The most common mistake is that channel owners evaluate themselves by the number of subscribers, while advertisers look at something else. An advertiser is interested in reach, meaning how many people will actually see the post, and the engagement rate, which is calculated as the ratio of reach to the number of subscribers. A channel with ten thousand subscribers and a reach of five hundred views per post costs less than a channel with two thousand subscribers and a reach of eight hundred, since the second one provides more to the advertiser. Therefore, the first thing you should do before any conversations about money is look at the average reach of your latest posts.

How a Fair Price Is Calculated

The market works according to the cost per thousand reach, and the formula is simple. Divide the placement cost by the average reach of the post and multiply by one thousand. For example, if the owner asks for twelve thousand hryvnias per post and the average reach is four thousand two hundred views, then the cost per thousand reach is approximately two thousand eight hundred hryvnias. This is a very high rate, justified only in narrow niches with a solvent audience. Benchmarks for the Ukrainian market look like this. In the business and investment topics, the cost per thousand reach is approximately from two hundred and fifty to four hundred hryvnias. In general and entertainment niches, it is several times lower. To understand the scale, it is worth knowing that the platform's official advertising account operates at average rates of approximately one hundred and twenty to two hundred and ten hryvnias per thousand impressions. So if you ask significantly more for your channel than this benchmark, the advertiser will calculate it and leave.

Real Prices by Channel Size

According to Ukrainian platforms in 2026, the picture looks approximately like this. A small niche channel with one to ten thousand subscribers receives from three hundred to two thousand hryvnias per post. An average thematic channel with ten to fifty thousand receives from two to ten thousand hryvnias. A large channel with fifty to two hundred thousand receives from ten to fifty thousand. Channels with more than two hundred thousand subscribers start at fifty thousand hryvnias per placement. The ranges are wide, and the reason is that the price is influenced not only by size, but also by topic, placement format, and the amount of time the post remains in the channel.

Let Us Calculate Realistically

Now let us do what is not done in materials with optimistic income tables. Let us take a channel with ten thousand subscribers and a normal engagement rate, meaning a reach of approximately twenty-five percent, which gives two and a half thousand views per post. At a cost per thousand reach of three hundred hryvnias, the fair price of one advertising post is approximately seven hundred and fifty hryvnias. If you sell four advertising placements per month, and it is not worth doing more in a small channel so as not to lose the audience, this gives about three thousand hryvnias per month. This is precisely the realistic figure for a channel of this size in an average niche, and it differs noticeably from tables that promise tens of thousands. To reach an amount comparable to a salary, you need either a channel with several tens of thousands of subscribers, or a narrow niche with a high cost of reach, or other sources of income besides advertising.

Internal Currency and Donations

The platform has its own internal currency, the value of one unit of which at the beginning of 2026 was approximately from one point three to one and a half cents. Through it, the audience can send donations, pay for access to closed publications, and purchase digital goods. This tool works independently of the advertising program, and it is available more broadly. It is realistic to evaluate it as an addition, since the amounts of voluntary contributions are usually modest and strongly depend on the nature of the community. For channels with a strong personal connection to the audience, this channel works better than for news or aggregator channels.

Other Sources of Income

Affiliate programs provide a percentage of sales through your link, and for thematic channels with recommendations, this is often more profitable than direct advertising, since income is not limited by the number of placements. Your own products and services provide the highest margin, since you do not share it with anyone. For expert channels, this is the main path, and the channel works as a showcase here. Closed paid sections with subscription access are suitable when you have content that people are genuinely willing to pay for. Selling the channel itself is a separate market, and channels with a live audience and stable reach are purchased.

How Much Time It Takes

Getting the first thousand subscribers without investing in advertising takes months of regular publishing.

The first advertising sales appear when the channel becomes noticeable in its niche, meaning when advertisers see it in selections and mentions. Amounts comparable to the main income come to only a few people and usually not earlier than after one or two years. Therefore, it is not worth planning to switch to the channel as the main source of income without another source.

How to Sell Advertising

Direct outreach works best, meaning that you write to companies yourself whose products are relevant to your audience. For this, you need a media kit, meaning a short document describing the audience, average reach, engagement rate, examples of placements, and pricing. Placement exchanges provide a flow of orders, but take a commission and often offer lower rates. Mentions on your own channel work as advertising for your channel among advertisers, meaning that a successful placement brings the next clients. The price should be fixed and justified by calculation, rather than negotiated from scratch each time.

Why Buying Followers Does Not Work

Buying subscribers looks like a shortcut, and it damages precisely the metric that the advertiser looks at. The mechanics are simple. Purchased subscribers do not read posts, so the reach remains the same while the number of subscribers increases. The engagement rate falls, and the channel looks dead. Advertisers check this within a few minutes through analytics services, meaning they look at the ratio of reach to subscribers and the growth dynamics. Because of this, a channel with two thousand real subscribers sells for more than a channel with ten thousand purchased ones.

Taxes

The mechanics here are the same as for any other income from advertising activity. Systematic income requires registration of entrepreneurial activity, and for this, the third group of the simplified taxation system with a rate of five percent plus military levy is usually chosen. The key detail is that income is declared in the full amount received from the advertiser. Separately, it is worth taking into account that regular payments from different senders to an individual's card are subject to financial monitoring.


Sources

Forbes Ukraine regarding the launch of the advertising revenue-sharing program, Admitad regarding the platform's internal currency, data from the Ukrainian advertising platforms Telegator and SMM Marketing regarding prices, Foxy-IT materials regarding advertising account rates