‘Stranger Things’ Salaries Revealed: How Much the Cast Made in Five Seasons

Stranger Things has finally reached the end of the road. When the show first arrived on Netflix in 2016, few people expected it to last almost a decade. By early 2026, the fifth and final season had wrapped up, closing the story for good, even if some fans still hope there is more to come.

While the series became a global hit and launched several careers, it also turned into a very well-paid job for many of the actors.

Over the years, fans have often wondered how much the cast actually earned. Reports from outlets such as The Direct, Deadline, and The Hollywood Reporter give a clearer picture of how the money was divided.

According to The Direct, Winona Ryder and David Harbour were at the top of the pay scale. They were described as “tier one” actors, meaning they earned the highest salaries on the show. By season three, both were reportedly making about $350,000 per episode. For the fifth and final season, they each earned around $9.5 million.

Since Ryder played Joyce and Harbour played Hopper from the very beginning, their total earnings over five seasons are estimated at about $17 million each. Ryder was reportedly the highest-paid cast member overall, which matched her long-standing status in Hollywood.

Much of the early attention around the show came from the fact that Netflix had landed a big name like Ryder. Over time, however, the younger cast became the true face of Stranger Things, especially Millie Bobby Brown as Eleven.

The child actors started out with much lower pay. The Hollywood Reporter previously said they earned between $20,000 and $30,000 per episode in the early seasons. As the show grew, so did their salaries. Brown was in a special position, as she reportedly negotiated her own deal with Netflix instead of being grouped into the same pay structure as the others.

Since she also worked on other Netflix projects, her total earnings from Stranger Things have not been made public, though it is widely believed she earned a very large amount.

Finn Wolfhard, Gaten Matarazzo, Noah Schnapp, and Caleb McLaughlin were placed in the next pay tier. Deadline reported that starting with season three, they earned about $250,000 per episode.

Sadie Sink later joined this group. The Direct claims that each of them made around $7 million from the final season alone. Actors who appeared from the start are estimated to have earned more than $11 million in total by the end of the show.

Another group of actors, including Natalia Dyer, Joe Keery, and Charlie Heaton, were paid slightly less. From season three onward, they reportedly earned about $150,000 per episode. Their pay increased again for the final season, reaching around $750,000 per episode. This puts their total earnings at roughly $8.5 million each. Maya Hawke, who joined later, earned a bit less since she was not part of the first two seasons.

Actors outside the main cast earned much smaller amounts. Tristan Spohn, who appeared in five episodes of season four as the character Two, shared details about his pay. He said he earned around $15,000 per episode because he was listed as a “recurring guest star”, placing him several levels below the main cast when it came to salary.

Stranger Things turned into one of Netflix’s biggest success stories, and the paychecks reflect that. The longer actors stayed on the show, the more their value grew.

The salary jumps make sense given how much money the series brought in for Netflix. Still, the gap between the top stars and smaller roles is huge. What do you think about how the cast was paid? Do you feel the salaries were fair, or do some actors deserve more? Share your thoughts in the comments.