Choosing the Best Anal Toys (for Beginner & Intermediate Play)

[Image: this article will covers anal lube, silicone dilators, butt plugs, thrusting dildos, and more!]

My vagi­na is size roy­al­ty, but my butt is a plug ple­beian. Even if I hadn't men­tioned that before in a review, you might have noticed my rel­a­tive lack of posts about anal play.

It's not because I haven't put toys in my butt — I have. Not often enough to do them jus­tice in full-​length reviews, but enough to know the prin­ci­ples of good design. This list dis­tills my expe­ri­ences for just about any­one seek­ing anal toys, but espe­cial­ly for begin­ners look­ing for a place to start.


In this guide to butt stuff:

Tips for choosing a butt plug

[Image: Oxballs Ergo super soft silicone plugs XS and L on teal peacock print fabric]

There are many rea­sons why some­one might use a butt plug. The full­ness and weight can feel good on their own but are also fun to pair with oth­er forms of stim­u­la­tion. Think vagi­nal inter­course with an anal plug in or vice ver­sa. Or inter­nal full­ness and exter­nal vibration.

They also, of course, serve as a warm-​up for big­ger inserta­bles or anal inter­course. Whatever the rea­son for using one, there are a few char­ac­ter­is­tics that the best butt plugs often share.

Butt plugs with small, slender bases are generally the most comfortable to wear.

Think about it: a T‑bar base rests between the cheeks. It makes sense to have a base that's flared enough to stop the toy from get­ting sucked in, but also nar­row. Butt cracks aren't round! There are times where a round base might be help­ful, though, like when doing dou­ble pen­e­tra­tion. One that's too long might block the oth­er hole. Otherwise, here are some thin butt plugs with barely-​noticeable bases to try.

Anal Adventures Curve
[Image: Fun Factory Bootie Small, a teal b-Vibe plug, and the Aneros Peridise plugs on a big leaf among blue and gray flowers]

This plug ticks the box­es for a begin­ner booty toy. It's body-​safe, as is every­thing else on this list. The plug's bulb slow­ly tapers up to a very mod­est 0.8" max-​width. (For com­par­i­son, the aver­age man's ring size is 10, about 0.78" wide). And the slim base is 2" long by 0.8" across, a com­fort­able shape and size.

VeDO Bump

The VeDO Bump vibrat­ing butt plug is a bit big­ger, at 5" long by 1.18" wide— but thin and tapered enough to still be appro­pri­ate for a begin­ner. Plus, the perk of a butt toy that vibrates is that the mas­sag­ing helps relax the sphinc­ter. And when insert­ing any­thing anal­ly, relax­ation is vital.

A long, narrow neck & bigger bulb is comfortable to retain

[Image: b-Vibe Snug Plug 3 medium in teal and FT London Bioskin Gplug among blue and gray flowers]

When a butt plug's neck is barely-​there, the sphinc­ters can close up around it for com­fort­able long-​term wear. Some review­ers like plugs that prop open the sphinc­ter (more on that towards the end of this post), but I'm not among them. It's no coin­ci­dence that many plugs I liked are volup­tuous with a big bulb-​to-​neck ratio.

b‑Vibe Snug Plug

Among them is the b‑Vibe Snug Plug, torpedo-​shaped to (as the name would sug­gest) stay snug inside the rec­tal canal. Its fit pro­vides deep inter­nal pres­sure akin to anal sex— with­out the sphinc­ter stretch dur­ing wear.

This plug also has jig­gling met­al weights inside for a light tap­ping sen­sa­tion as they bounce against the hard plas­tic inner shell. It's eas­i­ly one of the most unique I've tried, and its sizes range from 0.8" to 2" wide. I want to run up and down the stairs while wear­ing a Snug Plug 2 or 3. (If you'd rather have tra­di­tion­al vibra­tion, there are vibrat­ing Snug Plugs avail­able, too!)

Try a forward tilt to tickle your prostate or G‑spot.

[Image: stainless steel and silicone! njoy pfun plug, njoy pure plug large, Oxballs Ergo XS, Fun Factory Bootie small among blue and gray flowers]

I love it when a plug's bulb is asym­met­ric, plac­ing sub­tle but ever-​present pres­sure on my front wall. I want to play with it by clench­ing and relax­ing to feel the shift.

Fun Factory Bootie & Oxballs Ergo Super Soft

Such is the case with the Fun Factory Bootie. It fea­tures many of the pre­vi­ous­ly men­tioned char­ac­ter­is­tics I like, such as:

  • Easy-​to-​insert and slight­ly tapered tip
  • Petite but safe T‑base
  • Full swell and tiny neck
  • Sizing starts at a mere 1.1" across and ranges up to 1.6" wide.

But its shape is what makes it stand out and its pres­ence sweet­ly stim­u­lat­ing and notice­able to the wear­er. For a sim­i­lar tilt but squishi­er full­ness to squeeze around, get an Oxballs Ergo Super Soft. The silicone's pli­a­bil­i­ty con­forms to your body for max­i­mum com­fort. And its size range is remark­able, from 1.3" wide for the XS to 2.7" XL. (The large Ergo is my favorite big plug for wear­ing vaginally!)

njoy Pure Plugs

As far as G‑spotty plugs go, though, I don't think any­thing tops the intense pres­sure of the njoy Pure Plugs. I pre­fer to use njoy's plugs vagi­nal­ly, but regard­less of which hole my Pure Plug is in, I want to cream myself. Feeling the stain­less steel heft with every move­ment of my low­er body. It's pre­cise­ly the kind of plug that would make a house dweller like me want to go out danc­ing at 1 am.

I reviewed the Pure Plug Large, but there are oth­er sizes avail­able!


Beginner anal thrusting dildos and kits I like

Let's move on to slid­ing toys that work well for butt stuff. I've reviewed plen­ty of dil­dos with flared or curved bases that are safe for anal inser­tion, but all of the fol­low­ing are in the small-​to-​medium-​size range.

Dilator sets are a great way to get comfortable with anal penetration!

Or any pen­e­tra­tion. They're designed with vagi­nal use in mind (think of recov­ery from med­ical con­di­tions like vagin­is­mus, high-​tone pelvic floor dys­func­tion, and vagi­nal atro­phy). But the kits with soft sil­i­cone, round tips, smooth shafts, and sizes often make afford­able acces­sories for anal explo­ration, too.

[Image: Sliquid Sassy personal lubricant gel next to Blush Novelties Wellness silicone dilator kit among blue and gray flowers]
Blush Wellness dilator kit

The 4‑piece Wellness kit is a great place to start, with the fol­low­ing sizes included:

  • 0.5" wide x 3.5" long
  • 0.75" x 4.75" – about the width of the aver­age man's ring finger
  • 1" x 5.5"
  • 1.25" x 6"
Blush Novelties Temptasia Twist Kit & other beginner dildos for anal play

Blush Novelties also makes the Temptasia Twist Kit, which fea­tures three dil­dos (0.75", 1", and 1.25" wide) with suc­tion cup bases and gen­tly curved, light­ly tex­tured shafts.

And, of course, Blush offers plen­ty of oth­er pret­ty and afford­able dil­dos, like the Avant Pride P1, P2, and P3. But if your goal is to lev­el up from a fin­ger to a penis, the Temptasia Twist bun­dle works well.

Before anal intercourse, consider squishy, realistic-​feeling silicone dildo of moderate girth

[Image: blue Blush Neo Elite 7.5" dual-density silicone dildo with suction cup base and without balls next to Blush Avant Pride P1 rainbow striped dildo in front of white faux fur background and next to blue and white flowers]

Ready to lev­el up with a flesh-​and-​blood cock or a real­is­tic dil­do proxy? The aver­age penis is 1.45" diam­e­ter, a bit beyond what the dil­do kits above have to offer. Maybe you've already got­ten com­fort­able prep­ping with one the plugs around that size:

Blush Novelties Neo Elite dildos

For a thrust­ing dil­do, I'd rec­om­mend one of the dual-​density Blush Neo Elites. Shape and size aren't the only con­sid­er­a­tions here— the Neo Elite dil­dos are firm on the inside, for intu­itive thrust­ing, and squishy on the out­side for com­fort. The con­trast is not only prac­ti­cal but also results in a life­like, rep­re­sen­ta­tion­al feel. Squishy tip and all.

My per­son­al favorite of the bunch is the Neo Elite 7.5" with­out balls, because of that gen­tle taper. However, the Neo Elite 6" and 7.5" with balls are also with­in the 1.4" to 1.5" diam­e­ter range, so all still com­pa­ra­ble to the aver­age cock. The 7" with balls is a bit thick­er, at 1.75" wide. Check out the entire Blush Neo Elite line at Betty's Toy Box.

Try bumps and textures to play with deep pressure and delicate touch.

If you're look­ing for sen­sa­tions in a non-​representational dil­do, I gotchu too.

[Image: njoy fun wand stainless steel beaded s-curved dildo on mirror on leather and white fur]
njoy Fun Wand

One of my favorite dil­dos to use anal­ly is the stain­less steel njoy Fun Wand. Its mirror-​like fin­ish, with some good lube, means min­i­mal fric­tion on inser­tion. One end fea­tures beads that range from 0.75" to 1" wide — very man­age­able for begin­ners — for rhyth­mic stretching-​and-​relaxing of the anal sphinc­ter. The oth­er side of the njoy Fun Wand is ball-​ended but smooth-​shafted for prostate or G‑spot stimulation.

And yes, peo­ple with vagi­nas can stim­u­late their G‑spot via anal pen­e­tra­tion! The S‑curved shaft and firm pres­sure of njoy's stain­less steel allow for pre­cise aim­ing (though not as direct as the Pure Wand's C‑curve), whichev­er hole you insert it in.

Self Delve Fly Agaric

I also like Self Delve's Amanita mus­caria butt plug as a dil­do — a man­age­able 5" long and 1.1" max-​width. Here's what I wrote in my mini-​review of it:

[Image: Self Delve Fly Agaric / Amanita muscaria mushroom silicone plug next to njoy Fun Wand stainless steel dildo and Satisfyer anal training bead kit in black. In front of white fur background and next to blue and gray flowers.]

The anal open­ing is dense­ly packed with Meissner’s cor­pus­cles, or fine touch recep­tors, mak­ing it even more respon­sive to the silicone’s landscape.

As such, this mushroom’s dots offer just the right amount of stim­u­la­tion for me: dis­cernible, but not so defined that they’re irri­tat­ing. If you like sharp­er tex­tures, you also enjoy the sub­tle “pop” from the coro­na and ring edges.

Satisfyer Anal Training Kit

For some­thing super afford­able, con­sid­er Satisfyer's anal train­ing kit. It includes three bumpy insertables:

  • Triple Bead – top ball 0.75" max diam­e­ter, mid­dle 1", bot­tom 1.25"
  • Double Bead – elon­gat­ed beads start wider: top 1", bot­tom 1.25" across
  • Twister Bead – also max­es out at 1.25".

The sil­i­cone has some flex to it, so the retrieval loop is also com­fort­able when sit­ting. However, I wouldn't rec­om­mend wear­ing these anal beads long-​term. There isn't much of a defined neck for the sphinc­ter to close up around— the bulb's swelling starts prac­ti­cal­ly imme­di­ate­ly. That means that the sphinc­ter may part­ly rest on the bulb and reg­is­ter it as some­thing to be pushed out. For thrust­ing, though? They're a fun begin­ner basic.


My favorite lubricants for anal play

[Image: Sliquid Sassy next to Blush Wellness dilators again]

Lube is essen­tial for butt stuff! Here are my top picks.

Sliquid Sassy water-​based lube

As with all of Sliquid's per­son­al lubri­cants, Sliquid Sassy is a water-​based lube free of glyc­erin, propy­lene gly­col, and parabens. And it's com­pat­i­ble with all types of toys and con­doms. What makes Sassy dif­fer­ent from the orig­i­nal for­mu­la is the thick­er, gel-​like con­sis­ten­cy. It's my go-​to lube for any­thing but works excep­tion­al­ly well for anal play.

ID Millennium, Wet Platinum, & other silicone-​based lubes

I'll be hon­est: I'm not that dis­cern­ing with this cat­e­go­ry of per­son­al lubri­cant. It all comes down to sil­i­cone lube is extra slip­pery and long-​lasting, and whichev­er one you use, a few drops go a long way. The longevi­ty does come with a trade-​off, though: it's hard­er to wash away. And sil­i­cone lube gen­er­al­ly degrades sil­i­cone toys. Reserve it for glass, steel, glazed wood, and hard plastic.

UPDATE: See my guide to sen­su­al body care prod­ucts for more of my favorite lubes — and the pros and cons of dif­fer­ent formulas!


Going beyond beginner butt play

Once you're com­fort­able, you're free to size up and (safe­ly) play with big­ger toys!

[Image: b-Vibe anal training and education kit 3 plugs in of graduated sizes and lube applicator]
b‑Vibe Anal Training & Education Kit

Anal train­ing isn't some­thing you do just once, though. If it's been a while, you may want to get reac­quaint­ed with the sen­sa­tions. That's why, despite b‑Vibe's Anal Training and Education Kit's beginner-​friendliness, it may be a good invest­ment for even expe­ri­enced play­ers to prep with.

Squarepegtoys Blunt Plug

On the flip side, if you're going on a date and want to after­ward go straight into anal, with­out fore­play, The Squarepegtoys Blunt Plug might be a good fit for you. Its wide-​ish neck props open the sphinc­ter while wear­ing the plug, so you can do all your prep­ping ahead of time, remove it, and be ready to go. It's a plug for intermediate-​to-​advanced anal play­ers— begin­ners may find the con­stant stretch irritating.

b‑Vibe Rimming Plugs & Velvet Thruster Teddy or Walter
[Image: Velvet Thruster Walter anal bead attachment, Jackie "realistic"/representational attachment, and Blush Avant Pride P6 Beyond / genderqueer pride striped silicone butt plug among leaves and purple and green-yellow flowers]

Looking for some­thing that goes beyond vibra­tion? Consider a b‑Vibe Rimming Plug. They have cir­cling beads in the neck of the plug, sim­u­lat­ing the feel of a swirling tongue.

Or one of the Velvet Thrusters. They're hand­held fuck­ing machines with thrust lengths of 2.5–3" — which feel amaz­ing vagi­nal­ly, but if you're com­fort­able with the insertable por­tions' girth, there's no rea­son you can't use them for anal, too!

Read my reviews of the Velvet Thruster Jackie Prime and Teddy mod­els or check out the entire range of Velvet Thruster designs.


Wrapping it up!

[Image: orange banner reading, "Betty's Toy Box. Quality sex toys for EVERY body! CODE SUPER FOR 10% OFF"]

Though I rarely do butt stuff any­more, I can rec­og­nize a good-​quality butt toy when I see one. These are some of the best body-​safe sex toys for anal play — which poten­tial­ly any body can enjoy. Everyone has a butt!


Betty's Toy Box spon­sored this post! Use coupon code SUPER for 10% off all regular-​priced items when you shop.


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2 Responses

  1. mors says:

    What's the best plug to use dur­ing piv sex? Kinda look­ing at fun fac­to­ry bootie or snug plug..
    (would love to get njoy one but they dont send to my coun­try aaa)

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