The latest season of Big Brother is well and truly underway, and with a fresh season come fresh questions.
As viewers peruse the 24/7 live feeds and contemplate which Houseguest has the best chance of winning Big Brother‘s 25th season, a creeping question tends to worm its way into their minds. Most reality fans know that a bulk of our favorites — like The Bachelor and Bachelorette — don’t pay contestants for their participation. Is Big Brother the same, or does it pay its Houseguests when they appear on the show?
Are Big Brother Houseguests paid?
Big Brother isn’t your typical reality program. While there are plenty of reality competitions out there, Big Brother remains easily among the most prominent. It exists at the top of the pack alongside similar heavy-hitters like Survivor and separates itself from its peers with its unique contests and ceaseless surveillance. It also separates itself through its pay structure, which sees contestants earn money for their time — albeit quite a bit less than those Survivor favorites.
Before you feel too bad for them, know that Houseguests are, in fact, paid to appear on the show. They make a range from their participation, depending on how deep into the season they last, but no matter how early that elimination comes, every Big Brother Houseguest earns at least a small sum for their time.
How much are Big Brother Houseguests paid?
Big Brother Houseguest pay varies depending on how successful each contestant is, but it appears to largely fall in the same range. A former contestant on the program, Elena Davies, participated in season 19 of the series and later dished on how much incoming Houseguests can plan to make.
Every contestant on the show nets around $1,000 per week, according to Davies. That applies even to those who are booted out after just a few hours in the house — even though they didn’t last a full week, it seems CBS honors its word, and still cashes out the $1,000. Davies explained that the weekly stipend persists for anyone who lasts, week to week, in the series, and is added to any competition winnings. When Houseguests emerge from a specific competition victorious, they sometimes win a cash prize, which gives that weekly stipend a boost. Those who last through most, or all, of a season will typically see a payout more than $10,000 strong, particularly if they fared well in luxury competitions.
There is a catch, however. Those who actually cinch a win for their season are unlikely to see those weekly payouts. That’s because the grand prize for a Big Brother win is a whopping $750,000, with the runner-up getting $75,000 and “America’s favorite” earning a still-impressive $50,000. Instead of earning that weekly stipend, the victor and runner-up both get their individual payouts, which total far more than they would have made on base.