Business in MAX.

The figures at the entrance

According to Mediascope data for June 2026, MAX has more than 86 million users a month and more than 69 million a day — second place among messengers in Russia after Telegram. A year ago the platform was not on this list at all. The growth was driven by government services: digital ID, the GosKlyuch and electronic school diary chatbots, integration with Alice AI. People come to MAX not for content but to get things done, and that is the main thing to understand about its audience.

The advertising market inside the messenger, according to Sostav’s estimate, will reach ₽2.5 billion by the end of 2026. For comparison: the entire digital services market in Russia is around ₽464 billion. The share is modest, but it was given its push by the Telegram advertising ban: advertisers are looking for somewhere to move their seeding, and MAX turned out to be the nearest legal replacement.

Who is already buying: 33.4% of placements are online education, 25.5% bloggers and experts, 11.8% real estate. These are the niches that historically lived on seeding in Telegram and were the first to follow the audience.

How advertising works here

There is no ad platform. An official tool with targeting, an auction and statistics does not yet exist in MAX. All that is available is direct arrangements with channel owners or through exchanges, which added MAX at the end of 2025.

Three formats. Seeding — a ready-made post with text and an image. Native integrations — a post the author writes to your brief. Reposts — a repost from your channel. Placements are possible in posts with an image, video and “video circles”.

Prices. Niche channels — from ₽300 to ₽5,000 per post, mid-sized topical channels — ₽5,000–150,000, major media — from hundreds of thousands. A native post in the Kommersant channel costs around ₽1.4 million. The cost per subscriber is still lower than on overheated platforms, but the operative word is “still”: the influx of advertisers pushes prices up every month.

External traffic. Yandex Direct is testing promotion of MAX channels for platforms with 1,000 or more subscribers; VK Ads allows targeted campaigns with MAX as the landing point. This is currently the only way to grow a channel measurably rather than buying posts blind.

What can be done without advertising

Channels, public and private, chatbots, mini-apps and mailings — the basic set for a service. A business profile is currently free; the platform warns that in 2026–2027 it may become paid, and mailings and an ad platform have been announced, but there are no dates.

MAX’s strong side is service scenarios: order notifications, bookings, delivery status, support. The audience came here for government services and is used to the messenger being a place where things get done, not a feed to scroll. A bot that answers a question about booking a doctor’s appointment in a second works better here than a content channel with tips.

Restrictions the advertising overviews keep quiet about

Labelling is mandatory, just as everywhere else: a marker, advertiser details, an erid token; fines for violations range from ₽30,000 to ₽500,000. Channels with an audience of 10,000 or more must be registered with Roskomnadzor, otherwise advertising cannot be placed in them. There is no targeting, so reaching “women 30–45 from Kazan” is possible only through the choice of channel, not through settings.

Analytics is a separate problem. Without a platform there is no post reach, no CTR and no cost per subscriber in a single window. You will have to count by hand: UTM tags on links, separate landing pages, reconciliation via Yandex Metrica. Without this, seeding in MAX turns into spending money on faith.

Who should get in and who should wait

Get in now: service businesses with frequent repeat contact — clinics, delivery, booking services, education. They need a bot and a channel for their own clients, not advertising. Also those who lived on seeding in Telegram and are losing it from 2027: MAX offers a similar format and is cheaper for now.

Wait: businesses with a one-off purchase and no client base — renovation, property sales, b2b with a long cycle. Without targeting and analytics, paid promotion here does not add up yet, and a channel “for the sake of it” will eat the team’s resources.

In any case it is worth setting up a channel and a bot: to claim the name, move part of the audience over, get used to the platform. A seeding budget — only with UTM tags and after the cost per enquiry in Yandex Direct and VK has been calculated, so there is something to compare against.

In brief

• 86 million monthly users; the audience came for government services, not for content.
• No ad platform and no targeting, only seeding via channel owners and exchanges.
• Prices from ₽300 per post in niche channels to ₽1.4 million in major media, and rising.
• Labelling, registration of channels with 10,000+ subscribers, manual analytics.
• Service niches should get in now; one-off sales should wait for the ad platform.

Frequently asked questions

Is there targeted advertising in MAX?

No. For now what is available is seeding in channels and external traffic from Yandex Direct and VK Ads with MAX as the landing point.

Does seeding in MAX need to be labelled?

Yes. The requirements of the “On Advertising” law apply on any platform: a marker, advertiser details and an erid token.

How much does a subscriber in MAX cost?

There is no single figure; it all depends on the channel. Count it from your own placements via UTM tags — the platform provides no other analytics.

Should I move my whole Telegram channel to MAX?

Move the audience — yes; close Telegram — no. Your own channel there remains legal; only advertising on other people’s platforms is banned.