The Average Erect Penis Size is Bigger Than Five Inches

Don't believe every study that you read online
Don't believe every study that you read online

Introduction
Based on my experiences when surfing this website, answering several penis size questions, and browsing the World Wide Web in general, I often notice people post that the average adult male erect penis size is within the 5-inch range. The results often range from 5.1 to 5.5 inches depending on the study in question. If the results of such studies are true, then the average adult male's penis length is comparable to the length of a typical ink pen or 11.3 ounce soda can. Despite the fact that many people on the internet accept as truth that the average adult penis size is within the 5-inch range, I always disagreed with such a claim and always assumed the average penis size to be bigger. This myTake serves as an explanation for why I believe that adult men have bigger penises on average and serves as a response to people that replied to me in the past, believing that because I am female, I have my measurements wrong. This myTake would critique the supposed largest penis-size study on the internet and would include some personal opinions on penis size based on my own experiences. Perhaps it can answer questions that some guys typically ask on this site regarding if their penis is too small as well.

The Known Data
According to a study published by BJU International, search of the medical literature revealed 17 studies with up to 15,521 males who underwent penis size measurements by health professionals using a standard procedure. The nomograms revealed that the average length of a flaccid penis was 3.6 inches, the average length of a flaccid stretched penis was 5.2 inches, and the average length of an erect penis was 5.1 inches. The average flaccid girth was 3.66 inches, and the average erect girth was 4.5 inches. As a result, many people on the internet tend to accept as truth that the average penis length and girth is within the 5-inch and 4-inch range respectively. However, when used as a reference to determine the average penis size, I find the study to be flawed for reasons based on non-representative sample sizes and poor reasoning.

Flaws in the Data
According to the results of the study, despite the fact that the study included 15,521 men who underwent penis size measurements, the medical professionals that conducted the studies only measured the erect length of 692 men, or merely 4.4% of the men involved with the study. Because the medical professionals only measured 4.4% of the sample size, the results may not represent the erect penis sizes of the men that were not measured. Additionally, the study measured the erect girth of only 381 men, or a mere 2.4% of the entire sample size, which is a number even less than the sample size of the erect length measurements. When combining both erect length and erect girth data, the medical professionals only measured 6.9% of all men involved in the study. The problem with this data is that, unbeknownst to the public, the remaining 14,448 men that did not undergo erect penis measurement could be larger than the sample size concluded. Thus, data in this study concluding that the erect length being 5.1 inches and erect girth being 4.5 inches is dubious and unreliable until medical professionals obtain more data.

Furthermore, the known methods used to collect average penis size data potentially contravenes the average penis sized data included in the study. For example, should a man visit a urologist for the purpose of determining whether he qualifies for penis enlargement surgery, the doctors do not measure erect penis length. Instead, they use another method known as stretched penis length. Stretched penis length is a penis size measurement taken by a doctor by simply pulling or "stretching" the flaccid penis, making it appear longer. The doctor then compares the result to the known penis size average. If the man's size is at least two inches shorter than the average size, the doctor then considers the man eligible for penis enlargement surgery. Interestingly, unlike the erect penis size samples, the stretched penis length sample size in this study is much more wide-reaching, with a 14,160 men measured out of 15,521 total men involved with the study, or 91.2%. The 91.2% sample size confirms that stretched penis length is the preferred method medical professionals use to gather data regarding average penis size, and not erect penis length.

Knowing this information leads to possibly conflicting data. Knowing that stretched penis length is simply obtained by stretching the flaccid penis and then measuring, the study concluded that the average stretched penis length is 5.2 inches, which is only a 1.6-inch increase from the average flaccid sized penis of 3.6 inches. The problem with this method of obtaining penis size data is that a penis tends to grow bigger when erect than stretched. The average penis grows approximately 3 inches from its flaccid state to its erect state, as opposed to the 1.6 inches concluded in the study. The longer a penis tends to grow when erecting often depends on the flaccid size. For example, a penis size that is 3 inches when flaccid is more likely to grow significantly larger when erect, usually around 3 inches bigger. However, a 7-inch flaccid penis, no matter how rare that size might be, would be lucky even to grow at all when erecting, or possibly a quarter inch at most. Additionally, the study concluded that the average erect penis length is 5.1 inches, which is smaller than the average stretched length. When considering that the erect penis length is somehow smaller than the stretched penis length and that penises tend to grow significantly larger than 1.6 inches when erect, this would mean that the erect penises of the men sampled in the study were either not fully erect when measured or were smaller compared to the stretched penis length sample size. If true, then the average penis size results are generally unreliable and could be easily misinterpreted.


The True Average Penis Size
Based on the reliable data that the study did collect however, I conjecture that the real average erect penis size is extremely likely to be bigger than what is often assumed on the internet. To explain why, note that the study collected data on 10,704 (68.9%) flaccid penis lengths, 9,407 (60.6%) flaccid penis girth, and 14,160 (91.2%) stretched penis lengths. Considering that the majority of the men's flaccid length, flaccid girth, and stretched penis length was measured, these results are the most reliable. If the average flaccid penis length is 3.6 inches using the fairly reliable sample size of 68.9% and the average flaccid penis girth is 3.66 inches using the also fairly reliable sample size of 60.6%, then it makes sense that the average length that a penis grows when erect could determine the true average size. Considering that the average penis tends to grow about 3 inches longer when erect from its flaccid state, I surmise that the real average erect penis length is extremely likely to be a fairly reliable 6.6 inches instead of 5.1 inches. This too is reasonable because when comparing the extremely reliable (91.2%) stretched penis length result of 5.2 inches to the fairly reliable (68.9%) flaccid length result of 3.6 inches, one can conclude that on average, the most that a medical professional can get out of stretching the flaccid penis would be 1.6 inches.

Knowing that the average flaccid penis gets bigger than 1.6 inches on average when erect, it makes little sense for the erect penis length to be shorter than the stretched length. The erect girth, even though based on an unreliable sample of a measly 2.4%, was 4.5 inches, a 0.84-inch increase from its flaccid state of 3.66 inches. This means that one can conclude that, on average, penises increase about a little less than an inch in girth when erect. Its girth, based on what I gathered from this study, tends to grow approximately a little bit less than an inch (0.84 inches). Thus, one can conclude that average erect penis girth is likely to be 5.3 inches instead of 4.5 should medical professionals use a larger sample size. The reason is because, if they concluded from a tiny (2.4%) sample size that the average erect girth was 4.5 inches using a sample of men whom were very likely to have smaller penises compared to other men in the study, (since this same erect sample size was smaller than the stretched flaccid length sample size), the men with larger penises in the study that did not have their erect penis measured are likely to be at least, on average, 0.84 inches thicker than them. Therefore, yes, it's more reasonable to conclude that the real average penis size is 3.6 inches long flaccid and 3.66 inches thick flaccid, 5.2 inches when the flaccid penis is stretched, and the erect penis size is 6.6 inches long and 5.3 inches thick, and not 5.1 inches long and 4.5 inches around.


Personal Experiences and Anecdotes
Nonetheless, this makes more sense because, based on my personal experiences, of all men I've dated, I noticed that most guys were within the 6-8-inch range. I believe that if 5 inches was truly the average penis size, then more women and I would encounter them far more often. Furthermore, penises within the 6-8-inch range tend to be more common in homemade porn that features real couples having sex in their bedrooms that weren't hired for their size to act in porno flicks. A common argument against this claim is that men with larger penises are more confident with their size and thus are more likely to film their penis and upload it to the internet. While that counter-argument does sound reasonable, even if men with 5-inch penises were less confident, they should still outnumber every other size on the internet for the simple fact that they're supposedly the average size, meaning they're the most common. Instead, 5-inch penises are often much more visible when you specifically search such porn sites for small penis. To put 5.1 to 5.5 inches into perspective, compare it to a can of Pepsi or an ink pen. The average penis that you would see in such porn would be much larger than a soda can or pen.

How I Rank Penis Sizes
This also makes more sense when considering the scale that I use for determining penis size. When ranking penis size, I consider it as such:

3 inches and below: (Tiny/Micropenis) - Not only extremely rare, but this is also a medical condition and people with penises this small are considered candidates for penis enlargement surgery. During penetration, women are very likely to ask "is it in yet" with these sizes.

4-5 inches: (Small) - With the 4-inch range being on the smaller side of small and the 5-inch range being on the larger side of small. When having sex with penises this small, women are often forced into specific positions that allow the penis to penetrate deeper or else they wouldn't be able to enjoy the most from these sizes. Men these sizes tend to feel even smaller inside a woman when she becomes fully aroused due to the fact that the vagina expands to a length bigger than the penis and moistens, creating less friction.

6-7 inches: (Medium) - With 6 inches being the bare minimum of a medium-sized penis and 7 inches being on the larger side of medium. Penises within the 6-7 inch range should be the perfect fit for the average fully aroused woman, as her vagina expands the more that she is aroused. The average fully aroused vagina can expand up to 7 inches. Women are also more likely to experience vaginal orgasms with these sizes due to them being long enough to reach the G-spot. It's reasonable to conclude that if these sizes are near perfect fit for the average fully aroused woman, then the 6-7-inch range is medium-sized and closer to the true average size.

8-9 inches: (Big) - With the 8-inch range being on the smaller side of big, and the 9-inch range being on the larger side of big. I classify these sizes as big mainly because they are bigger than the average woman's fully aroused vagina. Because of this, men with these sizes often have to be careful during penetration to avoid hurting the woman, even when she is fully aroused. No matter how aroused and moist the woman gets, they still feel big inside her and can still risk hurting her.

10+ inches: (Huge) - Anything 10 inches and over is huge not just for similar reasons to the "big" category, but also for being extremely rare. Most likely, penetration would only be pleasant with extremely few women regarding this size.

Final Thoughts
When searching for information regarding the average penis size, the search typically leads to news articles rather than the actual scientific studies themselves. Because the writers of the articles are often not medical professionals themselves, many tend to misinterpret the nomogram data found in the studies they write about. This leads to several news articles reporting that the average erect penis size is within the 5-inch range and most people on the internet just eat it up without question. However, directly examining the studies prove that medical professionals mainly used the stretched penis length method to measure the penis rather than the erect penis length. Thus, because we already reviewed that stretched penis length is nothing more than adding an extra average of 1.6 inches to the flaccid penis, the majority of men are very much likely bigger than a mere 5 inches when fully erect.

That's why an average erect size of 6.6 inches and 5.3 girth is much more reasonable. Additionally, the tone and introductions of such news articles regarding penis size often tell men things such as "worry not, your size is normal" and likewise. For this reason, I believe that such articles regarding penis size are written mainly to serve as reassurance for men that believe they have a small penis and that the studies themselves are mainly conducted not to enlighten the world on what the average penis size truly is, but as a means to ease men's worries and treat men that might suffer from body dysmorphic disorder. Either way, my advice to men worried about your penis size is don't rely on penis size studies to present you with misleading information to help you feel better about yourself. Love yourself, do what you feel is better for yourself, find the right person for you, and do your best to work with the size that you have.

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Most Helpful Guys

  • Your estimate hinges entirely on the '3" gain from flaccid to erection' while assuming the flaccid measurements are accurate in the study.

    Did I miss where you cited the 3" gain being average?

    It's also worth nothing that I have seen some data suggesting that larger flaccid is associated with smaller gain (likely because as flaccid becomes larger, the weight of the penis begins to pull it towards its stretched length).

    The reason for stretched length being so commonly used in the profession is that it avoids needing an erection, beyond that, in the study you're quoting which I think I've seen they were fairly transparent about the fact that many men couldn't obtain a fully hard erection under test conditions. However I do believe there's enough to suggest that the erect group based on stretched penis length didn't seem to be a biased subset.

    Your claim that stretched penis length is significantly shorter than erect length seems unlikely and would need a lot to support it, since it's not clear how this would even mechanically work, let alone considering that it seems to conflict with most reports that erect length is very close and if anything slightly below stretched length.

    There have been other studies of penis length, and as I recall, virtually every study that did not use self-reporting came in with an average below 6". However some of them were close to 6", not close to an average of 5".

    Honestly, the doctors involved in penis enlargement would rather quote an artificially high number, since it would create more business for them.

    • @0112358: The thing is, when men self-report their penis measurements, they are more often than not going to measure their fully erect penis. In a medical setting when measurements are taken by a professional, they're not going to measure a fully erect penis, which could result in much smaller results. As I said, they're going to measure stretched penis length. The problem with stretched penis length is that you can only get as much as 1.6 inches out of stretching a flaccid penis, which is not a reliable way of measuring average penis size. To get a true sense of the average penis size, every man should be measured by his full erection, which is, no matter how you put it, something that this study failed to do. As for the 3-inch growth, a quick Google search would show that penises tend to grow from a 0.25 inches to 3.5 inches from flaccid to erect. The smaller the flaccid penis, the more it would grow. If the flaccid penis is in the 3-inch range, it is likely to grow around 3 inches larger on average. However, if it's larger and, say, 6.5 inches flaccid, it would be more likely to grow just 0.25 inches on average. With that being said, if the average flaccid penis is 3.6 inches, which is fairly reliable given that 68% of the men sampled drew this conclusion, then it's very likely that the average man in this study would grow 3 inches if he were fully erect and not just stretched.

    • Men’s self reports are widely considered to have a much more significant problem. Lying. You’re claiming that growth is typically.25 to 3.5”. Interestingly a midpoint on that range would be fairly close to the average gain in the study, while an average of 3” would make a.25-3.5” range seem very surprising. You’re still avoiding the fact that most studies seem to suggest not just that the average stretched length is close to the average erect length, but that even for individual men stretched length is a good estimate of erect length (unless they have erectile problems).

    • Exactly, no one wants to say their dick is average so most will exaggerate. By this theory my dick is below average at 6” erect. .25-3.5 is a big range and 3 doesn’t feel right, I know a lot of guys who are showers like me. I’m 5.5” flaccid that’s only a half inch or so of growth I know most guys probably see more than a half inch growth but 3 feels pretty high to be the standard. If 3 is truly correct my little guy is an underachiever

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  • It really doesn't matter what the average size is, what does matter is the average size women enjoy. Most say 7-9 inches 8 being the most answered. I've been particularly lucky since I'm currently 16 with 7.5 inches (no I'm not lying on the internet to make myself feel good). Most of my friends that I tell they dont believe me which only tells me that they aren't all that big themselves and it gives me a little bit of a confidence boost. I've always wondered how 5 inches could be the average when you look at porn and see even amateur videos or homemade videos where they're clearly much larger.

    • @FaolanGrey: I don't know. Your profile says you're 18, but you're saying you're 16. You're lying about something. Either way, I could still believe it. 7.5 inches is pretty common and you'd likely pick a bigger size if you were lying. Nonetheless, good answer. You're someone that actually gets it.

    • Yea I set my age as 18 because I've never used the app before and didn't know if I would be segregated to non adult things. Kinda like how you say you're 18 on a porn site but really aren't.

Most Helpful Girls

  • I agree 100%

    I get tired of all the negative-Normans that go on and on about 5" penises...

    I know what I have at home and my girlfriend, Chloestarfire, just told me she has been with 2 guys recently and one was easily 8" long, the other 7" long... both white guys...

    • I have 5.5 inch but every girl iv been with as had bigger. most have had a 8 inch so there must be a few guys with 8 inchs.

    • 8 and 7 inch are still extremly uncommon.

    • @Daviid_: 7 and 8 inches are pretty common. Trust me, most women have had and seen bigger sizes than 5 inches.

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  • In my opinion, who the he'll cares? Men have enough self esteem issues and depression about their body as it is. This crap needs to be thrown in the garbage. Thanks for the info though. Our body changes over time and men should accept that about themselves.

    • The only self esteem issue I have is of my penis size actually, I dont care what other men have i just want to be bigger for myself and women that I'm with. Body changes over time but the penis stops growing around 18.

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What Girls & Guys Said

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  • Great. Now I can see the dick size questions rising in the near future lmao

  • A factor that should be taken under consideration with studies is that the demographics/sample population used may not reflect others.

    It’s not that every man on Earth has had his penis evaluated/measured.

    Thanks for the food for thought.

  • What I am curious about is: Who is it that runs around with a tape measure in your pocket to measure all these tiny to enormous penises as they become available to you?

    • @katiesmuff: You don't need a tape measure to measure a penis, unless of course you're looking for an exact, precise measurement. You can get a idea of what size a penis is by simply comparing it to something or by using your hands. For example, if the dick is the same length as a soda can, then you automatically know that it is about 5 inches because typical soda cans are 5 inches. When giving head, if you are able to wrap your whole index finger and thumb around an erect penis and be able to completely touch your whole index fingernail with your thumb, then you know that his dick's girth is thinner than average. Also, when giving head, if you know that you have short hands, which is true for a lot of women, and you find out that his dick is shorter or about the same size as your short hands, then you know that his length is short as well.

    • This is a horrible way to get an accurate measurement. Tape measurement works best. You’ll be off by a couple inches and every inch counts. lol. It’s fun comparing it to exactly measured objects though.

    • Spoken like a true slut! 🤣

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  • yeah I don't look at dicks as a general rule but I always thought 5" had to be a lie. I'm not about to try to confirm this study haha but the number they gave does sound more believable to me.

  • 100% truth. I remember when I first started looking up size stats online. Most common one study that pops up that girls love to quote is 5.2” x 4.6”. I called bs because my personal experiences with women suggested otherwise. As I started digging deeper I finally found more recent studies performed by organizations not recognized by the medical field. Since they make their studies more difficult to find online most people don’t see them. The results from these new studies were 5.5”-6.1” length and 4.9”-5.1” for girth. Which seemed incredibly more accurate based on my personal experiences and female friends I spoke to. If women were shown or saw a 5.2” x 4.6” penis I have no doubt most women’s first reaction would be that it’s kind of small.

  • Read a medical dictionary / journal for God's sake.

    The average adult penis size is actually less than 4.5 inches, although mine is bigger than that.

    Your view is probably highly skewed by watching too much porn, where they have 7th standard deviation penis sizes presented as "normal".

    Though a quick Google search shows they are saying something slightly different now than a few years ago, but I don't really care, it's not that big of a difference from what they were saying a few years ago.

    What you see on pornography is unrealistically presented 1-in-a-million penis size. it's not "normal".

  • Mine's 6 inches erect.
    I use it to jerk off and pee.
    So now what?

  • "Considering that the average penis tends to grow about 3 inches longer when erect from its flaccid state"

    "Tends to grow about" means that you are simply making an assumption and everything that flows from that assumption is flawed.

  • You reference only one particular study, though there are many available. It is the combined data from many studies that give us the figures for average size. Considering the thousands of men measured, and by qualified health professionals or trained data gatherers, the results are pretty reliable. But you decide that the one study you used did not include enough measurements (though scientists accept that data) and that their conclusions do not match the "reliable" conclusions you gained reading stories on here. You "surmise" and "guess" and feel "likely". Which means you are disputing scientifically gathered data with your imagination. Not very convincing.

  • I just wanna say that I get fascinated watching my husband's voluminous "hot rod" go from flaccid to rock hard erect. :)

    • still at 47

    • Whoa! Those downvotes are from envious shmucks & lonely losers, I suppose. Tsk! Tsk! Lmao.

    • @Poormanscomedian: Yes, "still" very much.

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  • Mine is just a diminutive three inches soft and three and a half inches hard, and I'm tremendously proud of it.

  • Depends if the woman can handle it if she finds something too big or too long painful but something too short unhelpful in achieving satisfaction for her finish. I'm 6 inches and i know that while it's not as big as some freakish claims of 8 inches and so on... i'm grateful i'm not 4 inches or less either. Besides, it's about matching the right penis length with the right vaginal deepness.

  • Most men in porn have been measured between 6.5 and 7.5 inches.
    If you believe this to be "average" you are either:
    A crappy liar
    Very lucky
    Really bad at measuring things

    • @Kurαȷ: I am quite good at measuring things. Here in America, regardless of what the average male pornstar is measured to be, the average man in America is bigger than 5 inches.

  • Thanks @Tiffany_Taylor_Made for your brilliant & thoughtful My Take !

    Being just over 7 inches long when fully erect, I am in fact in complete agreement with you that mine is of "medium" size -- actually I have been told by several girls that it is a 'perfect' size/fit for them because "it's not too small and not too big" It is especially nice to see a truly well thought out feminine perspective on the perennial question of penis size, thank you for your insightful rationale + for your clear and well-written presentation of your 'Penis Thesis'

  • Here's what's really important: You used "penis" 106 times in this article. Congratulations... You earned the right to date me for life!

  • Erect penis length and girth is the only valid way to measure penis size for sexual use. Growers and showers have drastic differences in the percentage change when erect. Therefore utilizing a flaccid measurement would generate bias results. Flawed data analysis leads to faulty conclusions. If you are manufacturing tighty whities go with flacid size. If you’re manufacturing condoms goe with erect size.

  • I feel definitely always better when I read dick length statistic.

  • Good god. And I thought I was obsessed with penis size.

  • Lol, you just wanna make men more insecure about their dicks? That's just what we need.

    It depends on where you live in the world.
    We say the average is 5, and a lot of what adds to that is the fact that some smaller penis length races make up a huge chunk of the global population.

    There's plenty of places in the world where 6, 7, or 8 is normal to have...

    But honestly, it doesn't surprise me when you get a girl like you who's 'dated around' and they've never encountered a guy on the smaller side, as they'd be less likely to parade it around.

  • I just spent 15 minutes reading about the debatable "average" size of the penis
    I'm not sure how to feel right now

    • 15 mins waste :)

    • Considering what I could have been doing instead, probably not 😂

    • Haha yeah i guess so :-D :-)

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