17 Times Former Reality Show Stars, Producers, Or Other Sources Revealed How Much Contestants Reportedly Get Paid

They're paid more each additional week they make it, with a reported maximum of  $295,000 as of 2019.

In 2023, Season 29 winner Kaitlyn Bristowe told the Trading Secrets podcast, "You get a bonus every week that you make it. The final four are in the final episode; they all get paid the same. … But your signing bonus, I think you can negotiate a bit, like, to sign to say you're going on the show."

He continued, "So, it's not that much, but then, at the same time, you're not...you're literally just on the show. So, it's definitely worth [it]."

If a couple decides to get married, the show covers their wedding essentials. 

In 2020, a production rep told Women's Health, "Of course production supplies some of the basics, but because these are their real weddings, it’s up to them as to how to spend their money."

"So, yeah, I got £250 a week. I don't know if that's the same now, but that's what I got paid when I was on winter Love Island, and obviously, you can make up for any losses if you work hard when you come out," she said.

He continued, "And then I start talking to some friends, and they're like, 'Well, you should get more money because you're who they want most from your season to go to Paradise, minus [runner-up Peter Kraus], obviously.'"

He said he asked for $800 a day but settled for $600.

"Out of principle, I wanted them to pay me more than they were offering everybody else, just because I thought I was hot shit or something," he added.

She continued, "He changed a lot and negotiated my contract big time for me. One of the executive producers said to me, 'You got an entertainment lawyer, and you're asking for this amount of money? I'm sorry. I thought this is about love for you.' Fuck off! It's about love and money, OK? They go hand in hand for me right now. Because they said, 'You're going against Britt [Nilsson],' I was like, 'I'm not doing it.' And then I said, 'I'll only do it if you paid me as much as you paid Chris Soules.' I said I wanted to make the same as he did."

"I'm not sure if I was allowed to say that. I might've broken an NDA," he added.

Entertainment Weekly broke it down further, reporting that the first contestant voted out gets $2,500, and the pay scale goes up from there. Additionally, each player receives $10,000 for the reunion.

However, the base salary goes up for returning players on all-star seasons.

According to Entertainment Weekly, not only did Survivor: Winners at War double the grand prize money to $2 million, but each contestant was also paid a minimum of $25,000 for returning plus the usual $10,000 for appearing on the reunion episode.

She also said, "When we first started, it was favored nations. Favored nations means everybody gets paid the same. There's a different caliber of housewife that will come on the show now. So, when I started, everyone was paid the same number for the first season, which was a certain number of episodes."

For Season 2, she negotiated for a higher salary for herself and Jill Zarrin, and other cast members made their own various deals. 

The winner gets $250,000 on top of that.

She said that, along with the 13 weeks she was paid for, she also won a "luxury comp" in a challenge, which earned her an additional $5,000.

She also said that MTV is keen to cast reality stars from CBS (which is also owned by Paramount), which often leads to them getting paid more than alum from MTV shows.

"That works for my favor a little bit, but I demanded a pretty high weekly stipend, and then I demanded guaranteed pay, which they don't normally offer because I was like, 'I'm not doing all this and then get getting sent home the first week.' Pay me what I want or no, thanks," she said.

She continued, "So for Season 2, I wasn't paid out completely till almost a year after filming. We did get $1,500 for the tell-all. If I were to compare [the] cost to what needed to be spent to get to locations, food, clothing that wasn't reimbursed, I was close to breaking even."

"So you'd lay there on a Sunday and you'd think, 'There's another 7 days, there's AU$35,000, boom. Hopefully, they don't have an eviction during the week,'" he said.

“Honestly, almost nothing," he added.

She continued, "If you want to make the cake five times at home to practise, that's your own problem, because they aren't going to pay for it. But in the tent, they would provide you with everything you wanted. You could ask for a fruit that grows on the moon, and they will bring it."

He said, "They way they pitched it was, 'Oh Bryce, you're gonna make a ton of money after this anyway.' You know what I mean? 'You're gonna get a lot of exposure; it'll be fine for ya.' And I'm like, 'I'm not really going for the money anyways. I'm going for the experience.' And I know that exposure will come through as well, obviously, which is, nice, obviously. And it's an island vacation with hot single singles, and it's on Netflix."