So you’re interested in buying one of Meta’s standalone VR headsets. But Quest 3S and Quest 3 look very similar, so which one should you buy? Read on for our no-nonsense recommendation.

Let’s make this real easy:

If you’ve never owned a VR headset before (Google Cardboard and Gear VR don’t count in this case): Buy Quest 3S.

Why: Not everybody who buys a VR headset continues to use it for the long term. Many people don’t find something that keeps them coming back, and within six months their headset is sitting in a drawer somewhere. Quest 3S is the most affordable option to find out if you’re someone who will use VR for the long term. It looks a bit worse visually than Quest 3, but has the same power so it plays all the same games and will be supported for just as long.

If you’ve previously owned a PC VR, PSVR, or Quest 2 headset: Buy Quest 3

Why: If you already know you like VR and use it regularly, you’re going to appreciate the sharper image, slightly wider field-of-view, larger sweet spot, and increased storage size of Quest 3 compared to Quest 3S. Especially if you’re coming from Quest 2, Quest 3S isn’t going to look that much better because it has the same screen and same lenses, which means it isn’t going to feel like as much of an upgrade.

If you want to dig into more detail, check out our full specs comparison of Quest 2, Quest 3S, and Quest 3 here.

That’s it. That’s the whole article.

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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."

  • Well… yes and no. If someone owned a Quest 2 but it's broke and want to experiment with mixed reality, he should buy the Quest 3s

    • javon27

      Or do like I did before the 3S was announced and sell the 2 and buy a 3. I know, not helpful, but with all the leaks, the conclusion from this article could've been made back then

    • eadVrim

      Possible, but Mixed Reality, even though it's cool and fun, but it is still not sharp, and it's even less sharp than the Quest 3.

      • Christian Schildwaechter

        Mixed Reality isn't sharp on either Quest 3 or 3S due to passthrough cameras/compute limits. Fresnels add fuzziness, but pancakes have a much higher impact in rendered games with a clear image than with the noticeable low resolution of MR.

        And huge amounts of Quest players play ONLY Gorilla Tag, Beat Saber/fitness games or one of the golf simulations. These games in a brutal way outperform the high profile, high fidelity graphics games that really benefit from pancakes on the Horizon store, often staying in the top 20 for years, while the AAAs quickly drop out. Regarding actual play time, they leave Asgard's Wrath 2, AC Nexus, RE4 or MoH even further behind. Many of the most active Quest players with a limited sets of games using simpler graphics won't benefit a lot from extra clarity.

        With MR still most useful as a comfort feature and very few Quest 3 exclusive games, a lot will get even a Quest 3S only once their Quest 2 breaks. VR golfers be an exception, as many were never gamers, bought a Quest only for Golf and still don't play other games, but apparently can afford expensive VR-golf-only Quest accessories. Those probably won't be bothered by USD 500 for a Quest 3 with limited benefits for them either.

  • sfmike

    Just give me a Quest 3 with high rez OLED screen and I would buy it in a heartbeat.

    • Just give me true VR interactivie SQID's as in the films "Brainstorm" and "Strange Days"…..

  • David Glenn

    The good news is that the Quest 3 got a little cheaper, but how long is that going to last? Best odds is that the Geek Glasses will be the next big thing, or they will come out with the Quest 4 that will just be a slightly improved Quest Pro!

  • Nomad

    I think I disagree with this logic. The difference in optics alone could be the difference between an enjoyable or an unpleasant experience. Buying a 3S could turn people off from VR all together.

    • Mateusz Jakubczyk

      Sorry, but that's bullshit. Regular, new users don't care about the lenses. If the Quest 2 was still on sale, it would still be breaking sales records and no one would be bothered by its lenses. PSVR2 fans don't mind them either…

    • Nevets

      Yes.