Convert a Telegram Gift to Stars or Upgrade It? How Both Work

When you convert a Telegram gift to Stars, Telegram destroys it and credits you its worth in Stars, usually less than the sender spent. By Telegram’s current default, this is possible for 7 days after the gift arrives. An upgrade keeps the gift and makes it a numbered collectible with a random model, backdrop and symbol. Neither step has an undo button. Choose the Stars when you value them above the gift; leave it alone if displaying it is all you want; upgrade, usually for Stars unless the sender prepaid, if you plan to wear, transfer, sell or move it to the TON blockchain.

Regular and collectible gifts in general are covered in our explainer on what Telegram gifts are.

Converting vs upgrading: what is the difference?

Conversion simply swaps the gift for Stars; an upgrade usually takes Stars from you and returns an item you can do more with.

How can you convert a Telegram gift to Stars?

Tap the gift on your profile, then use its “sell for N Stars” link; the confirmation dialog calls the same action Convert. Whatever the label says, no buyer is involved: Telegram itself credits the Stars.

1. On your profile, switch to the Gifts tab.
2. Select the received gift. On Android the “sell for N Stars” link is beside the Value line, which for a regular gift shows the price paid; iOS words it identically.
3. A dialog called Convert Gift to Stars opens. It lists the days left for conversion and reminds you that the gift will be destroyed.
4. Once you tap Convert, the gift is gone from your profile permanently and the Stars appear on your balance without delay.

Only the recipient is offered this. A channel’s gifts are converted by its owner, with the Stars going to the channel’s balance.

How many Stars will a conversion give you?

In most cases less than the sender spent. Telegram does not state a percentage: every gift carries its own amount, and the button displays it. One exception: a gift paid for with Stars the sender bought just before can return its full price.

How long is the conversion window?

Telegram’s developer documentation sets the default at seven days after the gift arrives (604,800 seconds). The actual value is sent by Telegram’s servers, so rely on the day count in the dialog. Guides that still say 90 days describe the old default, which the documentation replaced in autumn 2025.

What else changes when you convert?

A converted gift can no longer be displayed on your profile or upgraded, and your public profile rating goes down. You can use the Stars for other gifts, upgrades, bots and mini apps, paid media or donations to creators; withdrawing them is possible only in limited cases, covered below.

How do you upgrade a Telegram gift?

Select the upgrade in the opened gift and pay the Stars price on screen; if the sender has prepaid, you pay nothing. Only gift types for which Telegram has enabled upgrades show this option.

1. Tap the gift in your profile’s Gifts tab. An upgradable gift offers three choices: keep it, upgrade it or exchange it for Stars.
2. Pick the upgrade. The next screen lists the benefits: a unique number, model, backdrop and symbol, plus the right to transfer and trade the item.
3. Look at the price. When the sender has prepaid, the app tells you the upgrade is free; if not, you see the current price and when it is due to fall.
4. Choose whether the collectible should keep the original message along with the sender’s and recipient’s names. Removing them later costs a fee in Stars.
5. Confirm. Because the model, backdrop and symbol are random, you find out what you got only after confirming.

Since 31 August 2025 not only the sender but anyone can pay to upgrade a gift already on someone else’s profile.

What does an upgrade cost?

Telegram sets a Stars price per gift type and reduces it over time; according to the app, it now falls every minute. Waiting costs fewer Stars but leaves you with a longer number, since the shortest numbers go to whoever upgrades first.

Is upgrading the same as minting?

Almost. If you are looking up how to mint a Telegram gift, the upgrade is the step you need. Inside Telegram the upgraded gift is already the collectible that marketplaces and stores call an NFT gift; it is minted on the TON blockchain when you export it, through Fragment or, in the newest Android app, into the built-in Gram wallet.

What can you do with Telegram gifts after the upgrade?

Wearing, transferring, selling, exporting and crafting are all open to a collectible and closed to a regular gift. A collectible can be:

• Worn, pinned or transferred, as our explainer on Telegram gifts describes. Wearing one as your emoji status needs Telegram Premium.
• Sold on Telegram’s in-app market for Stars or for TON, the coin renamed Gram in June 2026. By the defaults in Telegram’s developer docs, the seller receives 80% of a Stars sale and 90% of a TON sale; the app shows the payout before you list.
• Sold through an offer, when offers are open on that gift: other users can offer a price in Stars or TON, no lower than the minimum Telegram sets, and if you accept, the gift moves automatically.
• Exported to TON through Fragment, which requires two-step verification turned on more than 7 days earlier and a login on that device older than 24 hours. Android 13.1.0 (25 October 2026) adds a route into the built-in Gram wallet, which Telegram has been rolling out gradually since 31 August 2026. The gift stays on your profile, and the network fee is paid in Gram.
• Crafted with one to four collectibles of the same type for a chance at a rarer version. Every gift you put in is burned, whether the craft succeeds or fails.

Telegram may also fix a date until which a collectible cannot be resold, transferred or exported. A collectible paid for in Stars must wait 21 days before its next transfer, while paying in TON avoids that wait. On a collectible, the Value line shows the average sale price on Telegram and Fragment over the past month, or the last sale. Our guides explain how to sell Telegram gifts and how Portals, Tonnel, MRKT and Fragment compare.

Which is better: converting or upgrading?

There is no general winner. Converting makes sense only when you prefer the Stars to the gift, upgrading only when you intend to wear or trade the result, and doing nothing is free.

• The Stars matter more to you than the gift. Check the figure the button displays, then convert before the 7-day window runs out.
• The sender prepaid the upgrade. Upgrade: you pay nothing and end up with an item to hold on to or sell later.
• You hope to sell it. Upgrade, since a regular gift cannot be listed for sale. This pays off when your net from a sale (by default 80% of a Stars price, 90% of a TON price) exceeds the upgrade price plus the Stars you would have received for converting; after the 7-day window, compare it with the upgrade price alone. Look at the Value line of similar collectibles and at our overview of current Telegram gift prices.
• It came from someone close to you, or you just want it on show. Leave it as it is: every received gift can be displayed and pinned without an upgrade. Upgrade it, keeping the original message, only if you also want to wear or trade it. Conversion would delete it permanently and lower your profile rating.
• You want a particular model or backdrop. An upgrade gives no choice, because traits are random; buying a ready collectible does. TgSuperGifts, the store behind this blog, lists upgraded gifts in its catalog of NFT gift collections with the model, backdrop, symbol and number shown before you pay, and our delivery account @tgsupergifts sends the gift to the username you provide. We only sell gifts: there is no option to sell yours to us.
• The window is over, or the gift came from an auction or a bot. Keep it, or upgrade it if that option is offered.
• You just want it gone. In Android 13.1.0, regular gifts that are neither limited nor from an auction have a Delete Gift option: the gift is erased permanently and earns you no Stars. While conversion is still open, it gets rid of the gift as well and pays you Stars.

Why can’t I convert or upgrade my gift?

Some Telegram rule is in the way. Upgrading is unavailable if Telegram has not enabled upgrades for that gift type or if the gift has already been converted.

Why is there no convert button?

The gift fails one of Telegram’s conversion conditions. Once the 7 days are over, the only choice left in the app is keeping the gift on your profile. Other possible causes:

• it came from a collectible gift auction or was sent by a bot;
• it carries no Stars amount for conversion;
• its payment was refunded;
• it was converted earlier, or it is already a collectible;
• you are the sender, not the recipient;
• your region does not support Stars, or Telegram has turned off gifts for your account.

Can a gift be converted after 7 days?

No. Past the deadline, the iOS app says Stars can be claimed only within a set period after a gift arrives, and Telegram’s documentation gives no way to extend it. Keep your login code private, and never connect an unknown bot as a business bot: it can be granted rights to convert, transfer and upgrade your gifts and to move your Stars.

Can I turn an upgraded gift back into Stars?

Not by converting: Telegram’s documentation allows conversion for regular gifts only, whatever some guides claim. A collectible earns Stars only when you sell it, minus Telegram’s commission.

Can an upgrade be undone?

Not by you. There is no undo in Telegram, and a second upgrade of the same gift is rejected. Telegram changes a collectible back into a regular gift only once the original payment has been refunded.

Can you cash out Stars received for converting a gift?

Sometimes. Telegram’s Stars terms subject Stars obtained by converting gifts to its content creator terms, when those terms are applicable, and the creator terms allow withdrawal through Fragment 21 days after the Stars come in. Fragment may refuse payouts to some users or countries, and the app has a minimum amount, so plan on spending these Stars inside Telegram.

How we checked: the rules above come from Telegram’s developer documentation, official app texts and terms of service, read on 29 October 2026. Telegram changes them, sometimes without an announcement, so when your app shows a different number, go by the app.