What it costs
How to run several Telegram bots without paying for a server each
In short
Running several Telegram bots is cheaper than it looks: the plan is paid once per account ($4.99 a month) and every extra project costs $3.99 for 30 days. Three bots running around the clock cost $4.99 plus two extra projects a month. You do not rent or configure a separate server per bot.
There is rarely just one bot. First comes a bot for yourself, then one for a friend, then a client asks for the same thing with different wording. On your own server that turns into a separate story for each: the wrong Python version here, a library conflict there, a forgotten autostart somewhere else — all on one machine you are now afraid to touch.
Let us look at how paying for several bots works on a platform, and what the second, third and fifth bot actually cost.
Separate two questions: how it runs and how many#
On Netrun these are two different things. The plan decides the mode: on Pro projects run around the clock and do not shut down. The number of projects is a separate line: one project is included in the plan, every next one is paid for on its own. So five bots do not mean five plans — the plan stays one, and you pay for room for four more projects.
Work out your own number#
The maths is simple: $4.99 a month for the plan plus $3.99 for each project beyond the first. Two bots — $4.99 and one extra project. Three bots — $4.99 and two. All of them run around the clock: the mode comes from the plan and applies to every project you have.
Keep bots as separate projects#
Upload each bot as its own project rather than stuffing them all into one. That way each has its own logs, its own token, its own persistent data folder, and updating one bot leaves the others alone. A crashed bot restarts by itself without taking its neighbours down — something a shared server rarely manages.
Keep the tokens in secrets#
Each bot has its own BotFather token, and each is stored as a secret inside its own project — never in the code or the archive. Tokens do not cross between projects, so running two bots on the same token by mistake is not possible by design.
Pay for room as you go#
Room for an extra project is paid up front for 30 days. If a bot is no longer needed, simply do not pay for the next term: the project finishes the days you paid for and stops, and nothing further is taken. We email you before a term runs out, so nothing switches off out of the blue. Pay early and you lose nothing — the new days are added to the ones you still have.
Test a new bot for free first#
A new bot starts on the free plan and runs for 3 hours. That is enough to confirm it builds and replies — and only then pay for the extra project. You never pay for a project that has not started once.
Several bots do not mean several servers or several subscriptions. One plan per account, one paid place for each additional bot, and a single dashboard showing all of them. Upload your first bot to Netrun and add the rest when you need them.
Common questions
How much does it cost to run several Telegram bots?
The plan is paid once per account — $4.99 a month — and each project beyond the first costs $3.99 for 30 days. Three bots running around the clock, for example, come to $4.99 for the plan plus two extra projects.
Do I need a separate plan for each bot?
No. The plan belongs to the account: it decides how your projects run and applies to all of them at once. Only room for extra projects is paid for separately.
Can I run several bots inside one project?
Technically yes, but it is a poor idea. Separate projects give each bot its own logs, its own persistent folder and independent updates: editing one bot does not restart the others, and one crash does not take everything down.
What happens when a paid term for an extra project ends?
The project above your plan limit stops, but its code and data stay in place — paying brings everything back. We email you before the deadline, and again after the project stops, before any data is removed.
Can I switch one bot off and keep the rest?
Yes. Each extra project is paid for separately, so you simply do not pay for another term for the one you no longer need — it has no effect on the others.
What if the bots are only needed occasionally?
Then take the plan by the month — $4.99 — and pay only for the months the bots are working, plus room for the projects you need right now. Bots waiting for their moment can simply be left stopped: code and settings are kept.
What are places for projects and how do they work?
A place adds one more project to your paid plan — Pro or Max — of the same size as the plan itself; it is about how many projects you have, not how they run. A place lasts until your plan ends: take it together with the plan and it is paid for the same term; add it mid-term and you only pay for the remaining days. It renews together with the plan, in one purchase, and is never sold for longer than the plan. The free plan has no places: a second project means Pro.
How many projects can I keep?
Every plan includes one project. On Pro you can add up to two places, on Max — up to seven; each place gives you one more project of the same size as the plan. The free plan has no places: a second project means Pro.
What happens when a place for a project runs out?
A place ends together with your plan, and we remind you about the end of the term by email in advance — one email for the plan and its places. You can renew everything in one purchase, and at checkout you may keep fewer places than before: the checkout tells you which project would stop. If there is no payment, the project above your plan limit stops: its code and data stay where they are, and paying brings everything back. After that you have 2 days to pay — if you do not, the project is deleted along with its data. None of this happens silently: an email comes in advance, at the moment the app stops, and once more a day before deletion, and your account shows the deadline and what to do.
Will I be charged automatically when the paid term ends?
No. Every payment is a one-off: we do not keep your card on file and we never charge you ourselves. When the paid term is coming to an end we remind you by email, and whether to pay again is up to you. There is nothing to cancel: if you do nothing, the service simply ends on its day.