The Block 2026 ran on prizes as much as on budgets. Weekly room prizes, a $100,000 Kitchen Week and an auction prize pool that grew week by week gave contestants money, goods and, in one case, a plunge pool. This page lists what was offered, with the brands behind each prize.
The Block Head’s take
The Block’s prize pool is a story about generosity as a marketing channel. Every sponsor wanted a moment, so the show invented a pool, filled it with cash, and invited a safe, a gym pod and a Rolex to join.
By the time the winner was told to take everything in the Plungie, the pool contained more variety than most department stores.
Weekly prizes
| Prize | Brand | What it was |
|---|---|---|
| Room win | Chery | $10,000 each week for the room winner |
| Best budgeter | CommBank | $10,000 for the team closest to budget |
| Viewers’ choice | Youi and Freedom | One of four $10,000 Freedom vouchers for voters |
| Glamping challenge | Snooze | $10,000 in cash and the Snooze button, in episode 8 |
| Perfect 10 from a judge | Arnott’s | $10,000, added to the Kitchen Week win in episode 29 |
Kitchen Week
Home Beautiful reported a $100,000 Kitchen Week prize: $10,000 in cash, $30,000 in gold bullion from Kinsman and $60,000 of Cosentino Dekton to use anywhere on the property. With $10,000 from Arnott’s, the show called it a $110,000 night.
The auction prize pool
The pool grew through the season. Episode 21 put the tally at $192,000, including the Plungie. Items named by Home Beautiful and the episodes include:
- A Plungie plunge pool with cash inside, valued at $30,000 in episode 13, with $50,000 in cash.
- A Chery vehicle valued at more than $60,000.
- $10,000 of flooring from Flooring Xtra.
- $10,000 of wine from Levantine Hill.
- A year of Arnott’s snacks.
- A Sentinel safe from the Timeless Series valued at $10,000, holding a $15,000 Rolex watch.
- $10,000 in cash from al.ive body in episode 41.
- An Elsewhere pod with a full home gym, added in episode 25.
- A 100 inch LG television and a whole-house Sonos system, added in episode 29.
Block Bucks
Reece gave the teams $70,000 in Block Bucks for bathroom fittings. Other suppliers also ran credits and consults; see the bathrooms guide and the interiors guide.
The appliance package
The headline package was $250,000 of kitchen appliances from e&s, won by Courtney and Sev. See the appliances guide.
The auction
All five houses went to auction with an identical $3.45 million reserve, and Rick and Tayla’s win in the final week took $50,000 off their reserve. See the auction explainer for how reserves and profit work.
