I like sex toys that lick. I like them so much that I have a whole guide on the best sex toy tongues. It was inevitable that I’d get my greedy paws on Lelo’s updated Ora, one of the first mainstream attempts at an oral sex simulator.

The Ora is on its third iteration. Earlier versions received mixed reviews because the nub that serves as its tongue was too subtle. So Lelo tweaked the design – twice – and now we have the Ora 3.

I reached out to Lelo directly to ask for an Ora, and they obliged me! Then I took forever to write this review, because having a “sexy job” doesn’t save me from all the decidedly unsexy struggles of desk jockeying. Lucky for me, the Lelo Ora 3 is a great addition to one of my favorite forms of sensual de-stressing…

lelo ora design & features

The Lelo Ora 3 doesn’t have a flapping or flicking tongue. It has a bump that moves in languid circles, like someone flatly undulating – rather than licking – their tongue against you. It’s much gentler than toys like the RimJoy, but feels more “realistic.”

The tongue moves in either full-circle rotations or half-circles, either of which can be sped up with the increase (+) button. The Ora 3 Oral Sex Massager can also vibrate, and has 11 vibration settings that will simultaneously intensify if you speed up the tongue.

I wish there was a separate button for the vibrations so I can better customize my experience. Sometimes I want the tongue to go fast and the vibes to be gentle!

The Ora 3 is rechargeable (I love the sturdy, secure pin-to-port) and waterproof (which, yes, means bath time fun – but it also makes cleaning it easier since you don’t have to worry about drowning the electronics.) It also comes with a satin drawstring pouch that’s really silky to the touch. The product packaging is plainer than a lot of luxury brands, but it’s definitely less wasteful.

Like all of Lelo’s toys, the Ora 3 looks elegant. Reflective gold plastic hugs the circular toy’s inner rim. (The plastic is incredibly smudgey, though – touch it and your whole fingerprint transfers in vivid detail. Have a microfiber cloth handy!) The rest of the Ora is lined with silky soft silicone in pink, teal, or dark blue.

While classy in looks, the Ora 3 is kinda bulky in practice. The Ora 3’s grippable loop doesn’t line up with how I hold the toy. The button placement is also strangely unintuitive, at least for me. It’s just difficult to situate this thing. I wish instead of being a fancy donut, the Ora had been fashioned into something with a handle for easier placement and reach.

Granted, the Ora 3’s donut shape has its benefits – at least for me! I have a buried clit, which means I have to spread my chubby outer labia to reach it. The Ora 3 is the perfect size to tuck between my labia for hands-free use. It fits comfortably in place because it’s rounded and the surface is smooth and streamlined.

let’s talk about the “tongue”

Firstly: despite any company’s grandiose marketing (or comparisons I make), no sex toy can fully replicate the experience of oral sex. Sex toys are tools – not substitutes – and offer their own unique sensations. These sensations aren’t inherently better or inherently inferior, just different.

So, how does the Ora 3’s unique sensation work… and how does it feel?

The Ora 3’s little tongue nub moves around beneath the toy’s thin silicone surface like a fingertip swirling under a sheet. The nub has a very small surface area and it doesn’t protrude much:

Please consider your anatomy when looking at the Lelo Ora! Like I mentioned in the last section, my clitoris is “buried.” But I can easily spread my labia, and my clit is pretty big. I have no problems getting the Ora 3 into place. My partner’s clitoris is smaller and more recessed. The Ora 3’s nub is too stubby to adequately reach them, which makes the Ora 3 (besides the vibration) useless to them.

Essentially, you’re being repeatedly nudged by a nub moving in consistent circles or half-circles. Like the DiCarlo Filare (RIP), this roiling movement feels more human-like than the rigid, robotic flapping of the Ultimate Pleasure or Laguna Beach Lover. But the roiling is so understated that for many folks, it’s gonna be a snooze. If your clit prefers strong stimulation – whether that’s powerful vibration, lots of friction/movement, or consistent pressure – the Lelo Ora 3 is probably not for you.

I’m lucky enough to have a clit with ever-diversifying taste, and I fuckin’ love this thing.

The smooth, inhumanly consistent glide of the Ora 3’s nubby tongue is like being rubbed slow and sweet by a firm fingertip. Its strokes – which are best when set to quarter circle settings rather than full circle settings that spend way too much time away from my clit – are a slow-motion massage. The motor’s pretty hardy, so I can press and grind against the Ora and its licking doesn’t stall out.

The Lelo Ora 3 is an improvement over previous models, but I think its nub is still too short. I also think its highest speed is still too slow. It gets me to my destination – and oh, do I enjoy the ride – but I’d love if it had better range.

use, noise, and vibration strength

One of my favorite ways to use the Lelo Ora is to nestle it in place while I’m sitting and reading smutty comics. As I mentioned before, I can tuck it between my labia and use it hands-free. This method doesn’t provide the kind of pressure I need to orgasm, but the Ora’s persistent massage feels like getting shy oral from someone patiently waiting for my full attention. What an erotic addition to reading…

When I’m ready to come, I turn the Ora to its fastest quarter turn setting and press down firmly like I’m pinning a lover in place. A loud, robotic lover.

If you watched my demo video with sound on, you heard simultaneous shrill whirring (the tongue nub) and shuddery grumbling (the vibrations.) The Lelo Ora 3 is a pretty noisy toy. Most oral sex simulators are – if you want interesting engineering, you get “interesting” noise. Toys that thrust, toys that wiggle, and toys that lick are all gonna make a racket. That’s fine by me. If you have sensitive ears, maybe it’s not so fine. That being said, I can’t hear the Lelo Ora through closed doors.

Even if I don’t love how the Lelo Ora 3’s tongue settings and vibration settings are tied together (give me a separate button!), I love the vibrations themselves. On the buzzy (shallow and pitchy) to rumbly (deep and thumpy) scale, the Ora 3 is somewhere between. Shiver-rumbly. On its highest speed, the Ora’s vibrations are just short of the Mini Magic Wand’s second setting.

The intensity is definitely a little dampened by the toy’s design. Somewhere between the motor and my clit (maybe the toy’s shape or how its mechanics are situated inside), the vibrations are softened. As an addition to the Ora’s circling tongue, I’m satisfied with these vibes. But their delicious timbre has me eyeing Lelo’s regular vibrators with jealous interest.

final thoughts on the lelo ora 3

Despite some of Lelo’s marketing describing this toy as “for women who will settle for nothing less,” the enby who writes these reviews found themself settling for eh, pretty okay!

The Lelo Ora 3 provides a steady, sensual build-up to an orgasm. In a sea of toy tongues that firmly flicker and rigidly wag, the Ora’s roving nub results in a significantly gentler but much more realistic sensation. Folks who need pressure, power, or intensity probably won’t like the Ora 3’s tentative touch.

There’s lots to criticize about the Ora 3: the limited settings, the still too short nub, the arguably unintuitive shape. Lelo’s luxury pricetag will give most people pause. But as I said about the Lora Dicarlo Filare: there aren’t many toys that feel like this. (With Dicarlo abruptly shuttering its digital doors – and apparently ditching distributors and customers on the way out – there’s even less.) I will happily tolerate the Ora 3’s shortcomings in order to experience the slick glide of its nubby tongue across my clit. Complimented – and sometimes overshadowed – by the heady tremble of its pulsing vibrations.

I hope Lelo keeps tinkering with the Ora. But for now, I’m content to flip through Smut Peddler: Sex Machine and enjoy mine.

Find the Lelo Ora 3 Oral Sex Massager on Lelo, SheVibe or Amazon.

Thank you, Lelo, for sending me the Lelo Ora 3 Oral Sex Simulator in exchange for an honest review.

This post includes affiliate links. While using these links to make a purchase comes at no extra cost to you, it helps keep my website running.