Telegram gift marketplaces 2026: Portals vs Tonnel vs MRKT

By early 2026 the secondary market for Telegram Gifts is split across three main venues — Portals, Tonnel and MRKT. Each has its own liquidity profile, fee structure, and UX. This piece is a practical comparison: where to trade, where to arbitrage, where to hunt grails.

TL;DR

• Portals — deepest liquidity, tightest spread, simple UX. The best choice for entry and fast trades.
• Tonnel — lowest fees, strong floor analytics. The best choice for large trades and arbitrage.
• MRKT — advanced filters, modern UI. The best choice for grail hunting and finding underpriced lots.
• Getgems — the general-purpose TON NFT marketplace, complements the trio rather than replacing it.

Experienced traders run all three in parallel — each for its specific task. Long-form below.

Side-by-side table

Exact fee numbers move — verify on the venues themselves before trading.

Portals: depth and simplicity

Portals is a Telegram-native marketplace that opens as a mini-app. What makes it strong:

• Densest order book on top collections (Plush Pepe, Heart Locket, Crystal Ball). The easiest place to move size without slippage.
• Minimum clicks to a trade. Connect TON Connect → tap «Buy» → sign in wallet → done.
• 24h/7d/30d floor charts baked into every collection card.

Weaknesses:

• Fee higher than Tonnel. Material on large tickets.
• Basic filters. No filtering by model attribute or backdrop-rarity range — just collection and price.

When to pick Portals: market entry, fast two-way trades, no specific task (grail hunt, arbitrage).

Tonnel: the arbitrageur’s terminal

Tonnel is the oldest gift marketplace. Structurally it feels more like a trading terminal than a visual marketplace.

Strengths:

• Low fees. The main argument on large trades and at-volume arbitrage.
• Floor analytics. Detailed charts, volumes, change% — many open Tonnel purely as a «free TradingView for gifts».
• Full Telegram-bot integration — inline commands, fast navigation without a mini-app.

Weaknesses:

• Simpler UI. If you’re used to modern NFT marketplaces with tile catalogues, Tonnel may feel «spartan».
• Thinner depth on long-tail collections. Top listings — fine; niche ones — book is thin.

When to pick Tonnel: large trades, cross-venue arbitrage, floor analytics.

MRKT: filters and grails

MRKT is the youngest of the trio, but it quickly carved out a niche through advanced filters and a UI «in the style of real NFT marketplaces».

Strengths:

• Granular search. «Collection X, model = Gold (5%), backdrop ≤ 1%, sort by price asc» — a task that would take minutes of scrolling on Portals.
• Modern visuals. Dense card grid, attribute previews, hover animations.
• Referral programme. The marketplace pays real money for bringing traders — visible in the growth of the channel and content-partner network.

Weaknesses:

• Younger than Portals and Tonnel. Less history, more dependence on current fee/listing policy.
• Lower liquidity on top collections. The Plush Pepe book is denser on Portals.

When to pick MRKT: grail hunting, finding underpriced lots through filters, second-checking price before trading elsewhere.

Getgems: the general NFT tool

Getgems is not a gift-native marketplace but the general TON NFT marketplace. Gifts surface there after a withdrawal to a TON wallet and trade alongside classic collections.

Strengths:

• Web-UI and desktop convenience. Full browser interface — for those who run portfolio accounting on a computer.
• Auctions. Classic NFT mechanics for rare lots — reserve prices, time-bound sales.
• Broader catalogue. Besides gifts — TON domains, anonymous numbers, GameFi NFTs, art collections.

Weaknesses: gift liquidity below the gift-native venues. Most active traders use Getgems as a «supplement» — for auctions and portfolio work — not for fast trades.

Real scenarios — which venue to pick

Scenario 1: Buy a top-collection gift (Plush Pepe, floor ~80 TON)

Best pick: Portals. Tight spread, instant fills, simple UX. No filters needed — speed and a fair price are.

Scenario 2: Buy a grail (model 0.5% + backdrop 0.3%)

Best pick: MRKT for discovery, then compare price on Portals and Tonnel. Without MRKT filters the hunt becomes scrolling hundreds of cards. Once a lot is found — sanity-check the other venues in case the same attribute set is cheaper elsewhere.

Scenario 3: Sell a large lot (1000+ TON)

Best pick: Tonnel + Portals in parallel. Tonnel — lower fee = more net TON. Portals — higher liquidity = faster fill. List on both and pull from one when the other clears.

Scenario 4: Cross-venue arbitrage

All three plus Getgems. Monitoring floor gaps between Portals, Tonnel and MRKT is the core workflow of an arbitrageur. Getgems sometimes throws unexpected spreads on rare lots, especially when a gift gets «lost» in the general NFT catalogue.

Scenario 5: Long-term hold without selling

Not a marketplace — DAOLama. If the task is to hold rare gifts without locking capital, DAOLama lets you collateralise a gift and borrow TON without losing ownership. An alternative to selling when liquidity is needed but you don’t want to fix the position.

Security: same playbook on every marketplace

All four venues share the same threat — fake clones. The defence is identical:

1. Verify through ton.app before every new connection. A marketplace card in the catalogue = legitimate brand.
2. No «approve all» in TON Connect. Legitimate marketplaces only ask you to sign specific transactions (listing, sale, purchase).
3. 2FA on in Telegram. Without it, account compromise = stolen gifts even without your wallet.
4. Separate «trading» wallet. Don’t hold everything there — only what you’re willing to lose in a compromise. Main portfolio — cold storage.

What to pick in the end

The straightforward answer: all three in parallel. Each venue solves its own problem, and experienced traders keep three tabs open simultaneously. They each have a distinct profile and usage pattern:

• Portals — primary execution, tight spread.
• Tonnel — low fee + analytics.
• MRKT — filter-driven discovery.

For a newcomer, start with Portals, master the basic «buy-hold-sell» cycle, and bring Tonnel and MRKT in as specific needs arise.

What to read next

• Telegram Gifts 2026: how the market actually works — foundational industry overview.
• DAOLama: NFT lending on TON with collateral — liquidity without selling.
• ton.app: the catalogue of TON apps and channels — mandatory verification before connecting any marketplace.

The market moves fast. Today Portals leads on liquidity — six months from now it could be MRKT on a new referral wave. Check the current state and don’t get attached to a single venue.