We've rounded up the best VR headsets you buy get ahead of Black Friday. If you're looking to leap into the world of virtual reality now's the time, with Black Friday deals already rolling in — like a $100 saving on the Vive XR Elite on Amazon.
Different VR headsets will have different pros and cons, whether you're looking for a tool to use for work or you just want to play. Our guide to the best VR headsets has a mix of standalone products and console-specific models at a range of price points too.
If you want to try and bag a bargain, we suggest looking at our guides to VR headset deals and Black Friday space gifts 2024. But, with improving specs and an expanding range of experiences available, now is the best time to explore the best VR headsets ahead of Black Friday on the market.
I've been using VR for a few years now, including console, PC, and standalone options, and review VR games and experiences regularly as part of my day job. In this latest update, we've removed the tricky-to-find HTC Vive Cosmos Elite and HP Reverb G2, and replaced them with the Meta Quest Pro and Apple's upcoming Vision Pro respectively.
The Quick List
Below you'll find a swift run-through of our picks for the best VR headsets around in 2024, including a quick summary of why they're worth your time. You can find more on each by clicking 'read more below' or scrolling further.
The Meta Quest 3 VR headset is a huge step beyond its predecessor, although still not without some minor issues.
Valve still dominates the VR headset space with Valve Index, the most open-source and impressive virtual reality kit available.
Sony plays to its strengths with the PlayStation VR 2, focusing on immersion, friendly design, and tempting exclusives. The price may be high, but you get what you pay for.
Best high-resolution VR headset
With 5K resolution support, the HTC Vive Pro 2 presents incredible VR visuals. Quite the investment as you'll need the kit and suitable gear to support it.
A great headset for anyone spending any length of time working in VR, the Meta Quest Pro is powerful and comfortable.
Technically more than a VR or AR headset, Apple's move into Spatial Computing is a big unknown at the time of writing - but it's exciting nonetheless.
Load the next 3 products...
The HTC Vive Flow offers VR on the go with a lightweight form, connecting to your smartphone and using it's hardware run games and apps.
Best cheap VR headset for PlayStation
The PSVR2's predecessor may be lower-res, but it's also a lower price point if you're keen to game on your PS4 or PS5.
This VR/AR hybrid is sleek and compact, but with mixed reality comes a higher price tag.
The best VR headsets we recommend in 2024
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Best VR headset overall
- Read our full Meta Quest 3 review.
✅ You're looking for great value: $500 for a VR headset with AR capabilities and the included controllers is a great deal — with many bundles, including Asgard's Wrath 2 for free.
✅ You're upgrading the Quest 2: The Quest 3 is faster, sharper, and overall more capable than the Quest 2.
❌ You want AR and MR: There's now color pass-through here and improved AR and MR cameras, but it still feels a little like an afterthought.
🔎 Meta Quest 3: The Quest 3 isn't the most powerful headset out there, but it's the easiest to use, priced well, and is a major improvement on the Quest 2 in every way. ★★★★½
The Meta Quest 3 may have taken its time to launch (with a three-year gap after its predecessor) but it's more than a worthy successor — it's a huge leap beyond the Quest 2.
While much of it remains the same in theory (it's still a standalone headset, with access to the Meta storefront and experiences therein), it's more powerful, has more storage, and packs color passthrough now to help you see beyond the headset.
That comes in handy with AR experiences like shooting monsters that pop up from behind your couch, and while it's still very much a VR-first device, it's still a great option to have.
Add to that a free copy of one of the best VR games around in Asgard's Wrath 2 and you've got plenty of reasons to upgrade from the Quest 2.
If you want a full, in-depth look at this VR headset and see why we rate it so highly, you can check out our Meta Quest 3 review before purchasing.
- Read our Meta Quest 3 review
Best premium VR headset
✅ You want room-scale VR: The Valve Index comes with tracking stations to be placed in your room to allow for more accurate tracking at all times.
✅ You want deep Steam Integration: Valve also brought us the Steam VR interface, so right out of the box, you can find a whole host of PCVR experiences.
✅ Audio is important: The speakers here are fantastic, whatever you're doing.
❌ You want a wireless headset: You'll need to hook the Valve Index up with a cable, since there's no wireless option available.
🔎 Valve Index: Still arguably the peak of PC VR headsets despite being a few years old, the Valve Index is a great product — although we can't help but feel a new version must be coming soon. ★★★★★
If you're after the most luxurious of virtual reality experiences, you're going to want to invest in a Valve Index headset. It's one of the pricier devices on this list – not just because of its high specifications, which include a super-sharp screen and additional tracking stations that need to be dotted around the room, but also because there's the expectation that you'll be hooking this headset up to a relatively high-spec PC. There's no wireless option with the Valve Index kit.
What you get instead is arguably the most immersive VR experience to date, thanks to the Valve Index's wider field of view, high-resolution display, and 'knuckle' style controllers which allow you to use each of your fingers and thumbs individually in a VR environment. It's the model for VR devices to come, and the perfect companion to the best VR experience yet — sci-fi horror adventure Half-Life: Alyx, which was made in conjunction with the Valve Index headset. It can be hard to come by, selling out regularly, and we're expecting a refreshed model to turn up before long. But, if you can afford its price tag and accommodate its PC and room requirements, it's the best VR experience money can currently buy.
- Read our full Valve Index review.
Best VR headset for consoles
✅ You want the best console VR: With eye-tracking, button-activated passthrough, and a sharp 2000x2040 resolution per eye, PSVR 2 is way beyond its predecessor.
✅ You want to test out some fantastic haptics: The controllers included here are some of our favorites, and let you truly feel part of the action, moment-to-moment.
❌ You want to play PSVR 1 games: If you've got a huge library of PSVR 1 titles, you won't be able to play them on Sony's latest system.
❌ You don't have a PS5: Put simply, it's a case of 'no PS5, no party' with PSVR 2 — the latest console is mandatory.
🔎 PlayStation VR 2: Sony's second attempt at console-based VR is a big step forward, although it doesn't carry forward your game library. ★★★★
Sony's first VR effort, the PSVR, has been a mainstay on this list for years thanks to its impressive catalog of games, several price drops, and the fact it put VR in the living room before anyone else for a lot of console owners.
It's still a little too early to say if the PSVR2 will have the same effect on a new generation, but the early signs are positive. The PlayStation VR 2 offers much better visual fidelity than its predecessor, and it's much easier to set up for an evening of VR, too.
It also offers much more advanced features, like eye-tracking and a button-activated passthrough that lets you see the room around you. The haptics are impressive, too, letting users feel what they're playing in an entirely new way.
Sadly, there are some drawbacks — the price alone isn’t a huge issue, but it soon adds up if you’re yet to buy a PlayStation 5 console. If you're coming from the first PSVR, none of your games will run on PSVR2 — a disappointing omission given the likes of Astro Bot: Rescue Mission that offers some of the most fun we've had in VR.
- Read our full PlayStation VR 2 review
Best high resolution VR headset
✅ You want a pin-sharp resolution: The 5K on offer here is sharper than anything else you'll find on this list, and the field of view is great, too.
✅ You've got a powerful PC: With killer apps like Half-Life: Alyx, you'll get more from your Vive Pro 2 if you've got a more powerful PC.
❌ You don't have a PC: You'll need a pretty capable rig to run VR games at the full 5K resolution, so you may find yourself better off picking something standalone.
❌ You want to wear it for hours at a time: The Vive Pro 2 is comfortable enough, but as you push the limits it can get a little warm on your face.
🔎 HTC Vive Pro 2: Looking for a VR headset that'll offer an unrivaled resolution of 5K? The HTC Vive Pro 2 is just what you need, so long as you have a PC to connect it to. ★★★★
If you're after sheer fidelity from your PC VR gaming experiences, you'll struggle to find a better headset than the HTC Vive Pro 2. With a stonking 5K resolution, it’s about as sharp as VR headsets get before entering truly niche enthusiast territory. With a fast refresh rate and wide field of view, you'll really be able to see every detail from your time in VR, to the point where you begin to approach photo-real quality in some high-end apps.
Alas, clarity like this comes at a high price, and we're not just talking about the expense of the HTC Vive Pro 2 kit itself. To be able to power this headset at any sort of stable framerate, you’re going to need a very high-specification PC and graphics card, which may make the whole endeavor prohibitively expensive.
And, considering the future-gazing spec sheet of the actual display technology here, other elements of the package feel a little bit dated. A tethered unit, HTC hasn't updated its wireless control sticks in a long time, and the power-socket-hungry base stations that track your movement (though accurate) can be frustrating to set up. That screen can run hot too — unsurprising, given the power needed to run it. It's an incredibly premium experience from a visual perspective, but be aware of its limitations elsewhere.
Best professional VR headset
✅ You want to work in VR: The Quest Pro's eye and face tracking makes taking meetings in VR much easier.
✅ You don't want to buy extras: The Quest Pro comes with accessories including the controller, charging dock, cables and more.
❌ You want a sharper resolution: Despite costing more, the Quest Pro's resolution is lower than the newer Quest 3.
🔎 Meta Quest Pro: Aimed at those taking VR into the workplace, the Quest Pro comes with some great accessories that make sure it's always ready to go when you are. ★★★★
Meta's most expensive headset isn't actually the latest model, which means it's both ahead of and behind the Meta Quest 3 somehow at the same time.
It has a lower-resolution display per eye, and the Quest 3 is available with more storage, but it's Meta's only headset that offers eye and face tracking which is a huge boon for anyone looking to attend virtual meetings.
The Quest Pro has a better battery than the Quest 3, and feels more comfortable on your head — so you can wear it for longer.
It arrives in a box bursting with tech, including a charging dock for the controllers and headset (no pesky AA batteries needed here), as well as the Touch Pro controllers themselves.
All-in-all, it's an excellent package, but one that comes at a considerably steeper price than the Quest 3.
Best AR headset
✅ You want to be on the precipice of a shift in computing: Less a VR headset and more a new way of computing, Apple's Vision Pro is unique to the rest of the market.
✅ You want to work in VR: Apple's focus appears to be just as much on productivity, so you can move your apps around as part of your day-to-day without needing a monitor.
❌ You worry about being an early adopter: Vision Pro remains essentially untested, so there's always a danger that those spending the money may find a new version arrives sooner than expected — technology moves quickly, after all.
🔎 Apple Vision Pro: Arguably not a VR headset and something completely new, the Vision Pro could be a paradigm shift in headset technology— but it's too early to say for now. At the very least, we're excited.
Ok, we're cheating a little bit — we haven't tested or reviewed the Apple Vision Pro, but it's arguably not a VR headset at all.
While it can let you walk with dinosaurs, explore space, and much more, it's more like a new type of computer you attach to your head. Your apps float in the air in front of you, you can record videos you can look into, and you can operate it by 'clicking' with your fingers and scanning with your eyes.
One of the big draws of the Apple Vision Pro is the 'Spatial Video' tech. Imagine peering into your memories, able to almost reach out and touch them; well, you might be able to do just that.
It could be a huge breakthrough in tech, but that all comes at a steep cost of $3499, out of reach of many — and that's not factoring in something like prescription lens adjustments and more. It's now available worldwide.
Will Vision Pro mark the future of computing? It's hard to tell, but it will be exciting to find out.
Best travel VR headset
✅ You want to travel with it: It may look a little silly, but in theory, you can keep the HTC Vive Flow in your bag for whenever you need it.
✅ You're interested in mindfulness exercises: The Vive Flow is built to help you find your inner peace amongst the hustle and bustle of the world — or just watch some Netflix.
❌ You're on iOS: The HTC Vive Flow is Android only, so Apple users are left in the cold.
❌ You want to play games: The headset is fairly underpowered compared to a lot of the competition, so the apps you use may suffer.
🔎 HTC Vive Flow: It may look a little goofy, but if you want to get into VR on mobile, the HTC Vive Flow is a great choice — so long as you have an Android phone. ★★★½
The HTC Vive Flow may look like something a supervillain would wear, but these clever VR glasses make virtual reality much more lightweight.
Marketed as an on-the-go wellness aid, this stylish headset is aimed at those who want to embrace mindfulness or otherwise find their peace, whether through meditating, walking through nature, or embracing the Flow's more abstract experiences.
The Flow resembles mirrored ski goggles and should easily slip into a bag or big pocket due to its small size. Games are supported, though since it's less powerful than the Meta Quest 2, don't expect great gaming performance (or a vast library of games). You can also use the Flow as a virtual cinema of sorts, so you can watch Netflix on a huge virtual screen no matter where you are.
However, there's no built-in battery; it requires powering via a power bank, USB charger, or phone. And while it doesn't require a PC, you do need a compatible Android smartphone (which is also your controller). You can read our HTC Vive Flow hands-on review for our full impressions.
- Read our full HTC Vive Flow review
Best cheap console VR
✅ You have a PS4: If you're still using Sony's last-generation console, the PSVR 1 is the best option for you. You may even have PlayStation Move controllers lying around to use with it.
✅ You want to play some fantastic games: PlayStation VR 2's lack of backward compatibility means the likes of Astro Bot: Rescue Mission is stuck on PSVR 1 — making this the only way to play it.
❌ You own a PS5: PSVR is a little long in the tooth now, and while it's still great for PS4, it'll be of little to no use on PS5.
❌ You hate wires: Sadly, the setup for PSVR is full of unsightly cables and a separate box to plug into your controller. Once it's on you won't care, but getting it out can be a pain.
🔎 PlayStation VR: It's a little old now, but the PSVR is still the best bet if you're using a PlayStation 4 console. PS5 owners can safely skip it, though. ★★★★
Considering the relatively low-powered PS4 console it's tied to, the wired PlayStation VR (PSVR) headset still offers a damn good time for gamers. Leaning on its first-party development studios and publishing pals, Sony amassed a great library of exclusive titles to play, including the delightful Astro Bot Rescue Mission, the terrifying Resident Evil 7 (with PSVR-exclusive virtual reality mode), and James Bond-baiting Blood & Truth.
However, the PlayStation VR gear is now starting to look a little long in the tooth. Though regularly bundled with games well below RRP, its screen resolution is low, its controllers (based on an old PS3 motion controller design) are behind the pack, and its cable-laden breakout box is a faff to set up.
And while its hardware and software are compatible with the new PS5 console, a PSVR 2 has already been confirmed to be in the works at Sony HQ. If you've not already bought into the idea of VR on your PlayStation, it may be worth holding out for the sequel at this point, which promises much-improved controller ergonomics and far more detailed displays. There's no release date yet, but we expect to learn more later this year.
- Read our full PlayStation VR review.
Best hybrid VR and AR headset
✅ You want to enjoy AR and VR: Looking to enjoy VR and AR in one package? The HTC Vive XR Elite offers both in a headset that's more like a pair of goggles, making it impressively portable.
✅ You want to use it on multiple platforms: Connect to a PC or your Android phone with up to 1920x1920 resolution in each eye.
✅ You don't want to buy additional accessories: Comes with two controllers inside the box.
❌ You have an iPhone: The HTC Vive XR remains Android only for now.
❌ You want VR at a cheaper price: While it can be connected to a PC, if you just want VR the Quest 3 has a lot more going for it.
🔎 HTC Vive XR Elite: This slimline headset has plenty going for it, especially if you're interested in both VR and AR, but it comes with a high price, too. ★★★★
HTC has been a big player in VR for a while, but the HTC Vive XR Elite might be its most surprising venture in the space yet. Its prior models have essentially felt like solid, if unspectacular, PC VR headsets lacking fresh ideas.
The HTC Vive XR Elite offers impressive mixed reality functionality as well as VR, but it's all packed into a much smaller frame than we're perhaps used to — likely with one eye on the Metaverse future. It even has a detachable battery pack to make it even more comfortable on the user's head.
Sadly, it's lacking in a lot of apps (it's running Viveport), and while it can be plugged into a PC, the same can be said of the Meta Quest 2, which will cost a quarter of the price — it's even more expensive than the Quest Pro following that device's price cut, too.
VR headset tips
Below you'll find a list of articles that will help you overcome some of the natural sticking points that people have with VR headsets:
- What causes motion sickness in VR, and how can you avoid it?
- How to build a PC for VR
- How to set up your room for VR play
How to choose the best VR headset for you:
Consider your platforms: While headsets like the Meta Quest 3 and Quest Pro are standalone, some headsets are tied to a PC or, in PlayStation VR's case, a console. Consider what platforms you already own, and pick your headset accordingly.
What do you want to use VR for?: While the Meta headsets are great for bursts of fun gaming or watching movies, you may want the additional RAM of the Quest Pro, or Apple's unmatched horsepower and UI to get real work done in VR/AR.
Set a budget: The Valve Index is an excellent VR headset, but it's drastically more expensive than something like a Quest 3, and requires a computer, too. Consider setting a budget that incorporates any additional extras.
How we tested
When testing the VR headsets featured in this list, we weigh up the reasons to buy and reasons to avoid. All testing is performed by physically trialing each separate VR headset. They are assessed based on comfort, functionality, specs, performance, and value for money.
Each headset is given reasonable time during the testing phase to determine its position on our list. We play various games and apps when testing out a VR headset to ensure we get a complete picture of the user experience. Each headset has also been given a best-in-class attribution, which signifies why it is a standout VR product.
They have each been rated out of five stars based on all the aforementioned specifications that have been trialed in different VR experiences, from professional to personal use. An important part of the process was ensuring these tests were carried out from a consumer's perspective before including them in our list of best VR headsets for 2024.
If we haven't had a chance to test a VR headset ourselves yet, but we still think it should be mentioned on the list, we'll include it but make it clear. We endeavor to test everything we recommend eventually, but we also think it's important to let you know all the options.
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