Telegram channel search: how to find channels and groups
Telegram search finds public channels by name or username. In its guidance for EU users, Telegram describes ranking channels and groups by subscriber count, with verified ones listed first. Under that ordering, a small channel that fits your audience may sit below larger ones; a channel whose name lacks your word may not appear at all. To reach such channels, use the Posts tab in search, similar-channel lists and shared links.
What Telegram search finds and what it leaves out
The search box above the chat list looks through your chats and messages and through public names and usernames. The global results hold public channels, groups, bots and users. A public channel or bot can be found by its name or username; for groups and people, Telegram documents search by username. Results are split into tabs, among them Channels and Posts.
Private channels and groups have no username, so they cannot be found by one. You get into one through an invitation: someone with permission adds you, or you open an invite link. After that, search finds it among your own chats.
How Telegram ranks channels and groups in search
In its guidance for EU users, Telegram describes four rules for global search results:
| Telegram's rule | What it means for your list |
|---|---|
| Only results that partially or fully match the query are shown | A channel whose name or username lacks your word may not appear, however close its topic |
| Channels and groups are ranked by subscriber count | A small channel with the right audience tends to sit below larger ones |
| Verified channels and groups are listed first | A verified channel stands above larger channels without the badge |
| Results from the searcher's own country are prioritized | The same query can give a different order in another country |
Telegram publishes these rules for EU users and does not say whether search works the same elsewhere.
Between your own chats and the global results there can also be a search ad: a sponsored channel or bot placed there through Telegram Ads.
So the order of the results does not show whether a channel fits your audience. Open each one: its language and recent posts show the fit. The views on those posts allow only a rough comparison of size, because they include forwards and repeat views.
Other ways to find channels and groups inside Telegram
| Route | What it finds | Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Posts tab in search (July 2025) | Posts from public channels that match your query, and the channels that published them | Added first for Premium users, who get a free amount of searches and then pay Stars per search; access without Premium, the amount and the price are not published |
| Hashtag (May 2024) | A tap on a hashtag in any chat also shows posts with that tag from big public channels | The global results come from big channels only, and Telegram does not say how big; private chats never appear there |
| Similar channels | Channels listed under Similar Channels in a relevant channel's profile | Public channels only |
| Shared links | t.me/username is a public username link, t.me/+hash an invite link, t.me/addlist/… a folder of several chats | A shared folder link can include only public chats or chats where the sharer manages invite links |
Finding channels outside Telegram: web search and catalogs
The posts of a public channel can be read on the web, and search engines index them, so a web search for a subject can return channel pages.
Catalogs of channels and groups are third-party sites; Telegram has no catalog of its own. Treat them as another source of candidates, not as a complete list.
From a list of channels to Telegram Ads targeting
Ads in channels run in public channels with 1,000 subscribers or more. A group, a private channel or a channel below that threshold from your list helps with audience research or a partnership deal, but it cannot be targeted by its link.
In the ad form each channel is entered by its link. Targeting cannot be changed after the ad is created, so a wrong list means a new, similar ad. The language of the targeted channel should match the language of the ad and of the destination, under Telegram's ad rules. A channel in another language therefore belongs in another ad.
Comparing the channels from your list in Adstat
In Adstat, which works inside an agency or reseller account, the statistics break down by campaign, account, promoted object and ad, but not by placement channel. To compare individual channels, we recommend one ad per channel. For an ad promoting a channel, compare the cost per action, which is the cost of a join.
An ad for a small pool of channels with similar views gives one result for the whole pool, which is enough to compare pools. With a large pool, one CPM bid does not guarantee impressions in every channel.
Before a test, the competitor-ads view can add candidates. It shows the channels where other advertisers' ads were placed and each ad's run period, but not targeting settings, budget or CPM. A channel that appears among the placements of several competitors' ads with long run periods is a candidate for your own test.
Automatic rules watch each ad's figures and act without manual input: they raise or lower the CPM, add or withdraw budget, or stop the ad when your condition is met. With one channel per ad, a rule that stops an ad whose cost per action passes your limit takes that channel out of the test. Stopping an ad and withdrawing its budget are separate actions. Withdraw the stopped ad's budget by hand or with another rule, and add it to the ads that stay under the limit.
Questions and answers
Can I see who follows a channel I found?
No. Only the channel's owner and admins see the subscriber list. From outside you see the posts, their views and reactions.
Does the verification badge mean the channel suits ads?
No. The badge marks an official channel, group or bot, and Telegram offers verification to large and active official chats without endorsing their content. To check whether its audience fits your offer, review the channel's posts and their views.
A channel is public, but my query does not bring it up. Why?
Check its name and username against your query first. If they match, look further down the results or search for the exact username. Telegram can also remove from search a channel that lures people in with giveaways that are later refunded.
What to do first
- Search the words your customers would type and write down every channel and group in the results, including those far down the list.
- Add channels from the Posts tab if your app has it, hashtag results, the similar-channels list of a competitor's channel and folder links partners share. Then add channels from web search, catalogs and the placements of competitors' ads.
- Ask a colleague in the target country to run the same queries and add the channels that rank high only in their results.
- For each candidate, note the language and the views on recent posts. Sort the candidates by language, since each language needs its own ad, and group channels with similar views. For ads in channels, keep only the public channels that meet the subscriber threshold.
- Launch one ad per channel to compare channels, or one per small pool of channels with similar views to compare pools. Set a rule that stops an ad when its cost per action passes your limit. Withdraw the budget of stopped ads and add it to the ads that stay under the limit.