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Questions about mini apps for Telegram and MAX

Everything asked before the first app is published — payments, data, MAX, plans and security.

What is a Telegram mini app?
It is an app that opens inside Telegram itself: there is nothing to download or install, it starts from the chat. Payments, automatic sign-in, messages from your bot and full-screen mode all work inside it, which is why shops, booking and ordering sit on it well.
Do I need coding skills to build a mini app?
No coding skills are required. Our visual drag-and-drop builder lets you create professional mini apps by selecting a template, customizing the design, adding your content, and configuring payment methods — all without writing a single line of code.
How long does it take to create a mini app?
You can create and launch a fully functional mini app in as little as 20 minutes. Choose a template, customize it with your branding and content, connect payments, and publish — your app is live and accessible to millions of users.
What payment methods are supported?
Cards work today, through your own merchant account: you connect YooKassa or T-Bank in the publishing dialog, and buyers pay you directly — we never hold the money, and the receipt is issued by your till. An app can also simply take an order through a form and deliver it to your Telegram instantly. The till is Russian, so foreign cards do not go through. Taking Telegram Stars inside the app is still on the way (a builder plan itself can already be paid with Stars); crypto is not planned.
Can the app use my own spreadsheet, or must the data live inside it?
Either way. Tables live inside the project by default, and nothing forces them to: you can import an Excel or CSV file once, or connect a live source and let rows keep arriving — a Google Sheet by link, a private Google Sheet shared with our service account, a workbook on Yandex.Disk, or any address answering JSON, which covers NocoDB, Teable, Baserow, Airtable and your own API. A connected source refreshes on a schedule and at every publish, so changing a price in your sheet changes it in the app without republishing; rows added inside the app can be written back into a Google Sheet. Beyond tables, the app talks to n8n, Make, Zapier or your own server through webhooks in both directions.
Can I use my mini app in both Telegram and MAX?
Yes — you build once, and one address works in both. In Telegram we bind the menu button for you. In MAX the address is pasted into the partner cabinet by hand: MAX offers no API method for it. Publishing in MAX is open to companies, sole traders and self-employed people who are Russian residents, and a bot is moderated within 48 hours on business days.
How much does the Mini App Builder cost?
There are four plans: a free 3-day trial with one published app, Start at 1 290 ₽/month, Pro at 3 490 ₽/month and Studio at 8 900 ₽/month. Building is free — a plan is what publishes an app. Subscriptions renew automatically and can be cancelled at any time; access lasts to the end of the period you paid for.
Which businesses are mini apps for?
Anyone who sells or takes bookings: online shops, restaurants and delivery, beauty salons, fitness clubs, clinics and car services, estate agencies, online courses, event organisers. If your customers already write to you in a messenger, the app has somewhere to open.
Is my data and my customers' data secure?
Sign-in goes through Telegram's own secure authentication: we store no passwords because there are none. Traffic is over HTTPS, and project and submission data sit on a server in Russia. We never touch card data — YooKassa, a PCI DSS compliant provider, takes the payment on its own side, and card numbers never reach our servers. Payments inside your apps will go through equally certified providers once we connect them (autumn 2026).

Mini apps by industry

Still deciding? The industry pages show what the app looks like in each trade.

Do I need a website to sell in Telegram?
No. The app opens inside the messenger and needs no separate website. And if you want a website too, you do not have to build one: switch on “Works as a site” and the same screens open in a browser, each at its own address, with sign-in by a code confirmed in Telegram or MAX. Online store in Telegram →
Where does the money for an order go?
To your own till. You connect YooKassa or T-Bank in the publish dialog and the buyer pays you directly — the platform is not part of the settlement. Online store in Telegram →
Can products be kept in a Google Sheet?
Yes. A sheet is connected by link — a private one through a service account — after the first publish. Rows refresh on a schedule and at every publish, and they are edited in the sheet itself. Online store in Telegram →
Why is this better than ordering through a bot?
A bot answers in messages; the app shows the whole menu: photographs, sections, the cart and the total. It opens right there in the chat, and nothing has to be installed. Restaurant and food delivery →
Can table bookings be taken?
The templates have no booking screen. One is added from the screen library — Booking, with a date and a time — and the request reaches the same Telegram as the orders. Restaurant and food delivery →
Do you take a percentage of orders?
No. Payment goes through your own till straight to you, and the platform costs a fixed monthly amount by plan. Restaurant and food delivery →
Where does a booking request go?
To the owner in Telegram as it is sent, and into the submissions list in the editor at the same time. From there a webhook can pass it to your CRM or to a scenario in n8n, Make or Zapier. Beauty salon and booking →
Can I collect the client’s phone number?
Yes. In MAX the app asks the messenger for the number and confirms it; in Telegram the person’s details arrive signed — the client never sets up a password. Beauty salon and booking →
Does it suit an independent specialist with no salon or front desk?
Yes. The screens are the same: services with prices, a booking form, My bookings — extra specialists are simply removed from the booking screen. You edit prices and times yourself, from a phone too, and bookings reach your Telegram — no receptionist needed. Beauty salon and booking →
Is this a booking bot?
It is a mini app that opens from your bot: the client sees services, prices and a form on screens rather than answering a bot’s questions one by one. The bot is still needed — bookings arrive through it and it identifies the client. Beauty salon and booking →
Does a taken time disappear from the choice by itself?
No. Times and dates are set in the screens themselves and changed in the editor, from a phone too. A taken time does not drop out of the choice by itself — it is removed by hand. Beauty salon and booking →
Can I use it for free?
Assembling and checking the app is free with no time limit. For clients to book, it has to be published: three days of trial from the first publish, then a plan from 1,290 ₽ a month. Beauty salon and booking →
Can access to a course be sold?
Yes, by card through your own till — YooKassa or T-Bank. The money reaches you directly and your till issues the receipt. There is no automatic “paid — lesson opens” link: the access date is set by hand or by an action. Online courses and education →
Is a student’s progress kept?
A payment is written to the My courses table. The profile shows the courses bought from that table; lesson progress in the template is a sample. Online courses and education →
Can a lesson video be downloaded?
Not as a file: the video is served segmented and encrypted, with the viewer’s name over the frame. Screen recording is not stopped by this — we say so up front. Online courses and education →
How does a participant get a ticket?
The purchase reaches the organiser in Telegram and the editor’s submissions list; from there a webhook can pass it to your own scenario — to send a ticket, say. The ticket screen with a QR code in the template is a sample with the same code for everyone. Events and tickets →
Can payment be collected in advance?
Yes, by card through your own till. The payment goes straight to you; the platform is not part of the settlement. Events and tickets →
How quickly does the listing update?
Rows you edit inside the published app from a phone show at once; rows typed in the editor, after publishing. A connected external source refreshes on a schedule and at publish. Events and tickets →
How does the front desk see bookings?
Each booking reaches Telegram at once and stays in the editor’s submissions list. The client sees their own bookings in the profile under My classes: a private table with no one else’s rows. Fitness and wellness →
Can memberships be sold?
Yes, by card through your own till — the money reaches the club directly and your till issues the receipt. Fitness and wellness →
Does it work in MAX?
Yes. The app is built once, and one address opens in both Telegram and MAX; in the MAX partner cabinet the address is pasted by hand — they have no API method for it. Fitness and wellness →
Will the client learn the car is ready?
The My car screen in the template is a sample with stages set as text. We send no notices on your behalf — the bot writes to the owner, not to visitors. Car service →
Can a photo of the damage be attached?
The template’s form has no such field, but one can be added. Images, PDFs and documents up to 10 MB reach you as a link with the request in Telegram. Car service →
Does it suit a one-person garage?
Yes. A price list, booking and the address are enough to stop losing requests in conversations; same template, fewer rows. Car service →
Can medical details be collected through the form?
The form takes whatever fields you put in it, but responsibility for personal and medical data rests with the app owner. Sensitive details are better asked at the appointment than in a request. Clinic and private practice →
Will the patient see their visits?
Yes, when the clinic’s own bot is connected: a visitor’s records are identified by its signature and survive a reload. Clinic and private practice →
Does a taken slot disappear from the choice?
No. Times are a list set in the screen itself and the patient picks the date in a calendar; the list is changed in the editor, from a phone too. A taken time does not drop out of the choice by itself — it is removed by hand. Clinic and private practice →
Is there a map with every listing pinned?
The card carries the address with a Get directions button. The template does not draw its own map with every listing on it. Real estate →
Can an export from our CRM be connected?
If the CRM serves data at an address as JSON — yes, the app reads such a source. We have no ready connectors to particular CRMs. Real estate →
How quickly can a sold property be removed?
Delete the row inside the published app from a phone and the property leaves at once. An edit in the editor reaches the app after publishing. Real estate →
Does it suit an independent guide?
Yes: the same screens with fewer rows. A few tours, the same card and the same matching form. Travel agency and guides →
Can payment be taken online?
The template has none, but it is added: the Take payment action and your own till. In full or as a deposit is your call. The money reaches you directly and we take no percentage. Travel agency and guides →
How are tours updated during the season?
As table rows from a phone, or from your own Google Sheet — connected after the first publish and edited in the sheet itself. Travel agency and guides →
Will this replace a website?
By default the app opens in Telegram and MAX, and a browser link shows a screen leading to your bot. Switch on “Works as a site” and the same screens open in a browser too, each at its own address, with sign-in by a code confirmed in Telegram or MAX. Services and portfolio →
Which files does the form accept?
With a file field added to the form — images, PDF, Word and Excel documents, RTF, text, CSV and ZIP up to 10 MB. The file reaches the owner as a link with the request. Services and portfolio →
Does it suit a single specialist?
Yes, that is the main case: the template is written in the first person. Studios add a team screen from the screen library. Services and portfolio →
Are points credited automatically from a receipt?
From a payment inside the app, yes: the server credits a percentage of the sum, 5% in the template. From a till receipt in the shop, no — the owner sets those points in the member’s row by hand. Loyalty programme →
Can we send everyone a coupon?
No: broadcasting to visitors does not exist in the product yet. The coupon appears in the app and is seen by whoever opens their card. Loyalty programme →
How is the guest recognised at the counter?
The card number in the template is a sample, the same for everyone, so a cashier cannot recognise a guest by it. The app recognises the guest from the messenger’s signature; a code for the counter — a QR block with a number from the member’s row, say — is added by you. Loyalty programme →
How does a CV arrive?
The candidate attaches a file — PDF, Word, an image or ZIP up to 10 MB — and a link to it reaches you in Telegram with the application. Vacancies and hiring →
Can a team work on applications?
There is no team access yet: only the owner edits the project. Replies in Chat can also come from someone the owner appointed admin of that table. Proper teamwork is on the roadmap. Vacancies and hiring →
Is this for a job aggregator?
More for a single company: your own positions, your own application form and nobody else’s listings alongside. Vacancies and hiring →
Who does the money go through?
Your own till — YooKassa or T-Bank. We never hold the money, take no percentage and are not part of the settlement; your till issues the receipt and refunds are made in its cabinet. Fundraising and foundations →
Can a donation be recurring?
The template has no automatic monthly charge: a payment is created by a tap, and the “give monthly” tick simply reaches you with the request. Fundraising and foundations →
Does it suit a personal fundraiser?
The screens are the same. But the till and responsibility for the campaign rest with the app owner, which is worth understanding before launch. Fundraising and foundations →

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