Quick links: Study Methodology | Basic Survey Information | Your History With Dildos | How Do You Use Your Dildo | Dildo Pleasure Preferences | Dildo Shopping Criteria | Most Popular Dildos
Sextopedia is conducting a survey among sex toy lovers with the aim to find out everything and anything about how people use dildos. Between October 2021 and July 2022, we have gathered data from 2 468 survey participants of which 54% were female, 43% male, and 3% identified themselves as genderless, nonbinary, agender, genderqueer, or gender nonconforming.
This survey is ongoing and you can participate here. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete. All respondents who disclose their email (not required) are automatically added to a $50 (monthly) sex toy giveaway campaign. Please contact us via [email protected] if you have any questions about the survey.
Last month’s giveaway winner is Jane from Minneapolis, Congrats! We’ll be in touch with you in the coming days.
Study Methodology
Phase One
We procured and analyzed data from individual sex toy companies (both online and offline) sales statistics, industry reports, and sex toy-specific companies’ annual reports. We decided not to collect information on the geolocation and income level of the survey participants. Phase One of the study was conducted between April 2021 – November 2021.
Phase Two
We developed our proprietary online survey between August 2021 and October 2021 based on the data we collected in Phase One. We then made the survey available to everyone in October 2021.
The in-house developed online questionnaire was initially distributed through multiple online sources, including but not limited to social media accounts, email, and organic traffic to our website.
As of July 2022, a total of 1 328 females, 863 males, and 277 persons who identified themselves as genderless, nonbinary, agender, genderqueer, or gender nonconforming have participated in the survey.
The underlying results analysis is done via Microsoft Excel (including but not limited to Pivot tables) and is available upon request. Throughout the analysis, we use data averaging and aggregation methods to make different data sets comparable. We excluded all the “non-measurable” replies from our analysis.
Basic Survey Information
1. What age group are you in?
64% of male respondents were between 32-49 of age while 67% of female respondents were between 32-49.
2. How would you describe your gender?
54% of the survey participants identified themselves as female while 43% identified as male. 3% of those polled identified themselves as genderless, nonbinary, agender, genderqueer, or gender nonconforming.
Note: We have excluded the responses of people who identified themselves as genderless, nonbinary, agender, genderqueer, or gender nonconforming from our analysis due to limited data set size. Once we collect more data on people who identify themselves as genderless, nonbinary, agender, genderqueer, or gender nonconforming, we’ll be presenting our readers with the research findings.
Your History With Dildos
1. Why did you buy your first dildo?
38% of the male respondents said that they wanted to “spice up their sex life” while this was 6 percentage points lower among female respondents.
Other research references: A survey by Lovehoney & Kinsey found that 47% of the participants were more inclined to try new sexual activities since the pandemic started.
28% of the female participants said that they needed help with orgasming while this was 4 percentage points lower among male respondents. 15% of the survey respondents, both female and male, said that their partner introduced the idea, and they were positively surprised by that.
2. How much do you spend on dildos in a year?
The majority of those polled (69%) spend less than $50 on dildos in a year. 73% of females and 68% of males said that they spend less than $50 on dildos in a year.
3. How many years have you been using dildos?
42% of female and 38% of male respondents said that they’ve been incorporating dildos into their sex life for between 6-8 years. This is consistent with the age group diversification of this survey.
4. Do you regret NOT purchasing a dildo earlier?
A whopping 85% of female respondents said that they regret not purchasing a dildo earlier while 78% of male respondents replied the same way. Since both sex and masturbation help to improve mood and relieves tension & stress, then regretting not purchasing a dildo earlier makes a lot of sense.
5. How many dildos do you currently hold?
68% of those polled said that they own “at least 1” dildo with 73% and 67% of female respondents breakdown, respectively.
Other research references: This data is similar to the 2018 Lovehoney dildo survey that found that 78% and 64% of American females & males own a dildo. The same Lovehoney survey found that Iowa, New Jersey, and Illinois were the most “dildo-friendly” states in 2018.
Other research references: A 2015 survey by PLOS ONE found that about half of the women in America have used a dildo or a vibrator in their lifetime.
Interestingly, 30% of male respondents said that they own 2-3 dildos while comparatively, only 24% of female survey participants replied the same way. This implies that male respondents are more inclined to have a diverse dildo collection than females.
Only 2% of those polled said that they own more than 5 dildos, which can be interpreted that most survey participants from Texas are following the “Dildo law”.
How Do You Use Your Dildo?
1. What is your go-to household dildo?
26% of the respondents said that their “go-to” household dildo is the “electric toothbrush” followed by the “fruits & vegetable” option. There was no significant difference between female and male respondents in the “electric toothbrush” answer while fruits and vegetables as a dildo were clearly favored by female participants.
2. Where do you store your dildo?
Bedroom drawers and closet shelves are by far the most popular options to store sex toys among survey participants. Storing sex toys in the bathroom was more popular among female (15%) vs male (9%) respondents.
3. Do you use lube while using your dildo?
88% of male and 63% of female respondents said that they prefer using lube with a dildo. The difference between female and male respondents is a massive 14 percentage points.
This can be explained by the fact that females don’t necessarily use dildos for penetrative sex and the vagina is self-lubricating which doesn’t mean that lube is a must every time.
4. Do you use your dildo together with a partner or solo?
51% of the female respondents prefer to use a dildo solo compared to 39% of male survey participants.
Other research references: The BedBible found that 53% of women have tried using sex toys solo while this was just 37% among men. ⅓ of both, female and male, respondents are open to the idea of using a dildo with a partner.
5. Have you ever been caught while using a dildo?
A large majority of both, females and males, have not been caught during dildo use. Interestingly, 15% of those polled preferred not to disclose their answers.
6. Do you use multiple dildos at once?
⅔ of the respondents do not use multiple dildos at once compared to 10% (14% of females and only 5% of males) who said that they indeed use more than one dildo at once.
7. How long is your dildo session?
71% of those polled said that they use their dildo for up to 30 minutes while 29% reported that they use their dildo for more than 30 minutes.
Other research references: Lovehoney published a survey back in 2018 that concluded that 25% of respondents used dildos for more than 30 minutes. Although the underlying data isn’t fully comparable, it implies that longer dildo sessions may be preferred by more people today than in 2018.
8. How often do you use dildos?
37% of the respondents said that they use dildos several times a week while only 6% said that they use dildos daily. 25% of respondents (27% female and 23% male) said that they use a dildo less than several times a month.
Other research references: A survey by Lovehoney & Kinsey found that 40% of people masturbate more often compared to the pre-pandemic period.
9. What’s your favorite size dildo?
A majority, 73% of the respondents, said that they prefer a dildo size of 6-7 inches (15.2-17.8 cm).
Other research references: In 2019, Lovehoney, found that the preferred size for a dildo was 6 inches while the 2018 Lovehoney survey found that 40% of people prefer a dildo size between 5.5-6.5 inches.
Your Pleasure Preferences
1. Which type of dildos do you prefer?
23% of those polled said that realistic-looking dildos are their go-to choice, followed by textured dildos which were favored by 20% of the respondents. Among male participants, the most preferred dildo type was curved followed by prostate dildos. Curved dildos were preferred by 20% of the male and 14% of the female respondents.
Other research references: A 2015 survey by LELO found that 71% of straight men have tried or would try a prostate massager.
2. What’s your stimulation preference?
18% of those polled (23% female and 14% male) said that they prefer mixing different dildo using techniques rather than just focusing on one specific technique. The technique “short & shallow” was ranked as the most preferred dildo use technique among survey participants.
3. What’s your preferred Dildo Sex position?
29% of the respondents said that they prefer lying down on their backs when using a dildo. Similarly to stimulation preference, 20% of the survey participants said that they like to combine different positions when using a dildo.
Read More | Guide To Best and Worst Dildo Sex Positions
Other research references: A survey based on Google Trends by Bespoke Surgical found that “reverse cowgirl”, followed by “cowboy” and “missionary” was the most preferred sex position in 2020.
4. What’s your preferred dildo material?
43% of the survey participants said that silicone was their preferred dildo material choice, followed by the glass with 20%. Both are considered body-safe sex toy materials.
Dildo Shopping Criteria
1. What are the key characteristics of a good dildo?
The survey respondents identified key characteristics of an “oh-so-good” dildo as the ability to induce orgasm, price, quality, extensive warranty, body-safe materials, and dildo’s discreet look.
- A – Ability to induce orgasm
- B – Affordable quality
- C – Extensive warranty
- D – Discreet
- E – Body-safe
- F – Texture & Dimensions (girth & lenght)
- G – The looks (shape & color)
- H – Other
2. What are the key dealbreakers When Shopping for Dildos?
The survey respondents identified key deal breakers as high price, poor quality, and lack of extensive warranty when choosing a dildo.
Your Dildo Preferences
1. Name your favorite dildo brand
31% of the survey participants said that they either buy their dildos from Lovehoney or Adam & Eve’s. A significant part (45%) of the respondents quoted dildo brands that didn’t get enough votes to be included as a “stand-alone” brand in the survey.
Quick Note
We receive a ton of different dildo recommendations on daily basis and it doesn’t add any value if we list them all here (too much data). That’s why we decided to merge many similar replies under a top-rated dildo in a specific category. This means that the top products listed here aren’t necessarily representative of the granular data. Once we collect more data, we’ll also update the information in this document.
Everyone reading this list should do their own research to find out what works best for them.
2. Name your favorite realistic dildo that you’d be happy to recommend to a friend
The RealCock2 James and Vixen Johnny were listed as the top realistic dildos by our survey participants. A significant part (40%) of the respondents quoted unique dildo models that didn’t get enough votes to be included as a “stand-alone” model in the survey.
3. Name your favorite curved dildo that you’d be happy to recommend to a friend
The Satisfy Me Curve Silicone Dildo and njoy Pure Wand Stainless Steel Dildo were listed as the top curved-up dildos by our survey participants. A significant part (40%) of the respondents quoted unique dildo models that didn’t get enough votes to be included as a “stand-alone” model in the survey.
4. Name your favorite textured dildo that you’d be happy to recommend to a friend
The Vixen Johnny (also one of the go-to picks in the realistic dildo category) and Nubby Textured Sensual Glass Dildo were listed as the best-textured dildos by our survey respondents. A significant part (41%) of the respondents quoted unique dildo models that didn’t get enough votes to be included as a “stand-alone” model in the survey.
5. Name your favorite strapless strap-on dildo that you’d be happy to recommend to a friend
The Pegasus Curved Ripple Harness Set and Tantus Intermediate Unisex Vibrating Strap-On Harness Kit were listed as the top strapless strap-on dildos by our survey participants. A significant part (49%) of the respondents quoted unique dildo models that didn’t get enough votes to be included as a “stand-alone” model in the survey.
6. Name your favorite fantasy dildo that you’d be happy to recommend to a friend
The Dragon Dildo and Xenu Solid were listed as the best fantasy dildos by our survey participants. A significant part (25%) of the respondents quoted unique dildo models that didn’t get enough votes to be included as a “stand-alone” model in the survey.
7. Name your favorite double-ended dildo that you’d be happy to recommend to a friend
The Colours Double Pleasures Double Dildo and Ultra Realistic Girthy Double Penetrator Dildo were listed as the top double-ended dildos by our survey participants. A significant part (31%) of the respondents quoted unique dildo models that didn’t get enough votes to be included as a “stand-alone” model in the survey.
