Telegram is a popular cloud-based messaging app that enables the exchange of messages, photos, and videos. It’s known for being one of the fastest messaging apps available for smartphones, like the iPhone 15 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S24. It’s also highly secure because of its end-to-end encryption. Simply put, it’s one of the best messaging apps on the market.

That’s what Telegram is. But what is Telegram Premium? As you might expect, it’s an elevated version of the regular Telegram experience. Here’s the lowdown.

If you are a Telegram user interested in accessing more features, you can subscribe to Telegram Premium, an optional service that unlocks extra benefits on top of the free tier.

When Telegram announced Telegram Premium in 2022, it described the service as follows:

“That’s why this month we will introduce Telegram Premium, a subscription plan that allows anyone to acquire additional features, speed and resources. It will also allow users to support Telegram and join the club that receives new features first.”

There are a lot of features included with Telegram Premium. Of these, a few are particularly noteworthy. With double the limits, you can share up to 30 chat folders with 200 chats and 100 invite links and follow up to 1,000 Telegram channels. Without Premium, you are limited to 500 groups and channels.

Additionally, you can add four accounts to any Telegram app, pin 10 chats in the main list, and reserve up to 20 public links. With double limits, you can also write a more extended bio for your account, have 10 favorite stickers, and 400 saved GIFs.

Download speeds are also faster with a Telegram Premium account. This means no more limits to how fast media and documents are downloaded. Meanwhile, hardcore Telegram users can upload larger files. Regular users are limited to 2GB file sizes, while Premium members can upload up to 4GB.

Telegram Premium offers access to stickers with full-screen effects, and additional premium stickers are added monthly. You can also use premium icons to customize your Telegram home screen. With a paid Telegram account, you can easily use unique animated emojis in messages and add captions. Emojis can also be added to your status.

Perhaps the biggest reason for using Telegram Premium is that no more ads exist. Those ads only show up in certain countries to begin with, but it’s nice to see them gone with a premium account.

Other Telegram Premium features include:

The Telegram channel @Premium provides detailed descriptions of each feature and a complete list of premium stickers. It’s also the place to see new features as they are added.

Telegram Premium is available for $4.99 per month or $35.99 per year. By paying yearly, you’ll save $2 per month.

To sign up for Telegram Premium, open the Telegram app and tap the Settings icon at the bottom right. Then, select Telegram Premium, choose “Annual” or “Monthly,” and tap the Subscribe button. You can cancel your subscription at any time.