Getting paid to make people laugh is the ultimate dream for some. But before raking in million-dollar deals like Kevin Hart or Sebastian Maniscalco, comedians largely work unpaid (or at least under-paid) until they’ve cultivated a following for themselves. So, what factors come into play when it comes to getting paid as a comedian? And how much does the average comedian make? Keep reading for more info.
There are numerous ways to get paid for your comedy. For many, the most obvious avenue is standup comedy, which will only start paying the bills after you’ve graduated from the world of open mics and free shows.
RELATED: How to Book Your First Standup Comedy Gig
However, comedy skills are transferable, and there are several career paths to pursue, including:
- Getting booked on a sitcom or sketch series like “Saturday Night Live”
- Writing for a comedy series
- Becoming a host or emcee
- Podcasting
- Putting your comedy on social media like TikTok and getting ad revenue
The reality is, when comedians are first starting out, they often work for free, hustling their way into open mic slots in hopes of catching the eye of a booker (or a bevy of new fans) who might buoy them into an opening slot for another more experienced comedian. In a digital world, this could also mean publishing to social media for exposure.
Most new comedians can expect to make between $20 and $50 per show, according to Indeed. (And, again, that’s after years of working for free to finesse their craft, as shared in this Medium article featuring many professional comedians’ anecdotes.) If you’re booked for a corporate gig—say, entertaining folks at a work function or a private, one-off event—as a comedian you can expect to make anywhere between $200–$500, comic Steve Roye wrote on his blog.
Comedic Timing 101: How to Tell Jokes With Ease But there’s a reason (other than a passion for the craft, of course) to keep hustling. At the top end of the spectrum, the 10 highest-grossing comedy tours of 2024 earned a whopping $396.7 million combined. That includes names like Nate Bargatze, whose tour grossed $82.2 million alone.
Now, say you parlay your comedy skills into a TV job. For an actor, the SAG minimum is $1,246 for a one-day gig or $4,326 a week if you’re a regular. For major roles, that number is $6,853 a week.
For comedy writers, the WGA minimum is $22,802 for a half-hour TV script on network TV and $12,121 for most streamers like Netflix and HBO Max. As a staff writer, you’d make a minimum of $5,935 a week.
If you’re turning to the microphone, podcasting can net you anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars a month to six figures, depending on the size of your audience. Like other comedy mediums, there is a road to mega-success here. Alex Cooper, for example, struck a deal with SiriusXM worth $125 million for her comedy podcast “Call Her Daddy” in 2024.
In the end, it’s all about how hard you hustle to create the career you want. It’s a little ironic, but a comedy career is serious business; it requires late nights, days or weeks away from home, and a lot of unpaid labor at the start. But if making people laugh is something that calls to you, it’s possible to make a living off of it. Good luck and get yourself out there!
