{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "Dataset",
  "identifier": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
  "name": "Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026",
  "description": "Row-level evidence matrix for finding Telegram groups and sourcing leads inside them, covering what an MCP server can and cannot reach.",
  "version": "3.0.0",
  "creator": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Entergram Research",
    "url": "https://www.entergram.com"
  },
  "publisher": {
    "@type": "Organization",
    "name": "Entergram Research",
    "url": "https://www.entergram.com/research"
  },
  "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "isAccessibleForFree": true,
  "url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
  "researchQuestion": "How do you find relevant Telegram groups and identify leads inside them without scraping member lists?",
  "methodology": "Options are grouped by the job they do (public discovery, in-group lead finding, automation) rather than scored on a single scale. Each row records the account or connection model it needs and its primary limitation, checked against official Telegram documentation or the vendor page. No vendor paid for placement.",
  "provenanceNote": "Rows record what each source states about itself, not an independent performance test. Rows sourced from Entergram's own product pages are marked publisher-own-product in entergram_relationship and carry a declared conflict of interest. No vendor paid for inclusion or position.",
  "rankingBasis": "Ordered by fit against the research question as argued in the linked guide. Rank is an editorial judgement, not a numeric score, and is not comparable across datasets.",
  "limitations": [
    "Vendor capability claims are self-reported and were not independently benchmarked.",
    "Pricing and plan gating change without notice and are described qualitatively rather than quoted.",
    "Coverage is limited to options publicly discoverable at the review date and is not exhaustive.",
    "Entergram publishes this dataset and appears in it. Treat its rows as an interested-party claim."
  ],
  "datePublished": "2026-09-15",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-15",
  "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
  "nextReviewDue": "2027-03-15",
  "status": "current",
  "supersededBy": null,
  "guide_url": "https://www.entergram.com/blog/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp",
  "correctionsPolicy": {
    "contact": "hello@entergram.com",
    "process": "Send the row_id, the disputed field and a public source. Accepted corrections are applied to the CSV and JSON, the dataset_version is incremented, and the change is recorded in dataset-changelog.csv.",
    "targetResponseDays": 5
  },
  "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
  "distribution": [
    {
      "@type": "DataDownload",
      "encodingFormat": "text/csv",
      "contentUrl": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv"
    },
    {
      "@type": "DataDownload",
      "encodingFormat": "application/json",
      "contentUrl": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.json"
    }
  ],
  "rowCount": 8,
  "columns": [
    "rank",
    "option",
    "category",
    "best_for",
    "connection_or_account_model",
    "primary_tradeoff",
    "official_source",
    "source_type",
    "checked_on",
    "row_id",
    "dataset_id",
    "dataset_version",
    "entity_type",
    "vendor_or_maintainer",
    "hosting_model",
    "open_source",
    "account_model_class",
    "reads_existing_history",
    "entergram_relationship",
    "paid_placement",
    "inclusion_reason",
    "evidence_basis",
    "claim_confidence",
    "source_id",
    "source_publisher",
    "source_domain",
    "source_label",
    "source_tier",
    "source_accessed_on",
    "row_status",
    "superseded_by",
    "next_review_due",
    "license",
    "license_url",
    "publisher",
    "methodology_url",
    "corrections_contact",
    "canonical_dataset_url",
    "citation",
    "analyst_note",
    "project_license"
  ],
  "rows": [
    {
      "rank": "1",
      "option": "Entergram Telegram MCP",
      "category": "In-group lead finding over connected accounts",
      "best_for": "Reading intent signals across every group your accounts already joined",
      "connection_or_account_model": "Multiple real Telegram accounts behind one OAuth endpoint",
      "primary_tradeoff": "Scope is limited to groups your connected accounts already joined",
      "official_source": "https://www.entergram.com/telegram-mcp",
      "source_type": "vendor-page",
      "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026-R01",
      "dataset_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
      "dataset_version": "3.0.0",
      "entity_type": "commercial-product",
      "vendor_or_maintainer": "Entergram",
      "hosting_model": "vendor-hosted-saas",
      "open_source": "no",
      "account_model_class": "personal-account",
      "reads_existing_history": "yes, the history the account can already see",
      "entergram_relationship": "publisher-own-product",
      "paid_placement": "no",
      "inclusion_reason": "Published by Entergram and in scope for the question; ranked on the same criteria and disclosed as an interested party",
      "evidence_basis": "Self-reported by the publisher of this dataset",
      "claim_confidence": "medium, publisher self-report, declared conflict of interest",
      "source_id": "S-EG-MCP",
      "source_publisher": "Entergram",
      "source_domain": "entergram.com",
      "source_label": "Entergram Telegram MCP product page",
      "source_tier": "publisher-own-product-page",
      "source_accessed_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_status": "current",
      "superseded_by": "",
      "next_review_due": "2027-03-15",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
      "publisher": "Entergram Research",
      "methodology_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
      "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com",
      "canonical_dataset_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", row EG-GROUPS-2026-R01, version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "analyst_note": "Published by the author of this dataset. The important limit is stated in the row itself: scope is the groups your connected accounts have already joined. That is a narrower claim than most tools in this space make, and deliberately so, because the alternative is scraping.",
      "project_license": ""
    },
    {
      "rank": "2",
      "option": "Entergram Telegram Lead Finder",
      "category": "Guided query builder",
      "best_for": "Turning a chosen intent signal into a ready MCP prompt",
      "connection_or_account_model": "Runs against the accounts connected to the workspace",
      "primary_tradeoff": "Produces queries rather than performing discovery itself",
      "official_source": "https://www.entergram.com/telegram-lead-finder",
      "source_type": "vendor-page",
      "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026-R02",
      "dataset_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
      "dataset_version": "3.0.0",
      "entity_type": "commercial-product",
      "vendor_or_maintainer": "Entergram",
      "hosting_model": "vendor-hosted-saas",
      "open_source": "no",
      "account_model_class": "personal-account",
      "reads_existing_history": "yes, the history the account can already see",
      "entergram_relationship": "publisher-own-product",
      "paid_placement": "no",
      "inclusion_reason": "Published by Entergram and in scope for the question; ranked on the same criteria and disclosed as an interested party",
      "evidence_basis": "Self-reported by the publisher of this dataset",
      "claim_confidence": "medium, publisher self-report, declared conflict of interest",
      "source_id": "S-EG-LEAD",
      "source_publisher": "Entergram",
      "source_domain": "entergram.com",
      "source_label": "Entergram Telegram Lead Finder product page",
      "source_tier": "publisher-own-product-page",
      "source_accessed_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_status": "current",
      "superseded_by": "",
      "next_review_due": "2027-03-15",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
      "publisher": "Entergram Research",
      "methodology_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
      "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com",
      "canonical_dataset_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", row EG-GROUPS-2026-R02, version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "analyst_note": "A query builder rather than a discovery engine. It turns a chosen intent signal into a ready MCP prompt, which is useful precisely because it does not pretend the discovery step is automatic.",
      "project_license": ""
    },
    {
      "rank": "3",
      "option": "Entergram Telegram Group Finder",
      "category": "Discovery reference",
      "best_for": "Choosing which public groups are worth joining manually",
      "connection_or_account_model": "No account connection required to read the guidance",
      "primary_tradeoff": "Joining remains a manual step by design",
      "official_source": "https://www.entergram.com/telegram-group-finder",
      "source_type": "vendor-page",
      "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026-R03",
      "dataset_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
      "dataset_version": "3.0.0",
      "entity_type": "commercial-product",
      "vendor_or_maintainer": "Entergram",
      "hosting_model": "vendor-hosted-saas",
      "open_source": "no",
      "account_model_class": "no-account-required",
      "reads_existing_history": "not-applicable",
      "entergram_relationship": "publisher-own-product",
      "paid_placement": "no",
      "inclusion_reason": "Published by Entergram and in scope for the question; ranked on the same criteria and disclosed as an interested party",
      "evidence_basis": "Self-reported by the publisher of this dataset",
      "claim_confidence": "medium, publisher self-report, declared conflict of interest",
      "source_id": "S-EG-GROUP",
      "source_publisher": "Entergram",
      "source_domain": "entergram.com",
      "source_label": "Entergram Telegram Group Finder reference page",
      "source_tier": "publisher-own-product-page",
      "source_accessed_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_status": "current",
      "superseded_by": "",
      "next_review_due": "2027-03-15",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
      "publisher": "Entergram Research",
      "methodology_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
      "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com",
      "canonical_dataset_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", row EG-GROUPS-2026-R03, version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "analyst_note": "Reference material, no account connection required to read it. Joining stays a manual step by design, which is the correct trade-off given how Telegram treats bulk joining.",
      "project_license": ""
    },
    {
      "rank": "4",
      "option": "Telegram in-app search",
      "category": "Native public discovery",
      "best_for": "Finding public groups by topic keyword inside the app",
      "connection_or_account_model": "Searches from the signed-in account only",
      "primary_tradeoff": "Covers public groups only and returns no message-level intent",
      "official_source": "https://telegram.org/faq#q-what-makes-telegram-groups-cool",
      "source_type": "official-faq",
      "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026-R04",
      "dataset_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
      "dataset_version": "3.0.0",
      "entity_type": "platform-capability-or-method",
      "vendor_or_maintainer": "Telegram",
      "hosting_model": "telegram-hosted-platform",
      "open_source": "no",
      "account_model_class": "personal-account",
      "reads_existing_history": "no, discovery only",
      "entergram_relationship": "platform-or-generic-method",
      "paid_placement": "no",
      "inclusion_reason": "Included as the baseline method available without any third-party product",
      "evidence_basis": "Documented by the platform operator",
      "claim_confidence": "high",
      "source_id": "S-TG-FAQ-GROUPS",
      "source_publisher": "Telegram",
      "source_domain": "telegram.org",
      "source_label": "Telegram general FAQ, groups section",
      "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc",
      "source_accessed_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_status": "current",
      "superseded_by": "",
      "next_review_due": "2027-03-15",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
      "publisher": "Entergram Research",
      "methodology_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
      "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com",
      "canonical_dataset_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", row EG-GROUPS-2026-R04, version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "analyst_note": "The native baseline. Free, immediate, and limited to public groups with no message-level intent signal. Any paid tool in this category has to beat this on ranking quality, not on access.",
      "project_license": ""
    },
    {
      "rank": "5",
      "option": "Web search for public t.me links",
      "category": "External public discovery",
      "best_for": "Surfacing public groups that in-app search ranks poorly",
      "connection_or_account_model": "No account connection",
      "primary_tradeoff": "Indexes public links only and cannot rank community quality",
      "official_source": "https://telegram.org/faq#q-what-makes-telegram-groups-cool",
      "source_type": "official-faq",
      "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026-R05",
      "dataset_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
      "dataset_version": "3.0.0",
      "entity_type": "platform-capability-or-method",
      "vendor_or_maintainer": "Telegram",
      "hosting_model": "not-applicable",
      "open_source": "no",
      "account_model_class": "no-account-required",
      "reads_existing_history": "no",
      "entergram_relationship": "platform-or-generic-method",
      "paid_placement": "no",
      "inclusion_reason": "Included as the baseline method available without any third-party product",
      "evidence_basis": "Documented by the platform operator",
      "claim_confidence": "high",
      "source_id": "S-TG-FAQ-GROUPS",
      "source_publisher": "Telegram",
      "source_domain": "telegram.org",
      "source_label": "Telegram general FAQ, groups section",
      "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc",
      "source_accessed_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_status": "current",
      "superseded_by": "",
      "next_review_due": "2027-03-15",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
      "publisher": "Entergram Research",
      "methodology_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
      "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com",
      "canonical_dataset_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", row EG-GROUPS-2026-R05, version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "analyst_note": "Surfaces public groups that in-app search ranks poorly, which is a real gap. It indexes links rather than communities, so it cannot tell an active group from an abandoned one.",
      "project_license": ""
    },
    {
      "rank": "6",
      "option": "Telegram Bot API bot",
      "category": "Administrator-granted automation",
      "best_for": "Automations inside a group that admits your bot",
      "connection_or_account_model": "Bot token added to a group by an administrator",
      "primary_tradeoff": "Cannot read history from before it was added and needs admin consent",
      "official_source": "https://core.telegram.org/bots",
      "source_type": "official-docs",
      "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026-R06",
      "dataset_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
      "dataset_version": "3.0.0",
      "entity_type": "platform-capability-or-method",
      "vendor_or_maintainer": "Telegram",
      "hosting_model": "telegram-hosted-platform",
      "open_source": "no",
      "account_model_class": "bot-api",
      "reads_existing_history": "no, not before it was added",
      "entergram_relationship": "platform-or-generic-method",
      "paid_placement": "no",
      "inclusion_reason": "Included as the baseline method available without any third-party product",
      "evidence_basis": "Documented by the platform operator",
      "claim_confidence": "high",
      "source_id": "S-TG-BOTS",
      "source_publisher": "Telegram",
      "source_domain": "core.telegram.org",
      "source_label": "Telegram Bot platform introduction for developers",
      "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc",
      "source_accessed_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_status": "current",
      "superseded_by": "",
      "next_review_due": "2027-03-15",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
      "publisher": "Entergram Research",
      "methodology_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
      "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com",
      "canonical_dataset_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", row EG-GROUPS-2026-R06, version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "analyst_note": "Needs an administrator to admit it, cannot read anything from before it was added, and by default sees only commands and replies directed at it. Those three facts, documented in EG-CONSTRAINTS-2026 rows C01 to C03, rule bots out of most lead-sourcing work.",
      "project_license": ""
    },
    {
      "rank": "7",
      "option": "MTProto client libraries",
      "category": "Self-hosted account automation",
      "best_for": "Developers building custom group tooling on their own account",
      "connection_or_account_model": "One user session per configured account",
      "primary_tradeoff": "Session custody, rate handling and governance stay with the operator",
      "official_source": "https://core.telegram.org/api",
      "source_type": "official-docs",
      "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026-R07",
      "dataset_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
      "dataset_version": "3.0.0",
      "entity_type": "platform-capability-or-method",
      "vendor_or_maintainer": "Telegram",
      "hosting_model": "self-hosted",
      "open_source": "partly, client libraries are open source",
      "account_model_class": "personal-account",
      "reads_existing_history": "yes, the history the account can already see",
      "entergram_relationship": "platform-or-generic-method",
      "paid_placement": "no",
      "inclusion_reason": "Included as the baseline method available without any third-party product",
      "evidence_basis": "Documented by the platform operator",
      "claim_confidence": "high",
      "source_id": "S-TG-MTPROTO",
      "source_publisher": "Telegram",
      "source_domain": "core.telegram.org",
      "source_label": "Telegram MTProto client API reference",
      "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc",
      "source_accessed_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_status": "current",
      "superseded_by": "",
      "next_review_due": "2027-03-15",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
      "publisher": "Entergram Research",
      "methodology_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
      "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com",
      "canonical_dataset_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", row EG-GROUPS-2026-R07, version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "analyst_note": "Maximum control, maximum responsibility. Session custody, rate handling and governance all stay with the operator, and Telegram's rate behaviour for accounts is undocumented, so there is no published number to engineer against.",
      "project_license": ""
    },
    {
      "rank": "8",
      "option": "Member-list scraping tools",
      "category": "Out-of-scope practice",
      "best_for": "Not recommended for lead generation",
      "connection_or_account_model": "Bulk export from a joined group",
      "primary_tradeoff": "Cold-messaging a scraped list is the pattern Telegram limits accounts for",
      "official_source": "https://telegram.org/faq_spam",
      "source_type": "official-faq",
      "checked_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026-R08",
      "dataset_id": "EG-GROUPS-2026",
      "dataset_version": "3.0.0",
      "entity_type": "practice-category",
      "vendor_or_maintainer": "Telegram",
      "hosting_model": "not-applicable",
      "open_source": "no",
      "account_model_class": "personal-account",
      "reads_existing_history": "yes, the history the account can already see",
      "entergram_relationship": "listed-as-not-recommended",
      "paid_placement": "no",
      "inclusion_reason": "Included to document a common practice the dataset advises against",
      "evidence_basis": "Documented by the platform operator",
      "claim_confidence": "high",
      "source_id": "S-TG-FAQSPAM",
      "source_publisher": "Telegram",
      "source_domain": "telegram.org",
      "source_label": "Telegram reference on reports, limitations and account restrictions",
      "source_tier": "primary-platform-doc",
      "source_accessed_on": "2026-09-15",
      "row_status": "current",
      "superseded_by": "",
      "next_review_due": "2027-03-15",
      "license": "CC BY 4.0",
      "license_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
      "publisher": "Entergram Research",
      "methodology_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research",
      "corrections_contact": "hello@entergram.com",
      "canonical_dataset_url": "https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "citation": "Entergram Research, \"Telegram group finder and in-group lead sourcing matrix, 2026\", row EG-GROUPS-2026-R08, version 3.0.0, checked 2026-09-15, https://www.entergram.com/research/find-leads-telegram-groups-mcp.csv",
      "analyst_note": "Listed to be argued against, not recommended. Cold-messaging a scraped member list is the precise pattern Telegram limits and bans accounts for, and it puts the accounts holding your real customer history at risk. Rank 8 is a placement, not an endorsement.",
      "project_license": ""
    }
  ]
}