Telegram's Similar Channels feature is useful, but sometimes I want to browse a whole directory rather than follow a short list of suggestions. Search bots are another option — I previously wrote a Chinese guide to Telegram search bots — but directories make it easier to spot large channels and active group chats.
One clarification: Telegram's documentation describes recommendations for public channels, with different limits for free and Premium accounts. It doesn't define the feature as exclusive to large channels.
TGStat: my first stop for large groups
TGStat is the broadest channel-and-group directory I've used. It's also an analytics service, so it is useful when I want to browse by audience size rather than just search for a name.
Despite its Russian roots, its coverage extends well beyond Russian-language communities. The Chinese catalog is extensive too: browse Chinese channels by subscribers or Chinese groups by members. For a broader starting point, there are also international channel rankings and group rankings.
List.tg: a familiar chat-list layout
List.tg's English catalog has a layout reminiscent of Telegram's chat list, with topic categories that make browsing straightforward. It includes plenty of channels, and its Chinese section is useful if that's the language you're looking for.
TelegramChannels.me: another directory to compare
TelegramChannels.me is another established directory I check when looking for channels. The original article links to its Chinese-language rankings.
Its current ranking page describes both channels and groups and offers language, category, and type filters, so the original statement that it has no groups needs updating. I still tend to use it mainly for channel discovery.
Which one do I actually use?
These are the three directories I find most useful; many smaller lists have much thinner coverage. I occasionally check List.tg and TelegramChannels.me for channels, but when I want a large group to chat in, I usually start with TGStat.
Translated and updated from the original Chinese article, published on October 15, 2026. The recommendations are the original author's personal choices.
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