation?
French authorities, in August 2024, lodged 12 specific charges against Pavel Durov, including complicity in the distribution of child exploitation material and drug trafficking, with Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau citing Telegram’s failure to respond to judicial requests during the investigation. Default-off encryption in groups, anonymous channel hosting and the use of disposable numbers and crypto for paid services all sit on the criticism list. The platform responded with expanded reporting tools, a transparency report and a Fragment-anchored channel-monetisation policy tied to identity verification; but the architectural choices remain.
The takeaway: The path from the current 15-million Premium cohort to a larger one on the back of the TON Mini Apps push is the most consequential variable in the messenger industry’s economics; if that subscriber ratio holds while MAU climbs, Premium revenue alone outruns the 2023 P&L.
Conclusion
Over 1 billion monthly users per Durov’s March 2025 announcement, 500 million daily and 15 million paying per Backlinko, with $870 million in H1 2025 revenue and 104.04 million Indian downloads per DemandSage are the numbers of a profitable consumer platform operated outside the Meta-Google duopoly.
The 2026 print is the first where Telegram’s economics no longer require an asterisk, a profit margin closer to enterprise SaaS than to consumer-messenger peers, on a base that crossed the billion line without behavioural ad targeting. The regulatory tail risk in France is the single variable to watch, and whether the Premium count breaks 20 million on the back of the TON Mini Apps push is the next-quarter signal.
