What it costs
How much does it cost to keep a Telegram bot online
In short
Keeping a Telegram bot running around the clock on Netrun costs $4.99 a month, $13.49 for three months or $47.99 a year — about $4 a month if you pay for a year up front. The first 3 hours are free so you can see that the bot builds and replies. The price already covers the server, the build, HTTPS, restarts after a crash and live logs — there are no separate bills for those.
Once your bot is written and replying on your own computer, the next question is usually about money: what will it cost to keep it online all the time. The usual answer — “rent a VPS” — hides half of the sum. On top of the server price come the hours spent installing the runtime, setting up autostart, and working out why the bot did not come back after a reboot.
Let us count honestly: what a bot costs on your own server, what it costs on a platform, and at which point the difference stops being about money at all.
Add up what your own server really costs#
The cheapest VPS is not expensive, and that is usually where the comparison stops. But work comes attached: installing the right language version and libraries, setting up autostart so the bot comes back after a reboot, watching disk space, updating the system, and figuring out why everything suddenly stopped. Even counting your own time at a modest rate, the first evening of setup costs more than a year of the platform. You pay for the server in money and for everything else in hours.
Look at what the platform price includes#
On Netrun the plan price is the whole sum. It covers the server your bot runs on, building the project from your code, around-the-clock operation, automatic restarts after a crash, live logs, and an HTTPS link if the project has a web part. There are no separate bills for traffic, builds or certificates: $4.99 a month means $4.99 a month.
Pick the billing period that fits the job#
The Pro plan can be paid three ways: $4.99 for a month, $13.49 for three months and $47.99 for a year. The longer the term, the cheaper the month: three months work out at $4.50 a month, a year at $4. A month is what you take when the bot is not meant to run forever: a bot for an event, or one you are showing to a client. Every payment is a one-off: the bot runs out the month you paid for and stops unless you pay for another — nothing is ever charged without you.
Try the bot free for 3 hours#
There is no need to pay before you know the bot even starts on someone else's server. On the free plan a bot runs for 3 hours: enough to upload the code, watch the project build, and check that the bot answers commands. You get an email shortly before it stops. Nothing is deleted — the code, settings and token stay in place, and after payment the bot picks up where it left off.
Count the second bot separately#
The plan decides how a project runs; how many projects you have is a separate line. One project is included in the plan, and every extra one costs $3.99 for 30 days. So two bots running around the clock is $4.99 for the plan plus $3.99 for the second project each month. You do not rent a second server, and you do not set it up from scratch again.
Pay in whatever way suits you#
Prices are shown in dollars, but you can pay with a Russian card or via SBP: your card is charged the ruble amount at the current rate, with no currency exchange on your side. We also accept cryptocurrency. Each payment is a one-off: you pay for the term you picked and use it to the end, with no card on file and no automatic charges to keep an eye on.
The bottom line is simple: a server for a bot costs about the price of a cup of coffee a month either way, and what differs is what you pay on top. On your own server it is evenings of setup and incident triage; on a platform it is nothing. Upload your bot to Netrun and check the numbers yourself — the first 3 hours are free.
Common questions
How much does it cost to keep a Telegram bot online around the clock?
On Netrun it is $4.99 a month, $13.49 for three months or $47.99 a year on the Pro plan. Paying yearly is the best value — roughly $4 a month. The price covers the server, the build, non-stop operation, restarts after a crash, and logs.
Can I keep a bot online for free?
You can try it for free. On the free plan a bot runs for 3 hours, which is enough to confirm that it builds and replies. Permanently free bot hosting does not exist anywhere: a bot is busy all the time waiting for messages, so it occupies a server around the clock. Websites are different — they fall asleep with no visitors and can stay on the free plan indefinitely.
Which is cheaper, a VPS or a platform?
The sticker prices are comparable; the difference is how much you do yourself. On a VPS you pay for a bare machine and then set it up: runtime, autostart, updates, incident triage. On a platform all of that work is included in the same sum. If you have one or two bots and no wish to administer a server, the platform works out cheaper overall.
Do I pay extra for traffic, a domain or a certificate?
No. An HTTPS link is issued immediately and is part of the plan; there is no separate bill for traffic or certificates. Your own domain can be connected on Pro — you pay only your registrar for it, nothing to the platform.
What does a second or third bot cost?
Every project beyond the first costs $3.99 for 30 days. You still have one plan: the plan decides how projects run, and the extra payment decides how many there are. No extra server per bot.
Can I pay only for the months I need the bot?
Yes. Every payment is a one-off, and nothing is charged once the paid period ends. For short jobs take the month — $4.99: the bot runs out the term you paid for, and then it is up to you whether to pay again.
What is different about the Pro plan?
On the Pro plan your project runs around the clock: a website does not sleep and responds instantly, with no pause to wake up, while a bot or a background script keeps running with no time limit. On top of that, Pro gives more memory, CPU and disk space, and a Pro website can use your own domains — as many as you need, each with HTTPS.
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.
Can I pay with a Russian card or via SBP?
Yes. You can pay for a plan or a place for a project with a Russian card or via SBP, even though prices are shown in dollars. Your card is charged the ruble amount at the current rate — no foreign card and no currency exchange on your side. Besides card and SBP we also accept cryptocurrency.
What happens to my bot after 3 hours on the free plan?
The bot switches off, but your code, settings and secrets stay where they are — we delete nothing. Shortly before it switches off we send you a warning. The three hours only count while the bot is actually running: while it is stopped, still building or crashed with an error, the clock stands still — you can fix the code and start it again without losing time. 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.