How a mini app works
A mini app is built with the same technology as a website: HTML and JavaScript. What differs is where it opens and what it knows about the user. Telegram shows it over the chat in the colors of its theme and hands it the user's details, while the bot next to it sends notifications.
- Launch. The app opens from the menu button in the bot chat, a button under a message, the launch button in the bot's profile or a direct link like t.me/bot_name/app. The link can go into a channel post, an ad or a QR code at the till.
- Sign-in. Telegram hands the app the user's name, Telegram ID and language. The server checks the signature on this data, so nobody can pass themselves off as another client. No login, password or text-message code is needed.
- Payment. Physical goods and services are paid for right in the app through Stripe, Kaspi, YooKassa or Telegram Payments. Digital goods and services, such as access to a course or to paid content, can be sold only for Telegram Stars under Telegram's payment rules.
- Notifications. The order status, a booking reminder and a manager's reply arrive as a message from the bot, in the same chat the client opened the app from.
- Devices. A mini app works wherever Telegram runs: on iOS, Android, desktop and the web version.
Mini app, bot, website or a store app
All four take orders and bookings, but they reach the client in different ways and ask different things of them.
| Option | Where it opens | What the client does | When it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| A chat bot | A Telegram chat | Tap “Start” | A lead, booking one service, answers to common questions |
| A mini app | A window over the Telegram chat | One tap from the chat or a link | A catalog, a cart, a customer account, repeat purchases |
| A website | A browser | Find it in search or follow a link | Clients from Google, Yandex, AI assistants and ads |
| A store app | An icon on the phone | Download, install, sign up | An everyday product that works without Telegram |
When a business needs a mini app
- There are more products or services than buttons can comfortably show. A catalog with photos, filters and a cart is quicker to read than ten bot messages in a row.
- Your clients are already in Telegram: they read your channel, message a manager or come from Telegram ads. They do not have to switch to a browser and type their name and phone again.
- Clients come back: they book again, collect rewards, renew a membership. An account with their history and rewards sits right next to the chat.
- You need booking with the specialist, the service and the time picked on one screen. For clinics and salons that works better than booking in a chat.
When you do not need a mini app
- You only need to take a lead or book one service. A bot handles that: a lead bot costs from $100, a bot with booking and payments from $200. The options are covered in what a Telegram bot costs.
- Clients come from search. A mini app serves people who are already in Telegram, while a website is what brings clients from Google, Yandex and AI answers.
- Your clients do not use Telegram. Then the catalog and booking belong on a website.
Example: games in the Cortes bot
The Cortes Telegram bot, built by the studio, has a mini app with four games: checkers and chess against a friend or the bot, tic-tac-toe and Wordle in Russian. People play right in Telegram without installing anything.
What it costs at HEXIS
A “from” price is the smallest scope in each package. The sum for your app is fixed in the contract together with the screens, the flows and the timeline.
| Package | Price | Timeline | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storefront | from $400 | 4–5 days | Catalog and cart, payments, bot notifications |
| Service | from $750 | 1 week | Booking and accounts, rewards and subscriptions, CRM integration |
What the work includes
- App interface. A full screen with cards, filters and forms in your brand style.
- Passwordless login. Users sign in through Telegram, with no sign-up forms.
- Payments. Telegram Payments, Stripe, Kaspi or YooKassa right inside the app.
- Bot connection. The bot sends notifications, reminders and order updates.
- Admin panel. Products, slots and orders are managed from a simple panel or your CRM.
- Analytics. A funnel from open to payment, plus user sources.
What the price depends on
- The number of screens and flows. The price follows distinct screens, not the number of products: a catalog of a thousand items on one template costs less than booking with an account, rewards and subscriptions.
- Payment. Each payment provider, and payment in Telegram Stars, is its own setup and test.
- Integrations. A CRM link is part of the Service package. Links to 1C, inventory or an accounting system add work and their own lines to the estimate.
- Management. Products, slots and orders are run from a simple panel or your CRM. The more staff roles and reports the panel has, the more work it takes.
- Languages and materials. Each language means its own copy and its own screen check. A ready brand style, photos and product descriptions make the work faster.
How the build goes
We show a demo every week, and you sign off the work against a checklist.
- Flow. What the user does from the first tap to payment.
- Screen design. Screens that fit both Telegram and your brand.
- Build. Frontend, backend, payments and the bot.
- Release. Testing on iOS, Android and desktop, then release in the bot.
What is paid separately
- A server. The app and the bot need a server that runs around the clock. You pay the host directly.
- The payment provider. Stripe, Kaspi, YooKassa and others take their own commission on each payment.
- Support after launch. Changes, new screens and advice run on a subscription with a fixed monthly fee.
How to get an exact quote
Fill in the brief: four short steps, about three minutes. Describe what the client should do in the app (pick a product, book, pay) and which services it should talk to. Within a working day we send a solution and an estimate with the price and the timeline.