16 Best Butt Plugs (original) (raw)
The Best Butt Plugs, According to Sex Experts and Sex-Toy Shop Owners
By ,a senior writer at the Strategist covering kids’ toys and men’s style. She joined the Strategist in 2019. She is a former writer for GQ and an accomplished illustrator.
Photo-Illustration: The Strategist; Photos: Retailers
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- Best for beginners
- Best metal
- Best decorative
- Best for prostate stimulation
- Best for experienced users
While butt plugs might seem intimidating if you’ve never used one before, sex experts stress that with proper preparation, a little bit of patience, and a lot of lubrication, these toys can be a pleasurable addition to your sex life. “Start slow and small and use plenty of lube,” says Liz Goldwyn, founder of the sexual health education website and podcast The Sex Ed. “The anal area has a high concentration of nerve endings that are stimulated by even the smallest butt plug.” Prepping mentally for anal exploration is highly encouraged by Ev’Yan Whitney, a sexuality doula and author of Sensual Self. They recommend taking time to connect with yourself through things like self-massage, breathwork, and setting the mood with music. “Anal plugs are fantastic for adding more sensation to masturbation and a good ingredient to add when seeking a blended orgasm,” says Good Vibes sexologist Dr. Carol Queen, who like Whitney suggests exploring and learning your limits solo before bringing in a partner.
If you’re concerned about cleanliness, Whitney recommends taking a shower and washing your ass really well before you start. You could also explore butt play in the shower, with or without a partner, as it’s a space that makes for easy cleanup just in case. “If you’re exploring outside of the shower, keep a damp cloth nearby in case you need to clean anything up,” they say. Butt plugs should never be painful, says Archie Bongiovanni, a sexual-health educator and events coordinator at the Minneapolis store Smitten Kitten. “If it hurts, that’s your body telling you to stop and slow down,” Bongiovanni says. To find the best butt plugs out there, we asked 11 experts to recommend their favorites, from small and soft silicone plugs for beginners to a stainless-steel plug that vibrates and a set of glass trainers.
Note: Since lubrication is important for any anal play, you can check out our list of expert-recommended lubes here. Jacq Jones, a sex educator and owner of Baltimore’s Sugar shop, specifically recommends glycerin-free lubes, like Überlube or Good Clean Love, that won’t pull moisture away from your body.
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If you’re new to anal play, Whitney recommends exploring the outside of the anus with a finger, vibrator, or tongue. When you’re ready for penetration, they recommend starting with a finger, too, and then this comprehensive kit. “It’s perfect for butt-plug newbies and has everything you need to get started, including a lube applicator, an anal enema, and a guide with tips and tricks to help you as you explore,” they say. Emily Morse, doctor of human sexuality and host of the SiriusXM radio show and podcast Sex With Emily, recommends this one, too, noting it comes with “three different plugs, so you can move up in size more comfortably.” The medium one vibrates, and the largest one is weighted for a feeling of fullness. The toys are made from silicone — one of the three materials, along with equally sanitary glass and metal, our experts recommend looking for in any sex toy. “Silicone is soft, flexible, and hypoallergenic, and it’s non-porous, which lessens the likelihood of bacteria,” Goldwyn says.
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Samantha Bard, co-founder of Brooklyn sex shop Shag, prefers this more affordable graduated silicone kit for beginners. The plugs are silky smooth and very flexible, making them an excellent choice for extended wear while training. Each small, medium, and large plug has a flared base with a strong suction cup for secure solo play and is also compatible with O-ring strap-on harnesses.
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Future Method brand toys are a favorite of sex writer and Strategist contributor Hayley Folk and Zachary Zane, sex writer and author of Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto because they are designed by Dr. Evan Goldstein, an anal surgeon and anal sex educator. Zane specifically recommends this set of four glass plugs, which he uses regularly in the shower to loosen up before anal sex. “I have a very, very tight butthole, and I can have a doctor sign off on that. They actually did this anal manometry test on me and were like, ‘You have a really tight asshole.’ So I end up using this set most days to keep things loose,” he says.
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For a beginner-friendly plug that vibrates, Folk recommends this “adorable” one from Smile Makers. “Sometimes, folks get intimidated by other butt-plug aesthetics,” she says. “It’s on the small side, but in a classic shape that can allow for easy and fun play as an intro into butt stuff.”
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Bard recommends this one from Maude, the maker of one of our favorite vibrators, for similar reasons, calling it “so cute.” It’s also discreet, making it a nice introductory plug for newbies.
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Available in four different sizes, the Mood Naughty has a “nice taper that makes it glide in easily,” Bongiovanni says. They recommend the smallest size for beginners.
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This is one of those “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” toys, according to sex educator Lola Jean, who teaches an online pegging and butt-stuff course. She explains that Njoy rarely updates this model because they got it right on the first try. It comes in three different sizes and is made of steel, “which makes them very easy to clean. Plus, they’re heat-conductive,” she says. It can be used in a variety of ways, which is something Jean thinks you should consider before settling on a toy. “Is this for everyday wear under your clothes, during sex, or only for special anal activities?” she asks. “This may influence how many bells and whistles you can accommodate.” One of this plug’s bells is that it “can simulate the feeling of fullness or put the right amount of pressure in your fun spots — either your G-spot or P-spot,” she says, because of the weight of the product. It’s whistle? “It kind of makes you feel like a life-size windup toy where it perches out of your butt,” says Jean.
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Zane found out about this vibrating stainless-steel butt plug through an email pitch. Since he’s written so many articles about sex toys, he gets a lot of pitches, so it isn’t easy to surprise him — but this was the first steel plug he’d seen that also vibrates. “I prefer steel. I like the fact that you can do temperature playing with it. I like the fact that it’s heavier. I like the fact that you can use silicone lubes and oils with it. So the fact that this one could vibrate was kinda huge,” he says. The plug has a spot in the base where you can put a little bullet vibrator that then vibrates the whole toy. Now it’s his go-to butt plug. Plus, he likes the look of the Reverb. “The fact that it almost looks like a weapon is very cool. It makes it feel more quote-unquote extreme or BDSM,” he says.
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Folk, Queen, and Lynn Raridon, owner of Forbidden Fruit in Austin, Texas, all suggested checking out butt plugs with decorative elements like gems and even tails for role play or just because it’ll make you feel sexy. This specific variety pack was recommended by Folk, who likes that you can pick the color of the plug and the color of the gem.
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And here’s an adorable mini-plug that Queen recommends with a fluffy bunny tail that comes in pink or black.
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Raridon told me that she has seen an enormous uptick in interest in butt plugs over the last decade. But more recently, she has had multiple customers who experience erectile issues arrive at her shop with doctor’s orders for a prostate massager. The prostate gland is essentially the G-spot for people with prostates, and stimulating it can improve erectile function and even create multiple orgasms, according to Jones, who along with Bongiovanni recommends the Aneros MGX. “It is great at finding and rocking against the prostate, even hands-free,” says Bongiovanni, and it has been the brand’s best-selling toy for nearly two decades. The handles of Aneros toys have the added benefit of being positioned to caress your perineum, the area between the anus and the scrotum, at the same time that the head is inside.
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Bard recommends this vibrating prostate massager from Aneros for anyone who likes the MGX and wants to add a bit more stimulation.
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Both Bard and Raridon talked about the benefits of butt plugs that don’t just vibrate but also have a “come hither” motion that strokes the prostate. This one from Evolved that looks a bit like a swashbuckler’s sword comes recommended by Bard for its duo of stimulating arms. The central arm rocks back and forth, creating the “come hither” motion, while the plump side arm vibrates against your perineum.
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Adult-content creator Siouxsie Q James likes this screw-style plug from Hankey’s Toys. It comes in three different sizes, but even the smallest has a circumference of six inches. You can further customize the experience by selecting the firmness of the toy as well. It comes in firm and 75 percent firm options. With either of James’s picks, she recommends using water-based lubricant X Lube, her favorite for anal play.
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“As you get more comfortable with the feeling of the plug, you can increase the size bit by bit,” says Goldwyn. For these more experienced users, she recommends larger toys from Doc Johnson’s American Bombshell line, like this one that’s both long and thick.
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“A girthy toy that isn’t going to penetrate deeply, this dildo acts more like a plug that’ll give a satisfying sense of fullness,” says Bongiovanni of this toy. It can also be used for vaginal penetration, but works as a plug thanks to its flared base. That said, Raridon stresses that you should never switch between orifices without cleaning your toys first. You can also use a condom to minimize any bacteria or STI infections, but you should still clean the toy too. And one good thing about silicone toys is they can be sterilized. Just make sure you’re not using a condom with silicone lube on a toy made of silicone.
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