- Primary Subject: Alex Honnold's Taipei 101 free solo climb and Netflix payout
- Key Update: A report revealed how much Netflix paid Alex Honnold for the Taipei 101 free solo climb in Skyscraper Live.
- Status: Confirmed
- Last Verified: January 27, 2026
- Quick Answer: Alex Honnold was reportedly paid roughly $500,000 for the Skyscraper Live special, though he admitted he would have completed the historic climb for free.
Following his successful free solo climb of Taipei 101, one of the biggest questions fans have been asking is how much Alex Honnold was paid for Skyscraper Live.
The Netflix live special saw Honnold do a free solo climb on the famed skyscraper, Taipei 101, the former tallest building in the world. The event was done without any incident, as he managed to ascend to the top in just 1 hour and 31 minutes, and without using a rope. Fans worldwide have been discussing his impressive achievement and wondering how he pulled off the stunt.
How Much Was Alex Honnold Paid to Climb Taipei 101 for Skyscraper Live?
A recent report from The New York Times revealed that Honnold was only paid in the mid-six figures for participating in Netflix's Skyscraper Live special. No exact amount was given.
When Honnold opened up about his payday in an interview before the live event, he admitted that it is small compared to the usual payday that athletes typically receive.
"It’s less than my agent aspired to. Actually, if you put it in the context of mainstream sports, it’s an embarrassingly small amount. You know, Major League Baseball players get like $170 million contracts. Like, someone you haven’t even heard of and that nobody cares about," he said.
However, Honnold also emphasized that he was willing to do the event for "free" and never felt that he had to demand a higher payday.
"I mean, I would do it for free. If there was no TV program and the building gave me permission to go do the thing, I would do the thing because I know I can, and it’d be amazing," he said. "I’m not getting paid to climb the building. I’m getting paid for the spectacle. I’m climbing the building for free."
So far, no viewership numbers have been reported yet for Skyscraper Live, but it trended on social media during the day of the live broadcast on Netflix and generated a lot of media headlines.
How Did Alex Honnold Pull Off the Taipei 101 Free Solo Climb?
In an interview with Variety after the climb, Honnold shared some of the preparations that he made in the days leading up to the live event and how the spectators who were cheering for him helped him motivate.
"I think it was actually kind of motivating or enlivening. This is probably true for all athletes, in mainstream sports, when people play, and the crowds are roaring. As a climber, you never experience that. So I was like, no wonder when people are playing in the Super Bowl, it must be super motivating. It was my first taste of something like that," he said.
"And actually, over the last several days, my perspective started to shift a little. From like, 'This feels kind of intense,' and I’m nervous or whatever, to actually feeling pretty excited for it and feeling motivated. I felt like there was a perspective shift of embracing the whole spectacle side of it. I was like, 'If I just wave at all the people on the inside and have a good time as I’m going by, it makes the whole thing more fun.'"
Before the live event, Honnold practiced the route "two to three times" with a rope to study the direction he would take on the free solo climb.
"I came here for a scout in September, and that’s when we shot some of the promotional stuff. On the scout, I climbed it from bottom to the top with the rope once, just to make sure that it was possible," he explained.
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