Virtual reality has been gaming’s “the next frontier” for years now. At this point, VR is current technology that most people can at least try, from disposable cardboard eyepieces that work with smartphones to full-fledged VR gear. The barrier for entry has never been lower, but it is still relatively new, niche tech for gaming, fitness, and people who are enamored with the idea of being in a virtual world. The best VR headset for each of these people, for everyone, really comes down to what you want to do and how far you’re willing to go to get an immersive experience.
- Best standalone VR headset: Oculus Quest 2
- Best VR headset tracking: HTC Vive Cosmos Elite
- Best VR headset display: HTC Vive Pro 2
- Best touch-sensitive VR headset: Valve Index
- Best VR headset for console gamers: Sony PlayStation VR
- Best budget VR headset: DESTEK V5 VR headset
How we picked the best VR headsets
We’re now several years and hardware generations into real consumer VR, and you really can see it in milestones like the success of the fully wireless Quest 2. However, the level of investment and specialized knowledge required to compete is still high enough that VR headsets still come from a small group of dominant manufacturers, including Meta (Oculus), HTC, and Sony. Selecting the best from among this relatively small field then is just a matter of choosing categories that best reflect your options from how the different manufacturers have chosen to specialize, like portability, display quality, or immersive interfaces.
In addition to collating and analyzing both professional and customer reviews, our selections were also rooted in years of journalistic and critical experience covering the VR space professionally. We also drew on a lifetime of enthusiasm for the medium’s promise, and hands-on time with many of these products, as well as with both their immediate and more ancestral predecessors.
consider when picking out a VR headset
Comparing VR headsets gets very tricky, very fast. Not only are there two fundamentally different types of headsets–standalone and PC-based–but even specs like resolution, which you may know from TVs and gaming monitors, work a little differently. Here’s a basic overview of a few things to keep in mind when picking out your VR headset.
Standalone or PC-based?
Before you begin looking for a device, consider which avenue of connection best suits your lifestyle and entertainment center set-up.
For many people, smartphones were the gateway drug into VR: In 2015, the New York Times sent 1.1 million cardboard VR headsets to subscribers for free. Many other companies made it similarly easy to easily get a taste of the technology. At this point, though, the phone-based VR headset has been largely eclipsed by dedicated headsets: Some of them, like the Meta, aka Oculus, Quest, are self-contained. Others, like the HTC Vive and the now-defunct Oculus Rift, offer superior visuals and tracking but require more dedicated space and a powerful gaming PC.
For new VR users, we generally recommend a standalone headset with “inside out” tracking, which tends to be more affordable and requires minimal setup. PC-based headsets tend to offer superior performance and fidelity, but require a modern gaming PC with a dedicated GPU. In many cases, they also feature outside tracking, where you place sensors around the VR play space to track your movement. Setting up and calibrating these sensors takes time, so you’ll need a semi-permanent setup in a dedicated space. By contrast, the standalone VR is easy to set up in any room where you can clear out enough floor space. If you’ve seen what the Quest can do and want higher fidelity, tethered VR experiences call for hobby-grade work, but deliver higher fidelity and immersion as a reward.
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