Webhook vs long polling: how it changes where you host a bot

Mode	Needs	Good hosts	Watch out
Long polling	A process that never sleeps; no public URL	Railway, Vultr, Fly.io	Only one poller per token
Webhook	Public HTTPS URL, fast response	Cloudflare Workers, Railway, a VPS with TLS	Verify the secret token header

Switching from polling to webhook

Deploy the webhook build and confirm /healthz responds.
Call setWebhook with secret_token; Telegram then stops delivering to getUpdates.
Stop the old polling process.

Build the setWebhook URL with the Telegram URL builder and send a test with the Telegram/Discord webhook tester.

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VPS / cloud

Vultr

A cloud provider with small VPS plans in many regions. You get full root access and predictable monthly pricing; updates, firewall and backups are your responsibility.

Best for: always-on bots where you want full control.

OfferNew users can get up to $300 in trial credit, per Vultr's promo terms.

Try Vultr

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Platform as a service

Railway

A deployment platform: connect a GitHub repository or Dockerfile and Railway builds and runs it, with logs, environment variables and managed databases. Usage-based pricing, so check how always-on services add up.

Best for: gateway bots and workers without managing a server.

OfferNew users get $20 in credits.

Try Railway

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Frequently asked questions

Which is faster?

Both deliver updates quickly in practice; webhooks avoid the open connection.

Can I test webhooks locally?

Use a tunnel or our webhook inspector to see the request, or keep polling for development.

Why do I get 409 Conflict?

A webhook is set while you call getUpdates, or two pollers run. Delete the webhook or stop the duplicate.