Quick cash · Updated November 14, 2026

13 Side Hustles Like Donating Plasma (With Real Pay Numbers)

Plasma centers pay you to sit in a chair for about an hour. You don't need a résumé or a dollar of startup money. GoodRx puts regular pay at $30 to $70 per donation, and centers such as Octapharma and CSL Plasma advertise up to $750 or $800 for new donors who finish every visit in their first 30 to 35 days. Federal guidance caps you at two donations in any seven-day period.

A member of r/sidehustle asked what else works the same way. One reply set the bar: "Hard to beat selling plasma." That donor reported a few hundred dollars a month for about an hour a week. Other replies named stool donation, sperm and egg donation, and market research studies.

We checked each of those, added more, and pulled pay figures from the organizations that write the checks. Each option below pays you for your time or your body, asks for no special skill, and costs nothing to start. Some pay within days. Others pay thousands and take months of screening.

Quick comparison

1. University research studies

Psychology and business school labs pay you to answer questions, play decision games, or react to ads.

• Pay: Carnegie Mellon's behavioral lab sets a $10 an hour minimum, and Princeton's community research program pays at least $15 an hour. UC Davis lists paid studies from $5 to $200.
• Time: 30 to 60 minutes a study.
• Who gets in: Some labs take any adult in the area. Others limit sign-ups to students and staff.
• The catch: Slots fill fast and studies are short, so treat this as pocket money.
• Start here: Search "[your nearest university] paid research studies" and join the participant pool.

2. Brain scan (MRI) studies

Neuroscience labs pay you to lie in a scanner and do simple tasks on a screen.

• Pay: A Johns Hopkins study posted in late 2025 paid $30 an hour for about 1.5 hours. A Yale study paid $25 an hour for the scan.
• Who gets in: Healthy adults, often 18 to 45. Labs turn away anyone with metal in their body.
• The catch: The scanner is loud and tight. Skip this one if small spaces bother you.
• Start here: Check the research or neuroscience pages of universities and hospitals near you.

3. Focus groups

Companies pay you to give opinions on products, ads, and apps, in person or on video.

• Pay: Respondent says its average session pays $75 to $200.
• Time: Fieldwork runs discussions of one to two hours and sends payment within about two weeks.
• Who gets in: You fill out a screener for each study. Recruiters pick the people who match the customer they want.
• The catch: You will apply to many studies for each one you land.
• Start here: Sign up with Respondent, Fieldwork, or Sago.

4. Mock juror

Lawyers test their arguments on ordinary people before a trial. You read or watch the case and give a verdict.

• Pay: eJury pays $5 to $10 a case. OnlineVerdict lists $75 to $700 for mock trials on Zoom and $200 to $700 in person.
• Time: Short written cases take under an hour. Live mock trials run longer.
• Who gets in: Adults who could serve on a real jury. Services match cases to your county.
• The catch: Cases depend on where you live, and months can pass between invitations.
• Start here: Register with eJury and OnlineVerdict and wait for emails.

5. Standardized patient

Medical schools pay you to act as a patient so students can practice exams and hard conversations.

• Pay: Columbia pays $30 an hour with a four-hour minimum. Baylor College of Medicine pays $25.50 an hour on site, and Saint Louis University pays $20 to $26.
• Time: Scheduled part-time sessions, plus paid training.
• Who gets in: You apply as you would for a part-time job.
• The catch: Schools call you in as they need you, so hours are irregular.
• Start here: Search "standardized patient program" plus the name of a medical or nursing school near you.

6. Clinical trials for healthy volunteers

Drug companies and research hospitals pay healthy people to test new medicines.

• Pay: A 2021 study of US healthy volunteers found a median of $3,070 per trial, with a range of $150 to $13,000. Regular volunteers in that study earned about $4,000 a year.
• Time: A few hours for an outpatient visit, or weeks living at a research unit.
• Who gets in: Each trial sets its own age, weight, and health rules.
• The catch: You are testing a drug before doctors know how safe it is. The FDA describes Phase 1 trials as the stage that checks safety and dosage in 20 to 100 volunteers. Read the consent form and ask about side effects before you sign.
• Start here: Search ClinicalTrials.gov and filter for studies that accept healthy volunteers.

7. Sleep studies

Sleep labs pay you to sleep, or stay awake, on their schedule while they monitor you.

• Pay: Harvard's sleep medicine division has listed studies paying up to $5,000 plus travel. The University of Colorado Boulder has listed up to $4,093 for about 15 days in the lab and up to $180 for an at-home study.
• Time: A short at-home study, or up to about 15 days living in the lab.
• Who gets in: Healthy non-smokers in a set age range who take no medications.
• The catch: Long studies can cut you off from clocks, phones, and daylight. Most labs pay the full amount to people who finish, and listings change often.
• Start here: Check the recruitment pages of university sleep labs near you.

8. White blood cells or bone marrow for research

Labs that develop cell therapies pay for blood products that plasma centers do not collect.

• Pay: The American Red Cross Specialized Donor Program pays starting at $300 for a white blood cell collection. Lonza's donor program in Maryland pays $425 or more for bone marrow used in research.
• Time: Three to five hours for a white blood cell collection, with a 56-day wait before the next one.
• Who gets in: The Red Cross program takes adults 18 to 64 who weigh at least 110 pounds.
• The catch: Few cities have a collection site, and a bone marrow draw is more invasive than a needle in the arm.
• Start here: Check both programs for a location within driving distance.

9. Sperm donation

• Pay: Seattle Sperm Bank pays $100 for each approved donation, up to $1,500 a month. California Cryobank advertises as much as $2,400 a month.
• Time: One to three visits a week. Fairfax Cryobank asks for a six-month commitment.
• Who gets in: Men from about 18 to 39 who pass health, genetic, and semen testing. Banks report accepting about 1% of applicants.
• The catch: Screening comes before your first payment, and banks pay for samples that pass their tests. Ask how the bank handles donor identity before you sign.
• Start here: Apply to a bank with a location near you. You must donate in person.

10. Egg donation

• Pay: Clinics pay per completed cycle. Weill Cornell pays $15,000, Columbia pays $12,000, and Shady Grove Fertility pays $6,500 to $7,500 for a first cycle.
• Time: Hormone injections, monitoring visits, and a retrieval procedure for each cycle.
• Who gets in: The American Society for Reproductive Medicine prefers donors aged 21 to 34 and limits each donor to six cycles.
• The catch: This is a medical procedure with real risk. The same society puts the chance of severe ovarian hyperstimulation at 1% to 2% per cycle. Talk to a doctor who does not work for the clinic.
• Start here: Apply through a fertility clinic or university program, and compare the medical care each one covers.

11. Stool donation

Doctors treat a stubborn gut infection called C. diff with transplants of healthy stool, and one company pays donors for it.

• Pay: GoodNature pays $25 to $75 a visit and up to $1,500 a month.
• Time: Donors visit a center in person, as often as every day.
• Who gets in: Few people. The director of OpenBiome, a nonprofit stool bank, said in 2018 that about 3% of applicants made it through screening.
• The catch: You must live near the donation center. GoodNature's site lists one location, in Tempe, Arizona.
• Start here: Apply on GoodNature's site if you live in the Phoenix area.

12. Breast milk

• Pay: Prolacta Bioscience's Tiny Treasures Milk Bank pays $1.20 per qualified ounce. Most nonprofit milk banks do not pay.
• Time: Ongoing pumping, freezing, and shipping.
• Who gets in: Nursing mothers who pass health screening. The bank tests the milk and can reject a shipment.
• The catch: Stick to a milk bank that screens donors. The FDA recommends against feeding babies milk bought from individuals or online, so selling through social media or classifieds puts infants at risk.
• Start here: Apply to Tiny Treasures and confirm it is accepting new donors.

13. Hair

• Pay: The Penny Hoarder puts a typical sale at $150 to $600. Long, thick hair that you have not dyed or heat-treated sells for the most.
• Time: One sale, after years of growing.
• Who gets in: Anyone with enough length to list.
• The catch: A listing price is an asking price. Buyers negotiate, and scammers target sellers with overpayment tricks.
• Start here: List on a marketplace such as HairSellon and ask for payment before you cut.

You owe tax on this money

Payment for research studies counts as taxable income, and the US Tax Court has ruled the same way on plasma and egg donor pay. Starting January 1, 2026, payers send a 1099 form once they pay you $2,000 or more in a year, up from $600. You must report the income even if no form arrives. Set money aside as you go, and ask a tax preparer how to report it.

You cannot sell an organ

Federal law makes it a crime to sell a human organ for transplant. The statute carries a fine of up to $50,000 and up to five years in prison. Walk away from any offer to buy a kidney or part of your liver.

Spot the scams

Programs that pay you do not charge you to join. Sago, a large research firm, says it will never send payment in advance or ask for a fee. The FTC warns about a common trick: a stranger sends you a check, then asks you to send part of the money back. The check bounces and your money is gone.

Pick one to start

For money this month, sign up for university studies and focus groups today. Both cost nothing, and neither asks for a medical screening. Clinical trials and sleep studies pay more in total, but each one is a single event you have to qualify for. Sperm and egg donation pay well and come with the toughest screening.

This article shares pay information and is not medical advice. Talk to a doctor before you join a trial or agree to any medical procedure.