Do ’Dancing With the Stars’ Celebrities Get Paid?

Live, from Hollywood— it’s Dancing With the Stars!

Season 34 kicked off on September 16, and already fans can’t stop talking about the talent hitting the dance floor! From Robert Irwin getting people riled up with his Jive to Danielle Fishel making viewers swoon over her Tango, there’s so much more to look forward to throughout the season.

Given how the celebrities are such a big part of the show, it’s only fair to wonder some questions about how they got on the show. Or, if you’re anything like me, you’re wondering do they get paid to be on Dancing With the Stars?

Eric McCandless//ABC

Robert Irwin with his partner, Witney Carson, on Dancing With the Stars season 24 in September 2025.

How much do celebrities get paid on Dancing With the Stars?

Per a number of different outlets (including a 2019 report from Variety), celebrities reportedly make a starting salary of $125,000 on Dancing With the Stars.

A Parade article also notes that the longer the celebrity stays on the show, the more money they make. For example:

• If a celebrity makes it to weeks 3 and 4 on Dancing With the Stars, they reportedly get a $10,000 bonus per week.
• Should a celebrity continue onto week 5, they earn a $15,000 bonus per week.
• If the star gets to weeks 6 and 7, they can expect a $20,ooo bonus per week.
• Should the star continue onto weeks 8 and 9, they get a $30,000 bonus per week.
• If the celebrity makes it all the way to the season finale, they win a $50,000 bonus.

So, all in all, how much can a celebrity make on Dancing With the Stars? If they can dance their way to the end of the season (which is a total of 11 weeks), they can reportedly make a whopping $360,000 for their entire run! How wild is that?

But as every Dancing With the Stars fan knows, for every celebrity, there is an incredible pro helping them along the way. So, with that in mind …

Do the pros get paid on Dancing With the Stars?

While there are no clear reports that indicate how much the pros make, Jenna Johnson-Chmerkovskiy did share some insight into how they’re paid on Dancing With the Stars.

When speaking on The Morning After podcast in June 2025, Jenna revealed the pros don’t get a bonus for dancing their way through the season on DWTS. But, should they happen to win, ABC will give the pro what she called a “nice” bonus.

“Whoever makes it to the finale, you all get paid up until then,” she shared at the time. “And you do get a nice bonus. You’re guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks. I think there are different contracts, so I can’t speak for everybody.”

That said, Jenna did clarify that while the pros do get a base salary ahead of the season, the actual number does change depending on how far they go with their celebrity partner.

“If you make it all the way to the end, you’re getting paid the whole season, which is amazing,” she added. “And you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale. If you win, it’s not like you win a million dollars and split it with your partner. You’re just getting a cute trophy together.”

After reading all of this, consider us totally intrigued!