Short answer. Choose a bot if the client needs to do one or two actions: leave an enquiry, book, ask, receive a file. Choose a Mini App if the client has to choose and compare: browse a catalogue, add to a cart, look at a schedule, manage a subscription. In money: a bot — ₽2,500–20,000, a Mini App — ₽15,000–180,000 depending on complexity. Often the right answer is a bot today and a Mini App in six months, when the catalogue appears.
How they actually differ
A bot is a conversation. The client presses buttons, the bot replies with messages. Everything it can show is text, an image, buttons under a message. Its strength is speed: a bot opens instantly, works on any phone, is built in days.
A Mini App is a website opened inside Telegram full-screen: product cards, filters, a calendar, a cart, a customer account, payment in two taps. The client installs nothing and does not register — Telegram already knows who they are. Its strength is the interface: where a bot needs ten messages, an app needs one screen.
A Mini App is always launched from a bot (by a button) and usually uses it for notifications — so "a Mini App instead of a bot" in practice means "a bot + an app inside".
Comparison by task
| Task | A bot is enough | A Mini App is needed |
|---|---|---|
| Enquiries and questions | Yes — a 3–4-step form, forwarding to a manager | No, an overpayment |
| Booking a service | Yes, if up to 5–7 services and one specialist | Yes, if several specialists, a calendar, memberships |
| Shop | Up to 20–30 items: a list, a cart in messages | From 30 items, filters, photos, variants, payment |
| Support and consultations | Yes — FAQ on buttons or AI answers | No |
| Customer account: history, bonuses, subscription | With difficulty — many messages | Yes — this is its main scenario |
| Quiz, calculator, questionnaire | Up to 5–7 steps — yes | If sliders, images, on-the-fly calculation are needed |
| Courses, events, community | Lessons on buttons — yes | Schedule, statuses, referrals — yes |
Price and timeline
| Solution | Timeline | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Lead-capture bot | 1–3 days | from ₽2,500 |
| Bot with a database: bookings, forms, reminders | 3–7 days | from ₽5,000 |
| Shop on a bot: catalogue, cart, orders | 3–10 days | from ₽5,000 |
| Simple Mini App: questionnaire, quiz, calculator, storefront | 1–2 weeks | from ₽15,000 |
| Mini App shop: catalogue, cart, delivery, payment | 2–3 weeks | from ₽35,000 |
| Customer account: bookings, memberships, subscriptions, bonuses | 3–4 weeks | from ₽60,000 |
| School or community platform | 1–2 months | from ₽180,000 |
A Mini App almost always gets payments (from ₽5,000), a CRM or spreadsheet integration (from ₽10,000) and an admin panel (from ₽15,000) added — budget for them straight away, not after launch.
Three mistakes when choosing
Ordering a Mini App "to make it pretty"
If the client has one action — leaving an enquiry — an app will not speed it up but slow it down: loading, a screen, a form. A bot does the same in three taps. Beauty works where there is choice.
Squeezing a shop into a bot
A 100-item catalogue in messages means paging through ten cards at a time, a lost cart and calls asking "what did I order". From 30 items with variants and photos a bot loses to an app on conversion, and the difference pays for the development within months.
Not thinking about six months from now
A bot designed with a Mini App in mind later becomes its "wrapper" without rework: notifications, the launch button and the client base stay. A bot built "any which way" is rewritten from scratch. Tell the contractor about your plans — it is free and saves tens of thousands.
How to decide in five minutes
- Write down the client's three main actions. If all are "leave / ask / receive" — a bot.
- Count the items, variants, specialists, dates. More than 20–30 — a Mini App.
- Ask yourself whether the client needs "their own account". Yes — a Mini App, and do not spend money on a bot "account".
- If in doubt — a bot now with a Mini App planned in 3–6 months. That is what most of our clients do.
Do I need a bot if I have a Mini App?
Yes. A Mini App is launched by a button from a bot, and notifications to the client (order accepted, booking tomorrow) go through the bot. A wrapper bot costs from ₽2,500 and is usually part of the project.
Does a Mini App work on all phones?
Yes, in current versions of Telegram on iOS, Android and desktop. There is no separate installation — it opens as a page inside the messenger.
Can a bot be turned into a Mini App later?
Yes, and that is the usual path: the client base, notifications and the launch button stay, the interface is added. The main thing is to mention such plans before the bot is developed.
What about payments inside Telegram?
Both a bot and a Mini App accept payments via a payment provider or Telegram Stars. In a Mini App payment is more convenient — card, amount and confirmation on one screen. Connection — from ₽5,000.