Sex toys are more widely available than ever before, making it tempting to spend a lot of money to build up your arsenal. But it can take a minute to find your preferences, and when you consider that sex toys aren’t usually a return-friendly product (though we’ve found a few that are), the allure of a budget-friendly pick is extra potent.
Whether you’re looking to get your first toy ever or have buzzed yourself to infinity and beyond before, we’ve gathered some of the best budget sex toys out there.
Is it safe to buy cheaper sex toys?
Let’s be clear: Budget-friendly does not mean cheaply made. Quality was a non-negotiable when compiling this list. After all, it’s not worth saving a few bucks if you’re using an unsafe toy (and not in the fun NSFW way) to put on your genitals.
We’re betting you want to avoid anything that can easily harbor bacteria, so we chose toys that use body-safe, non-porous materials, like silicone, metal, and borosilicate glass. The greater the porosity of a toy, the easier bacteria can thrive in it, even if you’re regularly cleaning it after each use (as you should with any toy).
That’s not to say that porous materials like PVC, rubber, TPE, or even some silicone blends are entirely unsafe — it’s just that they require a lot of special care to maintain that safety, and should always be used with a latex condom.
Note: The only toy on this list that isn’t made from completely non-porous materials is the Fleshlight Quickshot Vantage, but we chose to include it as pretty much all masturbation sleeves use some kind of rubber to provide a comfortable, flexible, and realistic feel. Fleshlight uses their patented SuperSkin material, and while the exact blend materials aren’t known, the rubber blend is safe to use, and in the case of the Vantage, easier to clean due to its dual-open-ended design. Still, it does carry a higher risk of harboring bacteria, so you’ll want to stay on top of cleaning.
When buying budget, knowledge is power and diligent care is key.
What to expect when buying a budget sex toy
So what’s the big trade-off with a cheaper sex toy?
As you might’ve anticipated, you won’t be up to your ears in fancy features like the self-moving rabbits of the Lelo Ina Wave 2, the automatic pulsating of the Womanizer Premium 2, or the orgasm tracking of the Lioness Vibrator 2.0, which all cost hundreds of dollars. You’re also less likely to find Bluetooth-activated toys worth using.
Does that mean luxe toys are simply better? Hell no. There are plenty of high-end toys that former Mashable culture reporter Jess Joho described as “a living nightmare.”
What you’re more likely to find in the affordable sex toy range are features that stick to the basics. That might mean three to five vibration settings instead of 11, or a toy with water resistance instead of full-on waterproofing. Its design might be simpler in looks and function, with one button that serves as an off/on and setting switch.
If you’re thinking “none of those things sound like huge cons,” it’s because they’re not. Budget-friendly sex toys can be pretty damn great, too.
Be careful of where you buy your sex toys
As a final note before we get into our picks, we want to address the monopolistic mega-retailer elephant in the room. You can often find pricier toys on Amazon for cheaper prices than you might from brand websites or from online sex shops.
While there are some genuinely great deals on the website, third-party retailers like Amazon don’t always guarantee an authentic product, so if a price seems too good to be true, it probably is.
There’s no need to run the risk of buying a toy made of lesser materials or that comes with a battery that’ll crap out in a few months. Instead, spend your hard-earned dollars to directly support the brands that make the good, affordable toys, or the sex shops that do the hard work of curating them. You might spend a bit more on shipping, but it’s well worth the trade-off.
Plus, you’re likely to get better customer service, and in some cases, the ability to return a toy you’re not too fond of. On this list, we chose a single toy from Amazon — the Luna Massage Wand — because we’ve hands-on tested it and affirmed that it’s a safe, quality toy, and because the only retailer that carries it is Amazon.
With all the housekeeping out of the way, let’s get into our top picks for the best budget-friendly sex toys.
