What it is and why
TGStat and Telemetr are services for external analytics of Telegram channels: they let you size up a channel and its competitors before you buy an ad placement — reach, subscriber growth, engagement (ER) and trends. Reach for them when you are planning ads in someone else's channel and do not want to burn the budget on a dead or inflated channel — check the numbers first.
How to set it up (step by step)
- Open the service (tgstat.ru / telemetr.me) and find the channel by @username or through search.
- Look at the key metrics: subscriber count and growth dynamics (sharp spikes = possible bought followers), average post reach, and ER (engagement).
- Check the "health": reach against subscriber count (low = a dead audience), unsubscribe spikes, and where the growth came from.
- Competitor analysis: find channels in your niche, compare metrics, look at their top posts.
- Channel discovery for advertising by topic or audience.
- Cross-check several sources (TGStat + Telemetr + asking the owner for their stats) — an outside estimate is approximate and may not match.
- Exports and deeper data come with the paid plans.
Ready-made recipe
Vetting a channel before buying ads: you find a channel to advertise in → in TGStat/Telemetr you check that growth is smooth (no suspicious spikes), post reach is around a {sensible}% of subscribers, ER looks alive, and there are no waves of mass unsubscribes → you ask the owner for a screenshot of the in-app stats and compare → only once the numbers agree do you buy the placement → then you track the subscribers and leads that actually arrive. The budget does not leak into a dead channel.
What it costs (honestly)
How it works: basic viewing of channel metrics is often free or limited; precise data, exports, deep analytics and history sit on the paid plans (in rubles). Exact figures are on the services' sites and they change.
When it fits / when it doesn't
- Fits: you are planning ads or seeding in Telegram; you need to vet a channel or competitors before buying; niche analysis; finding placements.
- Doesn't fit: you need internal analytics for your own channel (Telegram's own stats or posting bots are more accurate); you expect perfectly accurate data (an outside estimate is approximate).
Risks and responsibility (Telegram specifics)
- Metrics can be inflated — sudden growth or unnatural reach is a red flag; cross-check several sources and ask the owner for the internal stats.
- The estimate is external (no access to the channel's own dashboard), so it is approximate, not absolute truth.
- Do not confuse reach with an audience that can pay: a big channel does not equal sales; look at how relevant the audience is to your product.
- Advertising: placing ads in Telegram requires ORD labelling (an advertising requirement, and the responsibility of the advertiser and the platform).
- Precise data lives on the paid plans. See the section disclaimer.
🤖 Prompt helper
You are a Telegram ad buyer. I want to buy placements for "{product}" with a budget of about {amount}. Help me: (1) work out which channel metrics to check in TGStat/Telemetr and which values are a warning sign (bought followers, a dead audience); (2) tell a live channel from an inflated one by growth, reach and ER; (3) decide what to request from the channel owner for cross-checking; (4) measure the real result of the buy afterwards. As a checklist, practical.