This Is How Much the "Stranger Things" Cast Is Reportedly Making for Season 5

The actors' salaries have skyrocketed since the show first premiered.

Stranger Thing is one of Netflix's tentpole shows, and it's already had four massively successful seasons. So, heading into the fifth and final season, it's no surprise that the Stranger Things cast would really be raking in the dough. But, just how much are they making? A new report claims that after renegotiating their salaries for Season 5, the cast members have been divided into tiers with the two actors in the top tier making the most money. For all of them, however, it's a huge jump from their reported Season 1 salaries. Read on to find out how much the stars of Stranger Things are reportedly being paid for the fantasy show's last batch of episodes.

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The stars of the show got huge raises.

Finn Wolfhard and Millie Bobby Brown on "Stranger Things" season 4
Netflix

Puck reports that the stars of Stranger Things renegotiated their salaries for Season 5, and that the main cast members received large increases. According to the report, the cast—which features a high number of series regulars at 20 actors—negotiated together, and were divided into pay tiers for their fifth season salaries.

Best Life has reached out to Netflix for comment but has not received a response.

Winona Ryder and David Harbour are in the first tier.

Winona Ryder and David Harbour in 'Stranger Things' season 4
Netflix

According to Puck, the Stranger Things actors in tier 1 are Winona Ryder and David Harbour, the two adult stars of the show who have been around since the beginning. (Or, rather, the two stars who began the series as adults—a number of stars who started as kids are now over 18.) The report claims that Ryder and Harbour will each make $9 million for playing Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper again.

The main kids and teens are also making serious money.

Maya Hawke and Joe Keery in 'Stranger Things' season 4
Steve Dietl/Netflix

Tier 2 reportedly consists of the main "kids" on the show: Finn Wolfhard (Mike), Gaten Matarazzo (Dustin), Caleb McLaughlin (Lucas), Noah Schnapp (Will), and Sadie Sink (Max). They are all said to be making $7 million each for Season 5. Tier 3 consists of the actors who play the older, teenage characters: Natalia Dyer (Nancy), Charlie Heaton (Jonathan), Joe Keery (Steve), and Maya Hawke (Robin). They will reportedly make $6 million a piece.

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But what about Eleven?

Priah Ferguson in "Stranger Things" season 4
Tina Rowden/Netflix

The fourth tier includes almost everyone else and is reported by Puck to be making "much less" than those organized above them.

But you probably noticed that none of the tiers—and certainly not the last one—include Millie Bobby Brown, who stars as Eleven. Stranger Things was her breakout, but she now has a separate deal with Netflix that also includes her Enola Holmes films and the upcoming movie The Electric State. For the second Enola Holmes movie, released in 2022, Brown reportedly made $10 million. It's unclear how much she's being paid for Stranger Things Season 5 through the terms of that deal.

Their Season 1 salaries weren't anywhere near these amounts.

Gaten Matarazzo, Caleb McLaughlin, Millie Bobby Brown, Finn Wolfhard, and Noah Schnapp at a Golden Globes afterparty in 2017
CarlaVanWagoner / Shutterstock

If these numbers are correct, the Stranger Things cast is earning a huge percentage more than they did for previous seasons. According to The Hollywood Reporter, during Season 1, the kid cast members were making around $20,000 per episode, which would be around $160,000 for the season. Ryder was said to be making $100,000 per episode at the start, while Harbour was priced at $80,000. With the show taking off almost immediately, their pay has increased over the years. THR reported that the child actors were making $250,000 per episode by Season 3, which would have amounted to around $2 million for the season.

Lia Beck
Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Best Life, she has written for Refinery29, Bustle, Hello Giggles, InStyle, and more. Read more
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