How much do survivor players make on the show
Executive summary
Survivor contestants do get paid beyond the single grand prize, but the amounts vary widely: the Sole Survivor typically receives $1,000,000 (with one notable $2,000,000 exception), the runner‑up and final finishers receive six‑figure and high five‑figure sums, and all other players are paid on a sliding scale that increases the longer they last — though the full breakdown has never been officially published by producers [1] [2] [3].
1. The top prize — generally $1 million (one big exception)
Since the show’s start the champion has been awarded $1,000,000, the headline figure that defines the series, with the lone exception being Season 40 (Winners at War), when the prize was doubled to $2,000,000 for that season’s format and celebration [1] [2] [3].
2. Finalists and the widely reported runner‑up/third‑place payouts
Reporting across multiple outlets and former‑player disclosures converge on a familiar pattern: the runner‑up is commonly said to receive about $100,000, while third place (and often fourth) take home roughly $85,000 — figures repeated in People, Dexerto, Primetimer and the Survivor franchise summary, and treated as standard in modern seasons [4] [5] [2] [6].
3. Everybody else — a sliding scale with small early payouts
Former contestants and longtime reporting indicate every castaway receives money scaled to how many days or episodes they lasted, with early boots historically pocketing only a few thousand dollars; past coverage cites first‑voted‑off payments ranging from roughly $2,500 to $3,500 and increasing with each week survived [7] [8] [9]. Multiple outlets and player anecdotes describe a “sliding scale” payout pool, but the production has not publicly released a definitive chart, leaving exact per‑placement amounts for midgame exits opaque [6] [3].
4. Reunion and bonus payments, and changing practices
When Survivor used a live finale/reunion format, former players said they received an appearance stipend — often reported as $10,000 for attending the finale/reunion — which made returning more financially attractive; that arrangement changed after Season 40 as the show’s postgame format evolved [10] [8]. In addition, external cash awards influenced outcomes for contestants: pop star Sia privately awarded dozens of players significant sums (sometimes $50,000 to $100,000) across many seasons under the “Sia Prize,” a gesture that ended after Season 46 in 2024 [1] [11].
5. Additional income streams and the opaque official stance
Beyond on‑show payouts, observers note that Survivor’s real financial upside for many players often arrives after airtime via appearances, endorsements, podcasts and influencer deals, but that is outside the show’s payroll and varies by player [12]. Crucially, the producers have never published a comprehensive, official payment schedule for eliminated contestants; most published figures derive from reporting, player interviews and franchise summaries rather than a single public contract or statement, so some numeric details remain best‑effort reconstructions [3] [6].
6. What this means in practice
In short: winning yields the headline seven‑figure prize (usually $1M; $2M once), finishers in the final tiers walk away with high five‑ or six‑figure sums (runner‑up ≈ $100K, third ≈ $85K, per reporting), midgame and early exits receive much smaller sliding payments that can be as low as a few thousand dollars, and reunion/appearance stipends and one‑off gifts (like Sia’s) have historically boosted payouts for some contestants — but the precise per‑placement amounts for every slot on the cast remain not fully disclosed by CBS or producers [1] [2] [7] [10] [11] [3].