What to choose
Telegram bot hosting compared: bot services, VPS, Netrun
In short
There are three ways to host a Telegram bot: a bot-specific hosting service, your own VPS, or a general purpose platform such as Netrun. A bot-specific service is usually the simplest place to start, but it hits a ceiling once the bot needs a website, an admin panel or a database next to it. A VPS gives you full freedom, but you pay for it with setup and maintenance time. Netrun runs your bot from uploaded code and brings up a site or a database under the same rules, and on the free plan a bot runs for three days before it needs the Pro plan.
Once the bot is written and answers on your laptop, the next question is where to host a Telegram bot so that it keeps running on its own. The comparison usually comes down to three options: hosting services built specifically for bots, an ordinary VPS, and platforms that run any kind of code. What decides the answer is not a feature list but what you plan to do with the project next.
Normally, keeping a bot online around the clock costs you an evening in the terminal: rent a server, install the language runtime, set up a service so the process comes back after a reboot, then keep an eye on all of it. With Netrun you upload the folder with your code, the platform detects the language, builds the bot and starts it. The token goes into a separate field, and the logs are visible in your dashboard. Below is an honest look at the three options and what to do if you need to move an existing bot.
Decide whether the project will stay just a bot#
If you know for certain that nothing will be added beyond the bot, almost anything will do, including the narrowest services. But more often something joins the bot later: a landing page with payments, an admin panel for content, a database with order history. The answer to this question decides the hosting choice, everything else is detail.
Look at hosting services built for bots#
Hosting services built specifically for bots are usually organised around a single scenario: you bring the bot code and the token, and the service runs it. While that is exactly your task, it is convenient: fewer choices, fewer settings, a faster start. The ceiling shows up when the bot needs a neighbour, such as a website, a control panel or a database, because a narrow service is generally not designed for that and the project ends up scattered across several places. Terms differ from one service to another, so check the documentation of the one you are considering rather than a third-party review.
Estimate how much time your own VPS will take#
On your own server you can do anything: any language, any software, any background job. But setup and maintenance are on you: a service so the bot starts after a reboot, system updates, disk space, restarting after a crash. For a single bot that is usually a few evenings up front and a bit of time every month afterwards. If servers interest you in their own right, the investment pays off. If they do not, you are simply paying with your time.
Check what happens when a site or a database joins the bot#
This is exactly where a general purpose platform differs from a narrow service: the bot, the website and the database live under the same rules, in one dashboard, on one bill. On Netrun a website is uploaded the same way a bot is, in any supported language, and a database can run next to the app through your own docker-compose file, up to five linked services in one project. There is no managed database as a separate product: it either runs as your own service next to the code, or you use an external one.
Keep the free plan limits in mind#
A website on the free plan can live indefinitely: it sleeps while nobody uses it and wakes up by itself when someone opens the link. A bot does not work that way, because nobody opens it by a link. It is the bot that keeps reaching out to Telegram, so there is nothing to wake it with. That is why a bot on the free plan runs for three days and then stops: the code, the settings and the token stay in place, a warning arrives a day before, and around-the-clock operation comes with the Pro plan. The countdown belongs to the account rather than to each project, and current prices and limits are shown in your dashboard.
Move the bot: code, token, data, one copy#
The move itself usually takes minutes. Upload the folder with your code as an archive or import a repository from GitHub, including a private one. Do not leave the BotFather token in the code: enter it as a secret during setup, where it is stored encrypted. Files the bot writes itself, such as an SQLite database or images, belong in the persistent /data folder, otherwise they are recreated on the next publish. Most importantly, shut down the old copy of the bot in its previous home, because two running copies sharing one token interfere with each other and the bot starts answering every other message.
There is no single right Telegram bot hosting in the abstract, only the one that fits your task. A bot-specific service is a good pick when the bot is the whole project and will stay that way. Your own VPS is justified when you need full control over the machine and are ready to maintain it. A general purpose platform like Netrun covers the case where the bot is only the beginning: today it runs alone, tomorrow there is a site with payments and a database beside it, and setting up three separate homes for them is not appealing. And if the bot needs SSH access into the machine, a managed database or object storage as separate products, that is not us: we do not offer them, and a VPS or a cloud that does will serve you better. Try Netrun.
Common questions
How does a bot-specific host differ from a general purpose platform?
A bot-specific service is tuned for one scenario: run bot code with a token. That makes it simpler to start with, because there is almost nothing to configure. A general purpose platform runs any project, so you can put a website, an admin panel or a database next to the bot instead of spreading them across different services.
Can I move a bot from another host without rewriting the code?
In most cases yes. An ordinary long polling bot moves as is: same code, same token. Two things usually need fixing. Take the token and other keys out of the code and into secrets, and make sure the files the bot writes end up in persistent storage rather than next to the code.
Why does the bot answer only every other message after a move?
Almost always because the old copy is still running in its previous home or on your computer. Two copies sharing one token split the incoming messages between them, so half the replies go missing. Telegram reports this as a getUpdates conflict. The fix is to leave exactly one running copy.
What happens to the bot database when I move it?
The database file has to be moved separately and placed where it survives a code update. On Netrun that is the persistent /data folder: files there stay through a new publish and a restart, while anything sitting next to the code is recreated. You can upload an existing database file from the Data tab in your dashboard.
Does a Telegram bot need a domain and HTTPS?
A long polling bot needs no domain: it calls Telegram itself and never receives incoming connections. If your bot uses a webhook, a public HTTPS address is issued at publish time, so there is nothing to buy or configure.
How do I check that the bot really works after the move?
Send the bot a message in Telegram and watch the logs in your dashboard: they show both the app starting and incoming requests. If the bot stays silent, the reason is usually right there in the logs, such as a wrong token, a missing library or a second running copy.
Can I host a Telegram bot?
Yes. Upload the bot code and provide the token from BotFather (Telegram itself gives it to you when you create the bot) — Netrun starts the bot, and no VPS or manual setup is needed. On the free plan the bot runs for 3 days so you can check everything; to keep it running around the clock, switch to the Pro plan.
Do bots and background scripts sleep?
No, only websites sleep: a website wakes up by itself when someone opens it. A bot or a background script has nothing to wake it — nobody comes to them by link, they work on their own. That is why on the free plan they run for 3 days, and after that a bot needs the Pro plan to keep running around the clock.
What happens to my bot after 3 days on the free plan?
The bot switches off, but your code, settings and secrets stay where they are — we delete nothing. A day before it switches off we send you a warning. Switch to the Pro plan, and the bot starts again from the same place and runs around the clock. A new bot uploaded after that is built too, but it will not start: free time is counted per account, not per project.
Do I need my own server or VPS?
No. Netrun deploys your project on its own servers. There is no VPS to rent, no systemd or nginx to configure and no certificates to renew — all of that runs for you.