Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov announced that the platform has reached a milestone of one billion monthly active users. This is a notable increase from last year’s reported 950 million monthly active users. Durov revealed that the company recorded profits of $547 million in 2024—a figure he hinted at in December without divulging exact numbers.
Announcing the development on X, formerly Twitter, Durov said, “Telegram now has significantly over 1 billion monthly active users, becoming the second most popular messaging app in the world (excluding the China-specific WeChat).” Taking a swipe at rival WhatsApp, Durov called the Meta-owned platform a ‘cheap’ imitation of Telegram.
“Ahead of us stands WhatsApp — a cheap, watered-down imitation of Telegram. For years, they’ve desperately tried to copy our innovations while burning billions on lobbying and PR campaigns to slow us down. They failed. Telegram grew, became profitable, and — unlike our competitor — retained its independence,” he said.
