TL;DR: iSales runs on one prepaid balance, and you can fund it five ways: Telegram Stars, a card via YooKassa or Polar (USD), or crypto via CryptoBot or Cryptomus. The dollar you put on your balance buys the same thing no matter which rail carries it, so you don't pick the cheapest rail; you pick the one you can already use. If you have no card at all, you still start free and choose later.
- Who this is for: anyone deciding how to actually pay, especially no-card, global, or crypto-first users who keep hitting "US card required" on other tools.
- What you'll get: a one-line description of each rail, a comparison table, a 20-second "which rail fits me" chooser, and the case for not using a prepaid balance at all.
- Last updated: 2026-07-05.
The rail is the boring part, and that's deliberate
Most "payment methods" pages try to make the checkout the hero. This one won't, because here the rail is plumbing. Everything downstream is the same regardless of how the money arrives:
- You fund one prepaid balance (in USD, for a single global rate).
- You spend it per action (an AI reply, an image from $0.25, a carousel slide), not per seat and not per month.
- The cost is shown before every debit, so nothing is charged silently.
That design is what lets five different rails sit under one balance without changing your price. A card user and a crypto user land on the same balance and pay the same per-action cost. So the only real question this page answers is: which pipe is easiest for you to use today?
The five rails at a glance
Rail facts below are current as of 2026-07-05.
| Rail | Best if you already have… | How you pay | Lands | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telegram Stars | just Telegram, want it instant | one tap inside Telegram (Stars balance) | seconds | Telegram-only; a single very large top-up can exceed the Stars invoice ceiling, so use a card or crypto for those |
| Polar (card, USD) | an international card | standard card checkout; Polar is merchant-of-record (handles tax and receipt) | minutes | needs a working USD-capable card |
| YooKassa (Russian card) | a Russian card or SBP | local-card checkout, no VPN | minutes; up to 1–2 business days to fully clear | Russia-oriented; not aimed at international cards |
| CryptoBot | crypto and a Telegram account | two taps in Telegram; USDT/TON/BTC via the @CryptoBot wallet | under a minute on confirmation | you need crypto; the wallet is custodial |
| Cryptomus | crypto, prefer a web checkout | pick a coin, pay to the address or QR (20+ coins incl. USDT) | minutes on confirmation | you need crypto; it's a web step, not one tap |
The "best if" column keys to what you already own — read across to your situation.
Pick your rail in 20 seconds
Copy this, delete the rows that don't apply, and you're done:
→ I just want to try it, I have no card: Start free (30 messages), decide later
→ I have a Russian card / use SBP: YooKassa (Russian card, no VPN)
→ I have an international card: Polar (USD)
→ I live in Telegram and want it instant: Telegram Stars (one tap)
→ I pay in crypto and I'm in Telegram: CryptoBot (USDT/TON, two taps)
→ I pay in crypto and prefer a web checkout: Cryptomus (20+ coins)
→ No card, not on crypto either: Start free, then Stars or crypto
If two rows match you, take either; the balance is identical, so pick the one with fewer steps for you.
What it actually costs
The rail moves money; it doesn't set the price. Here's the model, in plain terms:
- You start with 30 free messages. No card, no rail, no commitment. First value (a content plan, a few text posts, a demo dialog) costs nothing.
- A top-up is just a top-up. $20 lands as $20 of balance (about 1,000 Telegram Stars if you pay that way; the peg is roughly $20 ≈ 1,000⭐, not more).
- You spend per real action. A text reply is a few cents of tokens; an image starts at $0.25; a carousel slide runs $0.30–$0.60; native social posting is a $20/month subscription layered on top. If a generation doesn't land, nothing is debited.
Because every debit is shown before it happens, "how much is left and what did that cost" is never a mystery you reconstruct from an invoice at month end. Worked example: fund $20, run about 40 AI replies and generate 10 images at 1K ($0.25 each), and you've spent roughly $2.50 on the images plus a few cents per reply. The balance ticks down in front of you, the same whether you funded it by card, Stars, or USDT. (Plug in your own volumes; these are unit prices, not a promise about your usage.)
When a prepaid AI balance is NOT the right fit
The rails are flexible, but the model underneath them isn't for everyone:
- You pay before you spend. A prepaid balance means money sits on account ahead of use. If you strongly prefer paying only at the end of a billing cycle, that friction is real.
- You want one native-currency subscription for a single tool. If your whole need is "bill me monthly in my own currency for one product," a tool that natively invoices in that currency may be simpler than funding a USD balance and topping it up. The five rails earn their keep when you want usage-based spend across content, replies, and payments from one place, not when you want a single flat seat.
If either of those is you, the free 30 messages are still worth a look, but don't over-optimize the rail choice; it isn't your real decision yet.
FAQ
Is paying with crypto here safe, or a workaround? Both crypto options credit your balance the same way a card does. CryptoBot is a Telegram-native wallet (custodial, TON ecosystem, USDT/TON/BTC); Cryptomus is a crypto gateway with a web checkout across 20+ coins. New to on-chain payments? See the no-card payment guide.
Can I switch rails later? Yes. The rail is per top-up, not per account. Fund with a card this month and crypto the next; the balance doesn't care.
Do I actually need a card to start? No. You get 30 messages free with no card and no rail, and can top up by Stars or crypto afterwards. The whole point of five rails is that no market is locked out.
Is Telegram Stars more expensive than a card? The balance you receive is the same on every rail; we don't charge you more for paying in Stars. Where Stars can differ is how you acquire the Stars themselves: Stars bought inside the iOS/Android app carry Apple's or Google's standard store markup, which is between you and the app store, not part of your price here.
Next step
Pick the row that's you, or skip the decision entirely and start free with no card: 30 messages, no rail required. Choose how to pay once you've seen it work.
For the wider picture (languages, data control, and how the prepaid balance fits together), read the payments, languages and data control guide.
Prices are per-action debits from one prepaid USD balance; the free tier is 30 messages. Figures current as of July 2026.
