The largest study of women’s orgasms to date collected data from 27,931 women.

Nearly half of the sample (47%) reported reaching orgasm more frequently when alone vs. when with a partner.

The most common reasons for orgasming alone or with a partner related to relational factors, not anatomy.

Partnered orgasms, but not solo orgasms, were associated with overall sexual satisfaction.

While it may seem obvious, a sexual partner’s skills remain one of the top perceived reasons for women reaching, or not reaching, orgasm during partnered sexual activity. When women were asked for the reasons they experience orgasms more frequently either with a partner or without (i.e., alone), both groups mentioned their partner’s skill—either as a top contributing factor to their orgasms during partnered activity, or as a detractor, and consequently a reason for reaching orgasm more frequently without their partner present.

Key Findings From a New Study on Women's Orgasm Experiences

In a recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, my colleagues at Flo Health and I surveyed 27,931 women using the Flo app about their orgasm experiences and sexual satisfaction. While the paper covers a wide range of topics, one of the most interesting questions in the study asked women not just whether they orgasmed more frequently alone or with their partner, but also their perceived reasons for why they orgasmed more in one context versus the other. Overall, 21 percent of the women sampled indicated that they orgasm more frequently with a partner. In comparison, nearly half the sample (47 percent) indicated that they orgasm more frequently on their own, absent their partner’s presence.

The women were then asked to select the top three reasons they felt explained why they orgasmed more frequently in one context over the other. Of the just over 13,000 women who indicated that they orgasmed more frequently while alone, more than half of them selected “partner doesn’t stimulate me in a way that is adequate to reach orgasm (including body part, foreplay, length of time)” as one of their three reasons. For the smaller group of women who reported more frequently reaching orgasm with their partner, more than two-thirds selected the inverse reason, that their partner did stimulate them in ways that were adequate to reach orgasm.

Unsurprisingly then, women’s orgasms in partnered contexts depend, at least to some........

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