My $5 post got around 6 Steem + 6 SP in author rewards.
I can't explain that. Maybe it got downvoted near the end?
Steemnow in fact is giving $0.20 per Steem price
That is possible. I don't recall if steemit.com made that adjustment to the display or not. At $0.20, a $25 payout would be 125 STEEM.