Which Reality TV Stars Are the Biggest Bargains on Cameo? (And Who Is Overpriced?)

Have you ever dreamed of a personalized shoutout from your favorite reality TV star? Thanks to the internet, that shoutout can be yours for the right price.

Cameo is a popular website where people pay their favorite celebrities to record personalized videos. It's incredibly popular among reality TV fans for stars from shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, or the Real Housewives series. With all of the issues surrounding the retail world at the moment, a Cameo video can make the perfect gift -- whether you're looking for Survivor's Jeff Probst to send a hello to your Valentine or Chris Harrison to personally deliver a digital rose. 

The reality TV personalities who are the best and worst value on Cameo

10 best values — Reality TV personalities on Cameo
Personality	Cameo cost	Popularity on Google Trends (0-100 scale)	Cost per popularity point	Famous for
Tom Brooks	$19	36	$0.53	90 Day Fiancé
Jonny Fairplay	$15	28	$0.54	Survivor
William Hung	$23	30	$0.77	American Idol
Miss J Alexander	$50	38	$1.32	America's Next Top Model
Tammie Brown	$50	38	$1.32	RuPaul's Drag Race, Holiday Sparkle
Big Ed	$60	40	$1.50	90 Day Fiancé
Mrs Kasha Davis	$20	12	$1.67	RuPaul's Drag Race
Paul & Karine Staehle	$25	15	$1.67	90 Day Fiancé
Janelle Pierzina	$59	35	$1.69	Big Brother
Thorgy Thor	$41	24	$1.71	Rupaul's Drag Race

The world of reality TV is more robust than ever, with longstanding franchises like Survivor and Big Brother sharing the reality landscape with newer shows like 90 Day Fiancé and Below Deck.

When looking at the 10 best reality TV values on Cameo, two shows make up the majority of the top 10. 90 Day Fiancé and Rupaul's Drag Race each placed three personalities in the top 10.

10 worst values — Reality TV personalities on Cameo
Personality	Cameo cost	Popularity on Google Trends (0-100 scale)	Cost per popularity point	Famous for
Chris Harrison	$350	9	$38.89	The Bachelor
Aesha Jean	$69	2	$34.50	Below Deck Mediterranean
Kevin O’Leary aka Mr. Wonderful	$1,500	52	$28.85	Shark Tank
Holly Madison	$233	13	$17.92	Girls Next Door, Holly's World
Carole Baskin	$249	15	$16.60	Tiger King
Captain Lee	$188	12	$15.67	Below Deck
TJ Lavin	$225	15	$15.00	The Challenge
Coach Ben Wade	$89	7	$12.71	Survivor
Bethenny Frankel	$349	28	$12.46	Real Housewives of New York City
James Murray	$300	26	$11.54	Impractical Jokers

There is much more diversity when it comes to the worst values in reality TV. Only the Below Deck franchise places multiple personalities in the top 10. The worst overall value is the former host of The Bachelor, Chris Harrison.

Cameo cost by reality TV show
Show	Average cost
The Bachelor	$205
Real Housewives of New York City	$159
Tiger King	$140
Vanderpump Rules	$133
Real Housewives of New Jersey	$128
Pawn Stars	$125
The Challenge	$114
The Hills	$99
Survivor	$94
Below Deck	$87
Real Housewives of Dallas	$70
RuPaul's Drag Race	$69
90 Day Fiancé	$55
Big Brother	$46
American Idol	$31

Only one show, The Bachelor, features an average Cameo price tag over $200. At the same time, fans of Big Brother and American Idol can expect to pay less than $50 on average to get a shoutout from the people made famous on those shows.

Cameo cost by TV network
Network	Average cost
ABC	$139
MTV	$129
History	$125
Netflix	$115
Bravo	$108
VH1	$91
CBS	$79
TLC	$66
Lifetime	$62

We also broke down Cameo costs by TV network. ABC, home to the aforementioned Bachelor franchise, has the most expensive average price, while Lifetime stars are the most affordable, with an average cost of less than $65.

Tips on how to save on upcoming gifts

Cameos could make great gifts for upcoming holidays, birthdays, or any other special occasion. With a bit of research, any gift-giver should be able to find a fun and memorable Cameo to fit their budget. But whether you’re buying friends or loved ones a shoutout from their favorite celeb or purchasing more traditional presents, here are some tips on how to save on gifts:

• Turn points into the gift of an unforgettable experience. While many people are familiar with earning credit card points for flights and other travel perks, some rewards cards also allow users to earn tickets to concerts, sporting events, and more. Check to see if your rewards cards offer a program like that so you can learn how to gift unforgettable experiences using credit card rewards.
• Earn free gift cards when you shop. Between apps and credit cards, there are lots of ways to earn rewards just for making your regular purchases. Whether buying groceries or gifts, there are ways to earn free gift cards or cash while shopping.
• Get rewarded for the gifts you buy. Many credit cards offer cash back or other rewards on everyday spending. By using one of the best reward credit cards at the checkout, it can feel like you’re giving yourself a gift every time you buy a present for someone else.

Methodology

The FinanceBuzz team evaluated the 100 celebrities with the most reviews on Cameo in the Reality TV category. For each reality TV star, we found the minimum cost they charge for a Cameo video. This data was collected Nov. 17-19, 2021.

We also collected Google Trends search data for each celebrity. We looked at the average weekly search volume in the United States for each celebrity over the last 12 months. Trends data is represented as a measure of popularity on a 0-100 scale and is normalized by Google to account for factors such as geography, population size, and search volume relative to other terms. Google Trends data was collected from Nov. 29 - Dec. 6, 2021.

When calculating the average costs in different categories, we only included categories where there were at least two celebrities represented in our analysis.