Telegram has been monetizing its app for a year now, following moves from other social platforms like Twitter and Snapchat, which are starting to charge for features to generate more revenue from its free users.
I looked at both over the last few weeks (here and here), so it's time to look at Telegram, the third platform to do this.
Telegram isn't exactly a social platform, but it's monetizing a large user base that's used t getting everything for free, which puts it in the same category.
May wasn't Telegram's best month of revenue, but it wasn't too far off. According to our estimates, Telegram brought in $1.9M of net revenue from the App Store. That's a small increase from April but a big increase from last year.
Telegram's biggest month of revenue was February, where net revenue from the App Store spiked to $2.3M, and that's net, so what Telegram got to keep after giving Apple its share.
The spike marked a shift in Telegram's revenue, and while growth since has been slow, it's much higher than in 2022.
A year in, our estimates show Telegram has earned $14M from the App Store. Most of the revenue did not come from the US but rather from Russia. The US was right behind it.
Ukraine, China, and Hong Kong round out the top 5 countries by revenue for Telegram.
So far the big winner of the three platforms I've been following is Snapchat, with monthly revenue in the double-digits millions in May. Telegram has a lot more growing to do before it can get there, but it's on its way.
I think it's fair to say that ChatGPT is AI for many. Especially those not in tech. How can I say that so nonchalantly?...
Telegram decided to pick on Signal this week and Elon Musk took a stab at it too, and that led me to look at how the two...