Does penis enlargement work? What the evidence says

Does penis enlargement work? Short answer: pills and exercises don't, devices do very little, and surgery carries real risks. More men worry about penis size than have any medical reason to. The enlargement industry knows this, and sells pills, exercise programs, pumps, stretchers, injections and surgery to a customer who, in most cases, is already normal. This guide goes through what normal is, according to the largest measured studies, and then through each method with what the evidence shows and what can go wrong.

It is written in plain clinical terms and is not medical advice. If you have a concern about size, shape, curvature or erections, a urologist is the right person to see, and if the worry is affecting your life, a therapist who works with body image may help more than any device.

What is the average penis size?

The most cited reference is a 2015 systematic review in BJU International by psychiatrist David Veale and colleagues. It pooled studies in which a health professional measured men using a standard method, excluding men who had complained about size, and built nomograms (size charts) from up to 15,521 men. The averages:

• Flaccid length: 9.16 cm (3.6 in)
• Stretched flaccid length: 13.24 cm (5.2 in)
• Erect length: 13.12 cm (5.2 in)
• Erect circumference: 11.66 cm (4.6 in)

A larger 2023 meta-analysis in the World Journal of Men's Health, covering 75 studies and 55,761 men, found a pooled average erect length of 13.93 cm (5.5 in), with variation by region, and reported that measured erect length rose over the past three decades. Either way, the average is shorter than most men think, and a great deal shorter than what porn suggests.

Most men who seek enlargement are normal

A 2020 systematic review of enlargement treatments in men without any penile abnormality found that the vast majority of men in the studies had normal penis size. The same review noted that when men were given structured counseling (shown where they really sit on the charts), most came to understand their penis was normal and did not want further treatment. Veale's group has also studied men with small penis anxiety and with body dysmorphic disorder focused on penis size, and found they were more likely to try jelqing, pumps and stretchers, with poor reported success.

What partners say

Size preferences are less extreme than the marketing implies. In a 2015 study at UCLA, 75 women chose from 33 3D-printed models and preferred sizes only slightly larger than average: about 6.3 inches (16 cm) long for a long-term partner and 6.4 inches for a one-time partner. It was a small study of one group of women, so treat it as a hint rather than a rule, but it does not support the idea that partners expect porn-scale proportions. Looking down at yourself also foreshortens the view, which is one reason men underestimate their own size compared with how they judge other men.

Micropenis, by contrast, is a specific medical diagnosis, usually made in infancy or childhood, for a penis far below the normal range (conventionally more than 2.5 standard deviations under average). It is rare, and it is managed by specialists, not supplement companies.

Do penis enlargement pills work?

No pill or supplement has been shown in a controlled trial to make the penis permanently longer or thicker. There is no plausible mechanism for it either: herbs that might improve blood flow could, at most, affect the quality of an erection, not the size of the tissue.

Size claims have a legal history. The maker of Enzyte, sold on TV as "natural male enhancement", was prosecuted federally: its owner Steve Warshak was convicted in 2008 on 93 counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering, in a case that also involved repeat-billing customers and making refunds hard to get; the company conceded it had no scientific studies supporting its Enzyte claims. Our Extenze review covers that brand's class-action settlement and the size claims its sales site still makes. Our ingredients guide explains what the common herbs in these products do and don't do, and our tainted-products guide explains why a pill that seems to work fast may contain a hidden prescription drug.

Does jelqing work?

Penis exercises, usually some version of "jelqing" (repeatedly squeezing and stroking a partly erect penis from base to tip), are sold as e-books, video courses and subscription programs, including Phalogenics, which we review. The theory is that micro-trauma makes tissue grow, the way exercise builds muscle. But the penis is not a muscle, and the erectile chambers are enclosed in a tough fibrous sheath.

We found no randomized or controlled trial showing that jelqing increases size, and the men in Veale's cohort who had tried it reported poor results. Forceful, repeated squeezing of a partly erect penis carries obvious risks of bruising, pain and injury to the tissue, and tissue injury is how some cases of the curvature of Peyronie's disease begin. If a program's evidence is customer testimonials and before-and-after photos, that is the whole of its evidence.

Do penis extenders work?

Penile extenders are frames or straps that hold the flaccid penis under gentle tension for hours a day, for months. They are the one non-surgical method with any measured gains, and the gains are small. The 2020 review found extenders increased flaccid length, but by less than 2 cm, in studies it rated as poor quality: small groups, short follow-up and measurements that are easy to get wrong. Erect length changes were less consistently reported. The authors suggested extenders as the option for men who still want enhancement after counseling, which is a measured endorsement at best.

The practical costs: wearing the device for several hours a day over months, discomfort, skin irritation and numbness if it is too tight, and a high dropout rate. Traction is also used by urologists for a different purpose, to reduce curvature and preserve length in men with Peyronie's disease, which is a medical treatment under supervision rather than enlargement.

Do penis pumps make you bigger?

A vacuum pump draws blood into the penis, which makes it temporarily larger and firm. That is useful: vacuum devices are an established erectile dysfunction treatment, and the FDA regulates external penile rigidity devices as medical devices for that use (see our ED treatments guide). But the effect lasts only while the blood is there. The 2020 review found that vacuum devices did not increase size. Overusing a pump, using one without a pressure limit, or leaving a constriction ring on too long can cause bruising, blood blisters and injury.

Injections and fillers

Some clinics inject hyaluronic acid or other fillers to add girth. The 2020 review found injectables increased girth but with a high complication rate. Fillers can migrate, form lumps, become infected and need to be removed, and the results are temporary for the absorbable kinds.

The FDA warns that it may not have reviewed the use of dermal fillers in some locations in the body, and recommends against injectable fillers for body contouring and enhancement. It is blunter still about silicone: injectable silicone is not approved for any aesthetic procedure, and silicone injections can cause lasting pain, infection, permanent disfigurement, blocked blood vessels, stroke and death. Never let anyone inject silicone, oil, petroleum jelly or anything else "off-label" into the penis, and don't buy fillers online.

Surgery and implants

Suspensory ligament release

The most common lengthening operation cuts the ligament that anchors the penis to the pubic bone, so more of the shaft hangs outside the body when flaccid. It does not make the erect penis longer, and it can change the angle of erections and make them less stable. The 2020 review counted it as the most used surgical method in the studies it found, and concluded that across surgical techniques complications were not infrequent and none was externally validated.

Grafts and flaps for girth

Surgeons have used fat, dermal grafts and other tissue to add girth. Results vary, tissue can be reabsorbed unevenly, and lumps, scarring and curvature are recognized problems. The overall verdict of the systematic review was that treating small penis in normal men is supported by scant, low-quality evidence.

Cosmetic silicone implants (Penuma, now Himplant)

A silicone sleeve placed under the skin of the shaft, originally sold as Penuma and now marketed as Himplant, adds flaccid size and girth. Its maker calls it the world's first FDA-cleared penile implant for cosmetic male enhancement. "Cleared" is a specific term: under the FDA's 510(k) process, a device is cleared when it is shown to be substantially equivalent to a device already on the market, which is a different and lighter pathway than full premarket approval. Published case series include authors with ties to the device's maker, International Medical Devices (as this 2024 case series discloses), and the procedure is expensive and not covered by insurance. Removal is possible but is another operation. If you consider it, get an independent urologist's opinion first.

Penile prostheses for ED are different

Inflatable and malleable penile implants placed inside the erectile chambers are an established treatment for erectile dysfunction that hasn't responded to other options. They restore rigidity, not size, and a review of prosthesis surgery found that penile shortening is the most common long-term complaint after an inflatable implant. Don't confuse the two.

Spotting enlargement marketing

• Inch-gain promises ("add 3 inches") for a pill, cream or exercise. No controlled trial supports them.
• Before-and-after photos with different angles, lighting, erection state or weight. Easy to fake, impossible to verify.
• "Doctor-developed" with no named doctor or published study.
• Autoship subscriptions buried in the checkout, and a guarantee that requires returning empty bottles within a short window.
• Anonymous sellers with no company name, address or working terms page.

Is penis enlargement surgery safe?

It carries real risks. A 2020 systematic review of enlargement procedures in men of normal size found complications were not infrequent, none of the techniques had been externally validated, and the evidence was scant and low quality. See a urologist who does not sell the procedure before you consider it.

Can you increase penis size naturally?

Not permanently, as far as controlled research shows. Losing weight can make more of the shaft visible if a fat pad hides part of it, and treating erectile dysfunction can make erections fuller. Neither changes the size of the tissue.

Our Phalogenics review and Extenze review look at two products sold with size claims, and the comparison covers the rest.

Who to talk to

A urologist can measure you properly, check for conditions that do change size or shape (Peyronie's disease, a buried penis from weight gain, or erection problems that make the penis look smaller), and treat them. In heavier men, a fat pad above the penis can hide part of the shaft, and weight loss can make more of it visible. Treating ED often fixes the "size" complaint, because a weak erection is a smaller one; start with what works for ED.

If you are normal by the charts and still can't stop thinking about it, that is worth taking seriously too. In the studies the 2020 review examined, structured counseling worked for most men who received it, and it costs a great deal less than surgery that may leave you with a new problem. A therapist who treats body image concerns, including body dysmorphic disorder, is a reasonable first call.