Upgrade guide
How to Upgrade Telegram Gifts
Turn a received Telegram gift into a collectible: where to start, what the upgrade costs in Stars, how prepaid upgrades work and which traits you can get.
Updated
Lol Pop: models and how often they drop
Model and its chance
- Tsunami1.2%
- Mandarin1.2%
- Cosmic Green1%
- Rose Wine1.2%
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How to upgrade a Telegram gift
Open a gift you received, choose to upgrade it and pay the upgrade price in Stars. The gift becomes a unique collectible with a random model, backdrop and symbol plus a serial number. If the sender already paid for the upgrade, it is free for you.
Only gift types that have a collectible version can be upgraded. On those gifts, Telegram shows the upgrade option and its price.
Step by step
The upgrade takes a minute and happens entirely inside Telegram.
- Open the gift from your profile's Gifts tab or from the chat where you received it.
- Choose to upgrade. Telegram shows the current price in Stars and sample traits you could get.
- Decide whether to keep the original details: the sender, the recipient and the message stay on the collectible.
- Pay the price in Stars. If the upgrade was prepaid, confirm without paying.
- The collectible appears with its model, backdrop, symbol and number.
What an upgrade costs
The upgrade is paid in Stars, and each gift type has its own price. The price can change on set dates: the upgrade preview lists the current price and upcoming prices with the dates they take effect.
Your total cost is the gift price plus the upgrade price. Example: a 350-Star gift plus a 1,000-Star upgrade is 1,350 Stars. The GiftsWatch Upgrade Calculator loads both prices from Telegram's gift catalog, converts the total to TON at 0.013 USD per Star and compares it with the collection floor.
Removing the original details from a collectible later also costs Stars. Telegram shows that price on the gift.
Prepaid upgrades
A sender can include the upgrade when buying a gift. The recipient then turns it into a collectible without paying.
Anyone can also pay for someone else's upgrade later, even if they did not send the gift. When you send a gift to a channel, you can prepay its upgrade the same way.
What you get: traits and rarity
An upgrade gives the gift a new look (the model), a backdrop, a symbol and a number. Telegram picks the traits at random.
Each trait has a rarity percent: the chance of getting it. The full list for a gift type covers every model, backdrop and symbol that can appear, each with its chance.
Some models are reserved for crafting and do not come from a regular upgrade.
What you can do with a collectible
A collectible can do more than a regular gift. Some actions open only after a set date, which Telegram shows on the gift.
- Wear it as an emoji status. Your profile takes on the gift's backdrop and symbol.
- Sell it in Telegram's marketplace for Stars or TON.
- Transfer it to another user. A transfer can cost Stars or be free.
- Move it to a TON wallet as an NFT with your two-step password, then sell it on Fragment or Getgems.
- Use it as a chat theme, if the gift supports themes.
- Craft it: combine 1 to 4 collectibles of the same type into a new one. The gifts you put in are burned whatever the result.
Upgrade or convert to Stars?
A regular gift you received can also be converted to Stars. This works only for a limited time after you receive it — 7 days in the default settings of Telegram's API — and can return fewer Stars than the gift cost. The gift is destroyed.
Upgrading costs Stars but keeps the gift and makes it tradable. Whether that pays off depends on the traits you get and on prices when you sell. Compare your total cost with the collection floor on the day you decide.
Converting gifts to Stars also lowers your profile rating.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How do I upgrade a gift on Telegram?
Open the gift you received, choose to upgrade it and pay the price in Stars shown on the screen. If the sender prepaid the upgrade, it is free.
How much does it cost to upgrade a Telegram gift?
Each gift type has its own price in Stars, and it can change on set dates. The upgrade preview shows the current price and upcoming prices.
Can I choose the model when upgrading?
No. Telegram assigns the model, backdrop and symbol at random. The preview shows possible traits and their chances.
Can I sell a gift after upgrading it?
Yes. A collectible can be sold in Telegram for Stars or TON, or moved to a TON wallet and sold on Fragment or Getgems. Some gifts can be listed only after a set date.
Sources
Primary sources consulted
- Collectible Gifts, Message Search Filters and MoreTelegram · checked
- Telegram Gifts API referenceTelegram · checked
- Client configurationTelegram · checked
- Wear Collectible Gifts, Move Gifts to the Blockchain, Send Gifts to Channels, and MoreTelegram · checked
- Telegram FAQTelegram · checked
- starGiftTelegram · checked