What each one actually is
Card payments inside Telegram run through a provider token connected to your own Stripe account. The buyer sees a normal card form in the chat, pays in your currency, and the money arrives with you directly.
Telegram Stars are the app's own currency. A buyer who already holds Stars spends them without entering card details at all, and the Stars land on your bot's balance. Payout is Telegram's own system, not ours.
What each one suits
Cards fit physical products, anything over a modest price, and anyone who expects a receipt in their own money. Refunds and disputes work the way your customers already expect.
Stars fit digital goods and small purchases: a file, a template, access to something. The friction is lower because there is no form, and the amounts are usually small enough that nobody minds the in-app currency.
What each one requires
Both need a paid App plan and your own bot rather than the shared platform bot. Cards additionally need a payment provider token from Telegram, connected to your Stripe account. Stars need nothing else at all, which is the main practical difference on setup day.
Stars are priced per product in whole units, with no currency conversion and no variants, so they suit a simple catalogue rather than a sized one.
Where the money goes
With cards, the money goes to your own Stripe account. With Stars, the Stars settle to your own bot balance. In both cases BotLaunch is never in the payment path and takes no cut of the sale. Details on plans are on Pricing.
How to choose, briefly
Sell physical things: cards. Sell files or access at small prices: Stars. Sell both: turn on both, and let the product decide which button a buyer sees. Nothing forces you to pick one for the whole shop.
If you are not on a paid plan yet, neither applies, and orders stay seller-fulfilled: the shop collects the order and you arrange payment however you do now. That is how most shops on Telegram Mini App store start.