Experts recommend Meta Quest 3 more than Valve Index
As of 9 Jan 2025, experts prefer Meta Quest 3 over Valve Index, but both VR Headsets have solid expert endorsements.
As per this month's meta ranking, Meta Quest 3 received 8 recommendations: from BestReviews (1 Jan 2025), WIRED (17 Nov 2024) CNET (17 Dec 2024) and 5 others. By contrast, Valve Index received only 5 recommendations from CNET (17 Dec 2024), PCMag (26 Nov 2024) Tom's Hardware (5 Jan 2023) and 2 others.
| Rank | Change | Price | VR Headset | BestReviews  | WIRED  | CNET  | PCMag  | Pocket-lint  | Tom's Hardware  | PC Gamer  | Forbes  | Tom's Guide  | TechRadar  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | $529 |  Meta Quest 3 The Meta Quest 3 VR headset receives positive reviews for its graphics capabilities, accurate tracking system, comfort, and diverse content library, making it a top choice for gaming enthusiasts. | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
| 6 | +1 | Check price |  Valve Index The Valve Index is a highly praised virtual reality headset that offers impressive graphics, accurate tracking, comfortable design, and a diverse content library, making it suitable for a wide range of users. | - | - | 5 | 6 | - | 2 | - | 6 | - | 2 |
Curious to see this month's entire VR Headsets ranking? It's here
Endorsement summary:
- On 17 Dec 2024 CNET ranked Meta Quest 3 as #1 and Valve Index as #5
Rank VR Headset Comment #1 out of 5 Meta Quest 3 Best mixed reality VR headset for $500 / Editor's Choice... ... ... #5 out of 5 Valve Index Still one of the best Steam VR hardware platformsSource: www.cnet.com - On 26 Nov 2024 PCMag ranked Meta Quest 3 as #1 and Valve Index as #6
Rank VR Headset Comment #1 out of 7 Meta Quest 3 Best Standalone VR Headset / Editors' Choice... ... ... #6 out of 7 Valve Index Best Controllers / Editors' Choice... ... ... Source: www.pcmag.com - On 19 Dec 2024 TechRadar ranked Meta Quest 3 as #1 and Valve Index as #2
Rank VR Headset Comment #1 out of 8 Meta Quest 3 The best VR headset overall#2 out of 8 Valve Index The best headset for PC gaming... ... ... Source: www.techradar.com - On 1 Jan 2025 BestReviews ranked Meta Quest 3 as #4
Rank VR Headset Comment ... ... ... #4 out of 5 Meta Quest 3 Most Value... ... ... Source: bestreviews.com - On 17 Nov 2024 WIRED ranked Meta Quest 3 as #1
Rank VR Headset Comment #1 out of 5 Meta Quest 3 Best Overall... ... ... Source: www.wired.com - On 11 Apr 2024 Pocket-lint ranked Meta Quest 3 as #1
Rank VR Headset Comment #1 out of 5 Meta Quest 3 Best VR headset overall / Editor's Choice... ... ... Source: www.pocket-lint.com - On 6 Dec 2024 PC Gamer ranked Meta Quest 3 as #1
Rank VR Headset Comment #1 out of 3 Meta Quest 3 The best overall VR headset... ... ... Source: www.pcgamer.com - On 2 Nov 2024 Tom's Guide ranked Meta Quest 3 as #1
Rank VR Headset Comment #1 out of 6 Meta Quest 3 Best Overall / Editor's Choice... ... ... Source: www.tomsguide.com - On 5 Jan 2023 Tom's Hardware ranked Valve Index as #2
Rank VR Headset Comment ... ... ... #2 out of 5 Valve Index Best VR Headset for PC... ... ... Source: www.tomshardware.com - On 18 Jan 2023 Forbes ranked Valve Index as #6
Rank VR Headset Comment ... ... ... #6 out of 6 Valve Index Best VR Headset For Hand ControlsSource: www.forbes.com
After counting and adding up the 55 expert endorsements of the January rankings, Meta Quest 3 outranks Valve Index. This is not to say that Valve Index is a bad option. Like Meta Quest 3, it is recommended by experts, but less.
As can be seen below, Meta Quest 3 outranks Valve Index by 5 positions. This indicates that, as of 9 Jan 2025, Meta Quest 3 is more critically acclaimed than Valve Index.
| Rank | Change | Price | VR Headset | BestReviews | WIRED | CNET | PCMag | Pocket-lint | Tom's Hardware | PC Gamer |
Forbes | Tom's Guide | TechRadar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | $529 | Meta Quest 3 The Meta Quest 3 VR headset receives positive reviews for its graphics capabilities, accurate tracking system, comfort, and diverse content library, making it a top choice for gaming enthusiasts. | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | - | 1 | - | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | - | Check price |  Apple Vision Pro | 3 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | - | - | - | 2 | 4 |
| 3 | +3 | $499 |  PlayStation VR 2 The PlayStation VR 2 is a highly praised VR headset with impressive graphics, comfortable design, accurate tracking, and a growing library of immersive games. | 1 | 3 | 3 | 5 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 5 |
| 4 | -1 | Check price |  Meta Quest 3S | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - | - | 2 | - | 3 | - |
| Show all rows | |||||||||||||
Expert reviews [24]
Total expert reviews: 24
- with a score: 8
- without a score: 16
| Highest score by Tom's Hardware | 90 |
| Average score based on 24 reviews | 81 |
| Lowest score by Wareable | 70 |
Score distribution:
| 80-100 | |
| 60-80 | |
| 40-60 | |
| 20-40 | |
| 0-20 |
From Seller:
- Dive into extraordinary experiences with a mixed reality headset that transforms your home into an exciting new playground, where virtual elements blend into your actual surroundings.
- It’s the most powerful Quest yet*, featuring next-level performance with more than double the graphic processing power of Quest 2. (*Based on the graphic performance of the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 vs Meta Quest 2.)
- Read more