Tried and tested.
Ever felt stuck in a rut and like you don’t know how to be intimate with your partner? Then it might just be time to invest in one of the best sex toys for couples.
Fun fact: UK sex toy statistics reveal that 45% of couples have used a toy at some point in their relationship and search for the best sex toys has been steadily rising over the past few years. A bit like serial monogamy, sex toys can commonly be misjudged as a little taboo when, really, they’re a great way to explore your sexual freedom and enhance your sex life.
Sex therapists maintain that using one of the best sex toys with your partner – if both parties are comfortable, keen, and interested in doing so – can be a sure-fire way to spice up your love life and reignite some passion in the bedroom. Even shopping for a toy could act as an exciting form of role-playing.
Testing process
As Marie Claire UK‘s Health, Sustainability and Relationships Editor, Ally Head gets to speak to some of the best sex experts and relationship pros every single day. So, in the name of journalism, she asked them to share the toys they’ve used personally with a partner and really rated. (Read how team MC test all of the products we include, here).
Our independent board of industry experts who’ve tested the toys includes:
- Scotty Unfamous, an award-winning erotic romance author and sex influencer.
- Aleece Fosnight, board-certified physician assistant specialising in sexual medicine and CEO of the Fosnight Center for Sexual Health.
- Annabelle Knight, sex and relationship expert for sexual wellness brand Lovehoney.
- Jordan Dixon, clinical psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist at The Thought House.
- Ness Cooper, clinical sexologist and sex expert.
What we considered when selecting the best sex toys for couples:
Our advice? Always read the reviews and go with a brand you know and trust. Success criteria and key considerations:
- Do you want to buy a toy you use on your partner or a toy that works on both of you simultaneously?
- Do you want a toy that vibrates, a toy that massages, or a toy that you can insert?
- Do you need a quiet sex toy or is noise not an important factor?
- Does your toy need to be charged or require batteries?
- Do you need your toy to be cheap, or do you have a more expendable budget?
- Do you have a particular type in mind, eg cock ring, couple’s vibrator, jiggle balls, or a dildo for pegging?
Best sex toys for couples: Vibrators
1. LELO Enigma – £126.79
Best for: A toy to use on your partner | Insertable and vibrates | Medium noise level | USB charger | High-end price point.
What you’re getting: What promises to be a next-level dildo that you can insert while also enjoying vibration clitoral stimulation.
What the experts thought when testing: Ness Cooper, clinical sexologist and sex expert, says: “Using the LELO Enigma with my partner in the bath, it stood up to its waterproof promise, and when my partner controlled the toy, we discovered just the right position for maximum clitoral stimulation. We found the design really simple for couple play and the controls aren’t too complicated, either.”
View now on Amazon and read Cooper’s full LELO Enigma review, here.
2. Satisfyer Endless Fun Rechargeable Couple’s Vibrator – £40.41
Best for: A toy that works on both of you simultaneously| Insertable and vibrates | Quiet noise level – whisper mode available | USB charger | Mid-range price point.
What you’re getting: A multi-functional vibrator that boasts a 180° swivelling head for all parties to enjoy. The toy also has 33 applications, 100 vibration combinations and three powerful motors.
What the experts thought when testing: Annabelle Knight, sex and relationship expert, says: “This couple’s vibrator will enable you to satisfy many of the erogenous zones including the nipples, clitoris, penis, balls, perineum and more. What’s not to love?”.
3. Lovehoney Tease Finger Vibrator – £14.99
Best for: A toy to use on your partner | Insertable and vibrates | Medium noise level | Battery powered (6x batteries included) | Cheap price point.
What you’re getting: Phallic vibrators and dildos can be off-putting for some, which is why the Lovehoney finger vibrator can be a great alternative for couples play. This vibrator fits onto your partner’s fingertip and vibrates as you touched or even penetrated, helping you to orgasm with a subtle vibrating boost. You can also put it on your fingertip to stimulate your partner, too.
What the experts thought when testing: Aleece Fosnight, board-certified physician assistant specialising in sexual medicine and CEO of the Fosnight Center for Sexual Health, says: “This finger vibrator promises to help you take sensation and pleasure to the next level. Use it on yourself or with a partner to explore other erogenous zones on the body – nipples, earlobes, collarbone, pubic bone, and even the crest of the hips – to heighten pleasure. It’s a great price point, as well.”
4. We-Vibe x Lovehoney Remote Control Vibrator – now £59.99, was £99.99
Best for: A toy you use simultaneously | Vibrates and massages | Quiet noise level | USB charger | High price point.
What you’re getting: Struggling to find a vibrator that you can actually use mid-sex without bruising your pelvic bone or seriously risking turn-off? Enter stage right this We-Vibe x Lovehoney toy, which was designed based on customer requests for a vibrator they could use together during penetrative sex with remote control via an app on a smartphone. The product design also means that both your hands and theirs are free to do whatever else it is you love to do during sex.
What the experts thought when testing: Annabelle Knight, sex and relationship expert, says: “This is a great toy to take with you if you are going away for a weekend. It’s super quiet and discreet so you don’t have to worry about room service hearing the rumblings through the door, and the remote control means either of you can be in charge of directing the pleasure. It’s always fun to take it in turns.”
5. Lovehoney Love Egg – now £19.99, was £39.99
Best for: A toy to use on your partner | Vibrates | Medium noise level | USB rechargeable | Cheap price point.
What you’re getting: A vibrating remote control egg which you or your partner can control with a wireless remote. Plus, the love egg is 100% waterproof and offers ten patterns and six speeds.
What the experts thought when testing: Ness Cooper, clinical sexologist and sex expert, says: “If you want to take things out of the bedroom and add some spontaneity to your partnered play, then as my Lovehoney Love Egg review shows, it’s s great toy for exploring your sexual fantasies.”
View now on Lovehoney and read Coopers’ Lovehoney Love Egg review here.
Best sex toys for couples: Jiggle balls
6. Lovehoney Excite Pleasure Balls – £12.99
Best for: A toy to use on your partner | Insertable and vibrates | Quiet noise level | No charging needed | Cheap price point.
What you’re getting: You’ll likely have heard of jiggle balls – the toy made famous by Fifty Shades of Grey which promises to both train the pelvic floor trainer and boost your sexual experience, too. Slip them in during foreplay while you pleasure your partner to make sure you are getting just as much fun out of it as they do. The gentle vibrations they create when you move can help to strengthen your orgasm.
What the experts thought when testing: Scotty Unfamous, an award-winning erotic romance author and sex influencer, says: “These kegel balls tighten your pelvic floor muscles which helps you feel more during penetrative intercourse, have stronger orgasms, and are also a great way to kickstart your arousal. They can make a huge difference to your sex life.”
Best sex toys for couples: oral sex stimulators
7. Sqweel GO Oral Sex Stimulator – £39.99
Best for: A toy to use on your partner | Clit massager | Quiet noise level | USB charger | Mid-range price point.
What you’re getting: This vibrator has a rotating wheel designed to replicate a tongue and create the same sensation as oral sex – ideal for those who love cunnilingus but find their partner isn’t able to keep going for thAT long. Use it at the beginning so you can get warmed up then have them go down on you, or use it when they get tired. Either way, it’s ideal for extending your oral sex pleasure.
What the experts thought when testing: Annabelle Knight, a sex and relationship expert, says: “I love a good Sqweel. The Sqweel was the very first oral sex simulator on the market and was created by a Lovehoney customer who won the company’s very first Design A Sex Toy Competition. He wanted to recreate the delicious feeling of oral sex as accurately as he could and he came up with the prototype of this unique little machine that does the trick nicely.”
“Lovehoney immediately knew that he had created something completely new and they went straight into production. There have been several Sqweels since that first one and each new one just gets better and better. Be sure to use lots of lubricant.” (Read our guide to the best lube, here).
8. LELO Sona 2 – now £48.38, was £54.93
Best for: A toy to use on your partner | Vibrates and massages | Medium noise level | USB charger | Mid-range price point.
What you’re getting: A softer but no less satisfying toy, according to LELO, the SONA 2 uses gentle suction and sonic waves to stimulate both parties.
What the experts thought when testing: Ness Cooper, clinical sexologist and sex expert, says: “The shape and size of the LELO Sona 2 Cruise makes it perfect for your partner to place between your labia. Unlike Satisifyer and Womanizer products that offer similar suction sex toy technology, the design of the Sona 2 Cruise is more ergonomic and more comfortable to hold.”
View now on Amazon and read Cooper’s full LELO Sona 2 review here.
9. LELO Sila, now £112.81, was £169
Best for: A toy to use on your partner | Uses suction and massages | Medium noise level | USB charger | High price point.
What you’re getting: Another clitoral stimulator from LELO offering gentle sonic waves, aka stimulation without direct contact, a larger mouth for max comfort, and eight pleasure settings, to boot.
What the experts thought when testing: Ness Cooper, clinical sexologist and sex expert, says: “I couldn’t wait to introduce my partner to it as it looked like the perfect toy to enhance our couple’s play. I found the LELO Sila one of the best sex toys for couples for a number of reasons. Its shape means it’s not intimidating, the size of the clitoral nozzle makes it easy to use, plus the controls are somewhat intuitive, meaning my partner and I have used it both in the shower and out.”
View now on Amazon and read Cooper’s full LELO Sila review, here.
Best sex toys for couples: Dildos
10. Glass Double Pleasure Dildo – £33.19
Best for: A toy that works simultaneously | Insertable | Quiet noise level | No charger needed | Cheap price point.
What you’re getting: You’ll likely want to keep your the sex toys you usewith your partner away from prying eyes, but when a dildo looks as beautiful as these two, you might be tempted to at least put them on your bedside table. With a colour each, and with each shaped differently for maximum pleasure, you can each have one to use so no one feels left out.
What the experts thought when testing: Jordan Dixon, clinical psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist at The Thought House, says: “These pieces are contoured and hand sculpted to work with the natural curves of our bodies, with different tapered shafts at either end. You can use these simultaneously with a playmate or use them on your own, and they glide really well with a good lube.”
11. Loving Joy Nubby textured glass dildo, £14.99
Best for: A toy you use on your partner | Insertable | Quiet noise level | No charger needed | Cheap price point.
What you’re getting: A textured glass dildo made from hypoallergenic borosilicate glass which to offer a unique sensation thanks to the blue nodules.
What the experts thought when testing: Jordan Dixon, clinical psychosexual and relationship psychotherapist at The Thought House, says: “Glass dildos can also be used for anal play or vulvas, and they genuinely feel nice gliding anywhere on the body, not just your genitals. I’m big on sensation play, and with glass, you can choose to cool down in the fridge or warm up into a glass of warm water for a few minutes. As long as it’s a safe temperature, the difference in temperature can amplify the sensations we’re used to during sex play (like someone rubbing the toy over your nipples, clit, etc). Glass is also great if you want to try out bath or shower sex with yourself or a playmate.”
12. Spiral G Spot Glass Dildo – £29.99
Best for: A toy you use on your partner | Insertable | Quiet noise level | No batteries required | Cheap price point.
What you’re getting: A textured glass toy which give you a sensual intimate massage. FYI, this dildo also works wonderfully as a massager for tired muscles, so why not relieve tension and treat your lover to a sensual massage? Glass is also appropriate material for temperature play, so consider warming up or popping in the fridge pre getting intimate for a little extra kick.
What the experts thought when testing: Scotty Unfamous, an award-winning erotic romance author and sex influencer, says: “Glass toys are so aesthetically pleasing but the best thing about them is that you can customise the sensations by incorporating temperature play either by placing them in the fridge for a cooling sensation or putting them in warm water to heat them up.”
“The spiral design of this Lovehoney toy also allows for some wonderful textured sensations, which can get you off both internally and externally.”
Frequently asked questions about sex toys for couples
Is it OK for married couples to use sex toys?
Short answer: it completely depends on your relationship with your partner but there is nothing inherently “wrong” with using a sex toy as a married couple – quite the opposite.
All of the experts we spoke to for this feature share that they can be a liberating and playful way to improve your love life if both parties are comfortable and willing to experiment a little.
“Couple’s toys are one of the fastest-growing categories in sexual wellness and it is not hard to see why,” explains Knight. “Increasing numbers of users are both shopping for sex toys together and then using them together, too” she goes on.
How do you introduce your partner to sex toys?
Good question – because, as Knight highlights, “play is so much more fun if you do it together.”
Do respect their boundaries and try and communicate in an open-minded and non-confrontational way, advise our experts. Wait for the right moment and calmly raise that it’s something you’ve always wanted to try. If your partner has also always been curious, it could be an exciting moment for you both, and lead to many more.
Equally, if your partner isn’t so keen, do respect their boundaries and explore other options that they may be more comfortable with, like new sex positions (we’re looking at you, Kamasutra sex positions) or even bondage for beginners.
How do you use sex toys?
Again, it’ll depend on the toy. Dildos are designed to be inserted, vibrators are designed to vibrate for use on your clit, balls, anus, boobs, and more, jiggle balls are designed for insertion… the list goes on.
Top tip: make sure to read the instruction leaflet that comes with each toy so you’re clear where the toy can (and can’t) go, although most toys are made from skin-safe silicone or glass these days so can be used anywhere. and remember: have fun. That’s what the toys are designed for, after all.
What else should I consider when shopping for sex toys for couples
Sex toys are a simple way of keeping your – and your partner’s – love life spicy. Bored of the same old missionary sex position or not sure how to talk about your fetishes? An easy way of easing into any sexual fantasy is investing in some couple’s toys (and read our guide to the hottest sex positions, too).
Don’t miss our guides to the most eco-friendly sex toys, while you’re here. Looking to spice things up in the bedroom in other ways? Our expert-led explanations of tantric sex and bondage for beginners might just help, too.
The post 12 best sex toys for couples, as tested by a team of sex experts appeared first on Marie Claire.
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