Have you ever wondered how much celebrities earn while twirling on the dance floor of Dancing With the Stars?
In 2019, Variety revealed through various sources that contestants on Dancing With the Stars receive $125,000 for the preparation phase and for their participation in the initial two weeks of the show. If they manage to progress further, their earnings increase weekly. Back then, it was reported that stars could potentially make up to $295,000.
Interestingly, Bobby Bones claimed he surpassed these figures after claiming victory in season 27 alongside Sharna Burgess in 2018.
During a September 2025 episode of Jason Tartick‘s podcast Trading Secrets, the radio host shared, “That show pays OK. For the first episode, there’s no money. The second episode is $10,000. Then it goes $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000, rounding off to about $50,000 an episode if you manage to stay in the competition.”
Bones also mentioned receiving a base salary of approximately $110,000 and concluded, “I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show.”
ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.