# Free Telegram bot hosting: no VPS, no card, 24/7 for inviting friends

https://netrun.io/en/blog/besplatnyy-hosting-telegram-bota

_October 12, 2026 · 4 min read_

> On Netrun you can host a Telegram bot for free: no VPS, no card and no server setup — upload the code, enter the token from BotFather and the bot goes live. Around the clock and for free, a bot runs on the Pro plan, which Netrun gives for inviting friends: a week of Pro for every friend who pays for a plan, and a day of Pro for every friend who publishes a project, with no limit on the number of friends. Without invitations the Free plan gives a bot 3 hours of running time — the clock only runs while the bot is running, and the code, settings and token are kept.

- On Netrun a Telegram bot can be launched for free: no VPS, no card and no server setup.
- Around the clock and for free, a bot runs on Pro, which Netrun gives for inviting friends: a week of Pro for every friend who pays for a plan, and a day of Pro for every friend who publishes a project.
- Without invitations the Free plan gives a bot 3 hours of running time, and only the time the bot is actually running counts.
- When the free time runs out, the bot stops, but its code, settings and secrets stay in place and nothing is deleted.
- A bot token comes from @BotFather in reply to the /newbot command and is best kept in an environment variable rather than in the code.
- Pro can also be bought: a one-off payment for a month, three months or a year, by Russian card, SBP or cryptocurrency.

On Netrun you can host a Telegram bot for free: no VPS, no card, no server setup. Upload the code, enter the token from BotFather and the bot starts replying. Around the clock and for free it runs on the Pro plan, and Netrun gives Pro for inviting friends: a week of Pro for every friend who pays for a plan, and a day of Pro for every friend who publishes a project. There is no limit on the number of friends.

Elsewhere, platforms answer this differently. Heroku dropped its free plan long ago. Other overseas platforms still have one, but ask for a card from a foreign bank to sign up. That leaves a VPS: renting it, installing Python or Node.js, setting the process to start on its own, and a bill every month even for a single small bot.

If you would rather not invite anyone, the Free plan gives a bot 3 hours of running time: the clock only runs while the bot is running, and a warning arrives shortly before the end. Then the bot stops, but your code, settings and secrets stay where they are — nothing is deleted. From there Pro keeps the bot running, earned by invitations or paid once. Websites on the Free plan live with no time limit: they sleep without visitors and wake up on their own in a couple of seconds.

## 1. Get a token from BotFather

Open @BotFather in Telegram, send the /newbot command, and follow the prompts. In reply you will get a token — a long string like 123456:ABC. It is the access key to your bot, issued by Telegram itself. You will need it during setup, so keep it handy and never show it to anyone.

## 2. Prepare the bot code

A bot written in Python (the aiogram or python-telegram-bot libraries) or in Node.js (telegraf or grammY) will work. One important point: read the token not from a line in the code, but from an environment variable — a value that is set separately and does not live inside the files. In Python that is os.environ["BOT_TOKEN"], in Node.js it is process.env.BOT_TOKEN. That way the token does not leak along with the code.

## 3. Upload the project to Netrun

Upload the code as a ZIP archive or import it from a GitHub repository — a private one works too. You do not need to include the dependencies folder (venv in Python or node_modules in Node.js); Netrun detects the language and builds the project on its own. There is no need to specify a port: a bot is not a website and does not listen for incoming requests.

## 4. Enter the token during setup

Netrun asks which secrets the project needs. Add a variable with the same name you used in the code — for example, BOT_TOKEN — and paste the value of the token from BotFather. It is stored separately from the code, and the bot reads it at startup.

## 5. Launch and check

Hit launch and watch the logs and build status right in your dashboard in real time. Once the project reaches a running state, message the bot in Telegram — it should reply. If the bot crashes later, Netrun restarts it automatically, so there is nothing for you to watch over.

## 6. When you have more bots

The Free plan is one project — that is, one bot. It has no room for extra projects: a second bot or any other project means a paid plan. Pro lets you add up to two extra places, each one another project; a place does not change how a project runs, it only adds to how many you can have. You pay once for the term you choose, and current prices are shown in your dashboard.

So you can take a bot from code to working in a few minutes for free, without touching a server and without paying for one up front. To keep the bot running around the clock for free, invite friends: every friend who publishes a project is a day of Pro, and every friend who pays for a plan is a week of Pro. Or pay for Pro by Russian card, SBP or cryptocurrency. Support in Russian. [Try Netrun](https://netrun.io/).

Related guides: [Telegram bot without a VPS](https://netrun.io/blog/telegram-bot-bez-vps), [Discord bot](https://netrun.io/blog/discord-bot-bez-servera), [Pro for free with friends](https://netrun.io/blog/pro-besplatno-za-druzey).

## Common questions

### Can a bot run around the clock for free?

Yes, by inviting friends. For every friend who signs up with your link and pays for a plan, you get a week of Pro, and for every friend who publishes a project, a day of Pro; on Pro a bot runs with no time limit. There is no limit on the number of friends.

### Why is free bot time limited without invitations, but a website’s is not?

A website does nothing while nobody opens it, so it can be put to sleep, and the first request to its link wakes it back up. A bot is busy all the time: it keeps asking Telegram whether new messages have arrived, and there is nothing to wake it with. That is why free time for bots is limited.

### What happens to my bot when the free time runs out?

The bot stops and no longer replies, and you get a warning shortly before that. Your code, settings and token stay where they are; nothing is deleted. Once you move to Pro, the bot starts again with the same data.

### Does the free time reset if I delete the bot and create it again?

No. Free time is counted per account, not per project, so a new project continues the same countdown. Only the time the bot was actually running counts.

### Do I need a card to try a bot for free?

No. The Free plan does not need a card: sign up, upload the code and enter the token. You only pay if you decide to move to Pro — with a Russian card, SBP or cryptocurrency.

### Can I keep two bots on the Free plan?

No, the Free plan is one project, which means one bot. A second bot takes a paid plan: Pro lets you add up to two extra places, and each one is another project.