Explore new worlds and expand your imagination with a high-quality virtual reality headset. Whether for gaming, simulations, or fitness, VR is shaping the future of digital experiences. With mixed reality devices like the Meta Quest 3, you can now blend digital fun with real life, bringing games or even a horde of zombies right into your living room.
VR headsets vary from budget-friendly, standalone models to premium ones that need a strong gaming PC. To help you pick the best VR gear for your needs, we’ve tested all the top headsets by gaming, streaming, and even working in them. One clear winner stands out above the rest.
The best VR headset
Meta Quest 3
Best VR headset overall
The Meta Quest 3, with its stylish design, strong performance, wide game selection, and fun mixed reality features, is the top VR headset for most users.
The Meta Quest 3 offers a sleeker design, faster performance, and useful upgrades, improving on everything that made the Quest 2 a top VR headset. It also introduces mixed reality features that take the experience to the next level.
The Quest 3 looks very different from the Quest 2. It’s about 40% thinner, making it easier to pack for travel, though the three large front sensors give it a less sleek appearance. It’s slightly heavier but feels more comfortable due to improved weight balance. The new triangular adjustable strap took some time to get used to but now feels more secure and comfortable than the older design.
The new Touch Plus controllers have a sleek redesign with improved haptics that enhance the feel of actions like firing weapons or shaking maracas. They still use a single AA battery each and aren’t rechargeable. Our controllers have lasted almost a month with heavy use, but you might want to get rechargeable AA batteries.
The Quest 3’s standout feature is full-color passthrough, letting you clearly see your surroundings to quickly check on pets or kids. It also unlocks fun mixed reality experiences, like the preinstalled First Encounters. In contrast, the Quest 2 only offers a grainy black-and-white passthrough, making it harder to monitor your space. With clearer passthrough and an easier setup that auto-creates a play boundary, the Quest 3 is more user-friendly and ready to go.
From fighting zombies in Zombies: Noir to creating portals for aliens in First Encounters, the mixed reality experiences felt fresh and worked smoothly. Rhythm games like Samba de Amigo: Party Central and Synth Riders added virtual elements to our real-world space as we moved around. Even classic VR games are improved on Quest 3, with sharper visuals from the upgraded lenses and the powerful Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor delivering double the graphics performance. Games like Red Matter 2 showcased more detailed worlds, and the workout app Supernatural looked clearer than ever.
The Quest 3 works with all Quest 2 and Quest Pro games, so anything you’ve bought on the Meta store will carry over. This gives it a big edge over the PlayStation VR2, which has a more limited library. While most Quest games still run on the Quest 2, some titles are now exclusive to the Quest 3, like Batman: Arkham Shadow, which is included for free with a new headset.
Meta’s new headset has its downsides. Battery life remains the same as the Quest 2, lasting about two to three hours. While it supports your old games, the new design means most Quest 2 accessories, like straps and face covers, won’t fit. Alternatively, you can save money with the $300 Quest 3S. It offers the same processor, game compatibility, and mixed reality features but comes with lower-resolution lenses and less storage.
If it fits your budget, the Quest 3 is the top VR headset you can get. The base $500 model now includes 512GB of storage, offering more value. Its sleek design, better graphics, and strong mixed reality features stand out, building on an already excellent VR software library.