In short. A Mini App is a web application that opens inside Telegram from a button in a bot: its own screens, a catalogue with photos, a cart, a personal account. The client installs nothing and signs up nowhere — Telegram itself tells the app who opened it. The simplest Mini App costs from 25 000 ₴; if buttons in a chat can do the job, a bot is cheaper — from 3 000 ₴.
“Mini App”, “Web App”, “an app inside Telegram” — there are many names and few explanations without the jargon. Here it is in plain words: how a client opens a Mini App, how it differs from a bot and a website, what it can do, what a launch needs and what it costs by our price list.
What it is, without the jargon
Picture a website that opens not in a browser but right inside Telegram — over the chat, with a single tap. It has its own screens, photos, buttons, a cart and an account, like a regular app on a phone. But nobody has to look for it in the App Store or Google Play, download it or update it: it lives in the messenger the client already uses every day.
Technically a Mini App is a web page, so, like a website, it needs hosting and a domain. And it is tied to Telegram through a bot: the bot is the door, and the Mini App is the room behind it. The bot itself can be minimal — just the entrance and the notifications.
How a client opens it
- Goes to the bot — from a link on a website, on Instagram, in an ad or in your channel.
- Taps a button — in the bot's menu next to the message field, or under a message.
- Sees the app — it opens over the chat, with no sign-up and no passwords.
- Does what they came for — picks a product, pays, checks the order status — and closes the app, back in the chat.
- Gets messages from the bot — a confirmation, a status, a reminder. The Mini App does not write to the chat itself: that is the bot's job, which is why the two work as a pair.
A Mini App can also be opened by a direct link — then the client lands straight on the right screen, for example on the card of their order.
Mini App, bot and website: the difference
| What we compare | Bot | Mini App | Website |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where it lives | in a Telegram chat | in Telegram, over the chat | in a browser, at your address |
| What the client sees | messages and buttons | screens, photos, a cart, an account | pages |
| How they sign in | at once, through Telegram | at once, through Telegram | login and password, if there is an account |
| Domain | not needed | needed | needed |
| Start by the price list | from 3 000 ₴ | from 25 000 ₴ | from 8 000 ₴ |
The main question is not “what is more modern” but how much the client needs to see and do in one go. While buttons are enough — a bot. When the client scrolls a catalogue, compares and comes back to the order history — a Mini App. When clients look for you on Google — a website. More in the articles Mini App or a bot and a Telegram bot or a website.
What a Mini App can do
- Storefront and catalogue. Categories, product cards with photos and variants, a cart, checkout; the order comes to you in Telegram.
- Payment and an account. Card payment through a payment provider, order history and statuses, user roles, an admin panel for you.
- Loyalty. A guest card with stamps, bonuses, referral programmes, tasks.
- Games. Clickers and mini games with rewards and leaderboards — with separate work on load and protection against cheating.
- Full set. The bot runs the dialogue and the notifications, the Mini App gives the interface, the admin panel manages products and orders, plus integrations with a CRM, a delivery service or spreadsheets.
What you actually need is decided by the scenario, not by fashion. If booking or leaving a request is all the client needs, screens are extra — a bot does the job cheaper and faster.
What a launch needs
- A bot in your account. A Mini App is attached to a bot, so the bot is created first in BotFather — in your Telegram, so that it is yours from day one.
- Hosting and a domain. The domain is registered in your name. Hosting is yours or ours at $15 a month or $150 a year; we settle it before delivery, and deployment is part of the project.
- Materials. Photos and descriptions of products or services, screen texts, a logo and colours. How many there are and how they are grouped sets the number of screens.
- A design decision. A template Mini App fits the basic range; a custom design for your brand is +20–50 %.
- A payment provider, if card payment is needed. You register the merchant account; we only receive the keys to connect it.
The full checklist is in the article how to prepare a project brief.
What it costs and how long it takes
The entry point of a Mini App is higher than a bot's: every screen has to be designed, laid out for a phone and connected to data. A storefront with a catalogue and a cart costs 25 000–60 000 ₴, with card payment and an account — 25 000–80 000 ₴, the full set with a bot and an admin panel — 35 000–120 000 ₴, games — 30 000–100 000 ₴. The fastest option, a storefront, takes from 5 days after the start, that is, once the prepayment and the materials are in.
What each option includes and what moves the price — in the article how much a Mini App costs; how a range for your own task comes out of these rows — in the article how we calculate prices. You can get a rough range right now in the calculator.
When you do not need a Mini App
- Buttons are enough for the client. Booking, leaving a request, asking a question — a bot handles that: a booking bot costs 6 000–14 000 ₴, a business-card bot — 3 000–6 000 ₴.
- Clients look for you on Google. A Mini App is opened from Telegram, not from search — those clients need a website, and a Telegram layer is added to it.
- You need an app for the App Store or Google Play. We do not build native apps — we will say so honestly and pass the task on to a partner.
- The budget is below the threshold. The honest start is a catalogue bot at 7 000–15 000 ₴: it takes orders within days, and the Mini App comes as a second stage.
Want a narrower range? Fill in the brief or see what Mini App development includes.
FAQ: common questions about Mini Apps
Does the client have to install anything?
No. Telegram, which the client already has, is enough: the app opens inside the messenger, the same way on iOS and Android. The client does not download updates either — a new version is available as soon as we publish it.
Is a Mini App the same as a mobile app?
No. A mobile app is installed from a store, goes through review and usually needs a separate budget for iOS and Android. A Mini App lives in Telegram and opens at once. We do not build native apps, and for a business whose clients are already in Telegram, a Mini App covers most of the same tasks.
How does the client sign in — is registration needed?
No. Telegram itself passes the app who opened it, and the app's server checks the signature of that data — so there is no login and no password. The client types a phone number or an address only when it is really needed, for example for delivery.
Can a Mini App take payments?
Yes, by card through a payment provider. It is either the “Mini App with payment and an account” row — 25 000–80 000 ₴ — or an add-on to a storefront: +5 000–15 000 ₴. The merchant account is registered in your name, and the payment provider's fees are yours too.
Can a Mini App send messages to clients by itself?
No, messages in the chat are sent by the bot. That is why the two work as a pair: the Mini App shows the catalogue, the cart and the account, while the bot confirms the order, reports the status and sends reminders. From the bot's message the client gets back into the app with one tap — straight to the right screen.
The figures in this article come from our price list: they are filled in automatically and match the calculator. It will work out the range for your task in 30 seconds.