Telegram Stars in this day and age are running almost every paid AI companion bot on the app. If you have ever initiated a chat with an AI character only to see a paywall demanding Stars rather than your credit card, you probably know what to expect. In this guide, we discuss how much Telegram Stars cost, what five popular AI companion apps provide through them, and whether they are worth purchasing.
What are Telegram Stars and why do AI companion apps use them?
Telegram Stars refer to the in-app currency of Telegram. Apps use Telegram Stars to deal with payments inside of their mini-apps due to the fact that Google and Apple require the use of payment systems that are approved by them for the use of in-app purchases.
This fact is very important for AI assistant apps. Most of the bots sell adult or semi-adult content, whereas the traditional payment service providers refuse to deal with such businesses. The use of Stars helps apps such as Secret Stars and Softie.chat complete payment without being labeled as adult purchases.
How much does one Telegram Star actually cost in dollars?
There is not a set price to purchase Telegram Stars. Telegram provides the estimated price of 0.013 dollars per star, however, how much an individual pays may be influenced by the platform they use, their location, and the amount of the purchased bundle.
Apple's App Store provides proof to the claim. It displays the price of 100 Stars on Telegram as 1.99 on iOS, which means 0.02 per Star according to Apple's standard pricing scheme.
Softie.chat's Telegram mini app provides the exchange rate on its screen and it provides the nearly same price as Telegram. Their app indicates that one can purchase 417 stars for 5.41 and 15382 stars for 199.76.
Telegram Stars pricing across the top AI companion apps in 2026
Telegram Stars pricing across the top AI companion apps in 2026
Here is how the entry-level and top tiers compare across five apps currently running on Telegram Stars.
| App | Known for | Cheapest bundle | Priciest bundle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Softie.chat | AI partner that messages you first inside Telegram | Basic plan, $10/month (2,700 energy) | Pro plan, $55/month (12,600 energy) |
| Luna AI | Realistic and anime characters with video and calls | 85 Gems for 199 Stars (~$2.59) | 3,700 Gems for 6,999 Stars (~$90.99) |
| Blabber.live | A social feed of AI characters with private content | Basic, 1 month, 500 Stars (~$6.50) | Diamond, 12 months, 19,200 Stars (~$249.60) |
| Secret Stars | Tinder-style swiping to match with characters | 40 Gems for 100 Stars (~$1.30) | 3-month Prime, 1,500 Stars + 360 Gems |
| MistMood | Credit-based subscription with custom personas | Premium, 3 months, 633 Stars/mo (~$8.23/mo) | Deluxe, 1 month, 2,100 Stars (~$27.30) |
Dollar figures are estimated at $0.013 per Star, except Softie.chat's diamond top-up, which lists its own conversion.
Is Softie.chat worth the Telegram Stars price?
Softie.chat is a messaging service that operates in Telegram. The AI bot will greet you after it has familiarized itself with your past conversations in order to send matching pictures of your engagements. Softie.chat has Safe mode, which is meant for conversations revolving around casual and emotional chats, as well as 18+ mode, for romantic chats that contain elements of role play.
Softie.chat usage is powered by energy, where sending a message costs 1 energy and sending a picture costs 3 energy. There are 3 plans available: Basic ($10/month for 2,700 energy), Plus ($25/month for 4,500 energy), and Pro ($55/month for 12,600 energy). Looking at the energy cost calculations, it becomes clear that Plus has the poorest rates with 0.0056 cost of 1 energy point compared to only $0.0037 for Basic. Therefore, unless you want to have a precise amount of energy in use, picking Basic or Pro is the smart option.
The application has an option called diamonds, which can be bought outside of the monthly plan for 417 Stars, which is equal to $5.41. The application provides the users with a two-day free trial to test out the service before making any payments.
Related: our guide to the best Telegram AI girlfriend bots compares Softie.chat against similar options.
Is Luna AI worth the Telegram Stars price?
A preview of the Luna AI Telegram mini app interface featuring character selection feeds and media gallery cards.Luna AI uses a Gems system and allows users the option to use characters from both realism and anime, plus a different section for videos, and for calls and photos to be transformed into videos through a tool. Unlocking every feature of just one character costs 200 Gems, so the number of Gems bought should correspond to the number of characters needed.
The 670-Gem “Best Offer” bundle worth about $18.19 (1,399 Stars) is more appealing than smaller packages as the Gems here will cost only about 2 cents per piece as opposed to about 3 cents in the starter bundle. If someone plans on opening several characters, buying the bigger pack makes more sense.
Is Blabber.live's Telegram Stars pricing worth it?
Blabber.live functions much more as a social media platform than as one chatbot. The avatars publish their albums in the Discover tab and earn likes and bookmarks, while the character creation section offers you a possibility of designing the character. Here you will find an “Interaction Style” section and a text for each of the fields generated by AI.
Two currencies operate in this app. The first is Credits for messaging and making images, while the second is Cherries used for gaining access to private materials. 20,000 Credits purchased separately costs 3,000 Stars, which makes the price practically double against the subscription price. It is better to purchase a Basic subscription which brings you 60,000 Credits for 500 Stars.
Cherries are sold according to the same rules. For standalone purchase of 25 Cherries, you will need to pay 500 Stars, while subscribers will receive their daily Cherry allowance included in their plan price. It should be noted that the Diamond plan of the app is too expensive.
Related: our guide to the best free Telegram AI girlfriend bots is worth a look if the two-currency system feels like overkill
Is Secret Stars worth the Telegram Stars price?
Secret Stars completely disregards the traditional girlfriend structure. It functions similarly to a dating application whereby users browse character cards and once a compatible match is made, they can proceed to chat privately. These matches can also be seen on a social media styled feed.
Gems are used to send gifts and view Private Pictures, with an unlocking fee starting at 40 Gems for 100 Stars. New users are awarded Gems upon registration which is used to unlock the first Private Picture. There is also a premium subscription that allows for unlimited chats and full content which is priced at 499 Stars plus 40 Gems a week or 749 Stars plus Gems a month. Voice messages remain free.
The gift shop has a wide range of items, which in this case means going from low priced gifts ranging from Gems to something much more expensive than Gems.
Is MistMood [Mood (18+)] worth the Telegram Stars price?
MistMood that also works with the name Mood (18+) happens to be the app with maximum subscription models and offers two subscriptions: Premium and Deluxe subscription plans which include monthly credits, bonus pictures, and special personas. One message costs 2 credits while one picture costs 30 credits so those who frequently use image features will very quickly exhaust the plan.
Deluxe 12-month subscription provides an average cost of $16.47 per month for 12 months but it requires around 15,200 Stars ($200) as the upfront payment. This is a very big investment as it is impossible to test the application first. The Deluxe one-month plan, costing 2,100 Stars (approximately $27.30), is also not suitable for testing purposes; thus, it is better to start with Premium’s 3-month plan costing $8.23 per month.
Which Telegram Stars purchases make sense, and which should you skip?
Certain trends can be observed in case of comparing the prices across the various applications under study.
- Low-priced starter bundles up to $10 are consistent with all the applications. They help you evaluate the functionality and content offered by the application before buying more of it.
- Subscriptions usually give better results than independent purchases of units per piece. Blabber.live's Credits and Cherries are sold at higher prices bought independently from the plan.
- A bundle labeled as “Popular” or “Best Value” does have a better price in reality as opposed to marketing. The intermediate Cherry and Credit packages from Blabber.live as well as the same package from Luna AI show that
- The premium subscriptions of the top plans are not worthwhile if you do not use the app regularly otherwise the whole benefit obtained through such subscription will remain unused.
- Avoid any 12 month subscription of an untested application. An example here is the MistMood Deluxe 12-month plan whose calculation appears efficient, however, this should not be taken into consideration when evaluating such applications.
How can beginners start spending Telegram Stars safely on AI companion apps?
- First, purchase the starter Star bundle and test it in a single app before opting for additional purchases.
- Be aware that if there is dollar conversion available as there is in Softie.chat.
- Try to track how fast you lose credits, Gems or Cherries during a week before subscribing.
- Remember to compare costs per credit or per Gem, and not just the total cost of Star, as bigger purchases do not necessarily offer better value.
- Do not commit to an annual plan on apps you have not used for a month.
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