The 27 Best Butt Plugs That Sex Experts Recommend for Safe Anal Play

The B-Vibe Novice is a vibrating butt plug that's small but mighty. It’s a bit of an investment plug, so it’s ideal for someone who’s committed to exploring anal play, but Finn says it’s really worthwhile for the price. “The range of options on this toy—six vibration levels, and 15 vibration patterns to choose from—make it great for anal enthusiasts of any level,” Finn adds. It’s also ideal for partner play because it connects to a wireless remote.

Carol Queen, PhD, staff at Good Vibrations, recommends this silicone butt plug because it's budget-friendly and comfy to use. It’s slightly smaller than the standard size, making it a good option for first-timers looking to add anal play into their sex life.

Other than being downright adorable, the Gala mini butt plug is both the perfect size and the perfect price for beginners. “The cradle-style base fits super comfortably between the cheeks no matter what position you’re in,” says Lisa Finn, sex educator and brand manager for Babeland. With brightly colored confetti sprinkled through the otherwise clear silicone, this plug would be a fun addition to any sex toy collection.

Sex educator Luna Matatas—who hosts B-Vibe’s podcast all about anal sex, The Plug, says that Fuze’s Pleasure Plug is “a great warm-up butt plug” for your first time dabbling with anal play. The Pleasure Plug is made from body-safe silicone, with a rounded tip, a flexible neck, and a flared base that makes it sit snugly against your body so it's less likely to pop out during sex.

The Pleasure Plug also comes in four sizes for comfort. Beginners can start with the smallest size, which is only a little bigger than an average finger. Matatas also suggests that people experienced in anal play use this plug to warm themselves up before penetrative anal sex.

The Tailz Foxtail is a soft, flexible plug with a tapered tip that makes you look like you have a fluffy gray fox tail. “If you’re ready to experiment with some role play, this is the plug for you,” says Marla Renee Stewart, MA, staff at Lovers. In fact, there are many butt plugs that are great for some type of animal role play, since the base is ideal for adding a tail or tassel to the end for easy retrieval.

Boasting three motors, this vibrating plug stimulates your perineum, anal opening, and deeper spots inside you all at once. “I really dig the shape—it’s quite narrow and not unmanageably long,” making it a beginner-friendly choice, Pim says.

We-Vibe’s rechargeable Ditto vibe is small enough for beginners, as well as interesting enough to entice someone who has already gotten used to a basic beginner plug. “Its vibrations are deep and rumbly,” says Jess O’Reilly, PhD. In sex-toy speak, deep and rumbly means that the vibrations make their way into your muscles—right to your prostate or clitoris. What’s more, the Ditto’s base extends to sit snugly in your perineum (the highly sensitive region between your anus and genitals), letting those amazing vibes spread even farther.

Lovense’s Bluetooth-controllable vibrators are popular with webcam performers and people in long-distance relationships, so if your far-away sweetie wants to control your anal pleasure (or vice versa), this could be a perfect gift. Pim likes the curved base, which hugs your body for targeted perineum pleasure. “There are tons of nerve endings externally around the anal area for folks of any gender,” she says, “and if you’ve got vibration internally and externally, it’ll provide lots of extra stimulation.”

The B-Vibe Vibrating Snug Plug comes recommended by both Malika O’Neill, LPC, sexologist and founder and CEO of The Pleasure Collective and Gigi Engle, ACS, a certified sex educator and resident intimacy expert at 3Fun. “It will provide that feeling of fullness that you're used to from other butt plugs—without feeling too intense in terms of girth,” says O’Neill. It comes in five sizes to accommodate pretty much everyone, and it has six vibration patterns and four intensity options to hit the spot.

Similar to the Ditto, We-Vibe’s Vector has an extended base that fits snugly against the perineum. One difference between the two is that the Vector has dual motors, meaning that it vibrates both internally and externally. “This vibrator is ideal for solo and partnered play with 10 whisper-quiet, powerful settings to explore,” Dr. Fleming says. Like many We-Vibe toys, the Vector connects to the We-Connect app, so you or a partner can control the vibration completely from your phone.

“The rechargeable Princette Puppypus vibe from Cute Little Fuckers makes for an adorable anal adventure,” says Queen. “As with all of the brand's cute-as-hell sex toy monsters, it is designed by queer artists for stimulating any body.” This can serve as a clitoral vibrator or a butt plug, and it's totally waterproof.

Two experts—Dr. Fleming and Emily Morse, PhD—sang the praises of B-Vibe’s Rimming Plug. While this butt plug can’t literally lick your anus, it mimics the feeling with a set of rotating metal beads buried under soft silicone.

“I highly recommend it for those who have tried butt play and like it,” Dr. Morse says. “It’s the perfect intermediate toy.” The Rimming Plug even connects to an app so you or a partner can control it from afar, which is ideal if you're in a long-distance relationship.

Just like the We-Vibe toys, Lora DiCarlo’s Tilt toy cradles your perineum. On top of vibration, this one includes a gentle warming feature that heats up the toy to just above body temperature at 104°F. “Tilt hits all the right spots with all the right sensations,” Finn says. The toy adds “a sensational yet natural temperature to your play,” she adds.

The remote-controlled butt plug from VeDo is similar to many other vibrating plugs, with a wide base and easily insertable tapered tip. It’s waterproof too, for shower play, and comes equipped with 10 vibration modes to choose from. “Give the remote to a lover and go for a date out on the town to get secretly titillated with this toy,” Stewart says.

Anal beads offer a different experience than a straight-up butt plug. The fun in anal beads usually comes from putting them in and taking them out, stimulating the sensitive nerves around your anus. “You can opt to insert only a few beads at a time,” says Dr. O’Reilly.

Like any good anal toy, these beads have a flared base for safety, but the base is also a holder for a bullet vibrator that comes with the toy. This gives you the option of adding vibration if you so choose.

The booty beads are a smaller set of anal beads, more like a butt plug with three textured heads. Stewart suggests having a partner “lube you up and pop in the beads one at a time.” Then, if you get to the verge of orgasm, she recommends asking your partner to pull the beads out for a potentially magical sensation. 

Sex educator Sarah Sloan also previously recommended these Cinco beads to SELF for couples who are looking to venture into anal play. They're a string of silicone anal beads that vibrate, making the anal stimulation that much more intense.

Pim likes the versatility of this toy, and the way that it starts tiny and gradually gets wider as you move down its shaft, so that you can ease into larger penetration at your own pace. “It’s not really a plug and it’s not really a dildo,” she says, “but it does stay in place, because it’s got so much texture to grip onto.” If you’re not sure how to use a dildo we answered questions on how to use one solo or with a partner.

Njoy’s stainless steel wand has a cult following thanks to the incredible weight of the metal, and the brand even makes a butt plug in the same stainless steel material. “The weight of the Njoy Pure Plug can provide a feeling of fullness in the rectum, and the pull of the weight can stimulate the many nerve endings around the butthole,” Matatas says. 

The Pure Plug, like the wand, has a gentle curve and thin base that make it easy for rocking into sensitive spots like the prostate, Finn says. Other benefits of using a stainless steel butt plug: It’s easy to clean and a great heat conductor, whether you want to warm it up or cool it down for some temperature play. Another bonus is that the Pure Plug comes in three sizes: small, medium, or large. 

Lovehoney’s metal butt plug adds some bling, with a heart-shaped jewel at its base. Like other metal toys, this butt plug has a heft to it and easily warms up and cools down for temperature play. “It’s great for wearing out on the town (your little secret) and experimenting with different temperatures using warm and cool water prior to insertion,” Dr. O’Reilly says.

O’Neill recommends this plug set from Maude because it grows with you, for both beginners and those more experienced with anal play. “It has a tapered shape and flared base, and the medium size is complete with three-speed vibrations,” she says. “This set is also made of 100% platinum-grade, soft-touch silicone, and it's phthalate- and latex-free, and water-resistant.”

If you want to invest in exploring anal play, Dr. Morse recommends B-Vibe’s anal training kit. The set comes with three different sizes of butt plugs, an anal douche, and a lube applicator. The three butt plugs provide different types of sensation from weight to vibration. Equipped with a how-to guide plus everything you need to get started, the kit will “get your booty prepared for some amazing backdoor play,” Dr. Morse adds.

Here’s another plug set if your goal is to go up in sizes. “It comes with small, medium and large options in flexible, colorful silicone,” Queen tells SELF. “This is also a great choice for the person who honestly doesn’t know what size they’ll enjoy. The language of a “training” set makes it sound like you’re supposed to move through the sizes—but that is an option, not a requirement.”

And though no one explicitly recommended this set, we also wanted to mention that SELF and Jimmyjane just partnered on their own butt plug set. This one comes with two smooth silicone toys (a small and medium size), which are easy to remove and clean. They’re also waterproof, so you can take them with you into the tub or shower.

“The Unicorn Plug Set includes your vibrating plug, your removable tail, your sticker set, your backpack, and your enamel pin…not sure about the horn, but they definitely sell those on Etsy,” says Queen. It’s another fun option that’s still body-safe, and it vibrates and has a ribbed texture for extra sensation.