best VR headsets you can buy

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Even as the world opens up again, there's still a compelling reason to look at our pick of the best VR headsets as simply immersing yourself in a virtual world is one way to escape the rigors of reality.

And thanks to the wonders of modern technology, it's easier than ever to get a VR headset that doesn't need a powerful PC and a load of wires to hook it all up.

The

best VR games

Where to buy PS5:

These retailers still have stock

Our pick of the best VR headsets you can buy in 2021 therefore includes all-in-one glasses as well as full-fledged room-scale VR headsets that require a beefy PC but facilitate an immersive experience. Read on to get an idea of ​​the best VR headsets you should consider.

What are the best VR headsets?

Our pick for the best VR headset is the Oculus Quest 2. You don't need to fiddle around with smartphones or invest in one of the

best gaming pc

just to experience high quality virtual reality. Instead, you can simply set up the full all-in-one VR experience and then get started in VR without worrying about tripping over cables or running out of smartphone battery life.

Of course, you also have the option to connect the Quest 2 to a PC and thus enjoy games supported by Oculus. And there is even

more abilities coming in Quest 2

.

But there is a catch here, at the time of writing, p>

Facebook has temporarily halted sales of the Oculus Quest 2

due to some users reporting that the foam face covering on the helmet causes skin irritation.

Beyond Quest 2, if you want true high-end VR, you'll need a VR headset connected to a powerful PC. In that case, the Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive, and Valve Index are your best bets. Remember, you'll need some headroom to get the most out of these headsets, especially if you plan on doing room-scale VR.

If you have one

PS4

Where

PS4 Pro

practical, then the PlayStation VR is a good option. Its simple setup means you'll be playing games like Batman: Arkham VR and Star Trek: Bridge Crew in no time. Just make sure you have a PlayStation Camera handy and keep in mind that it won't work perfectly with the

PS5

.

The best VR headsets you can buy today

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

1.Oculus Quest 2

Best VR headset overall

BEST DEALS OF THE DAY

Prime

$375

See on Amazon

$509.99

See on Amazon

Prime

$547

See on Amazon

Reasons to buy

+

Seamless all-in-one VR system

+

Can connect to PCs

+

Capable of room-scale VR

+

Large app library

Reasons to avoid

-

Controllers are not rechargeable

-

Requires a Facebook account

Keeping up with the Oculus Quest wasn't going to be an easy task, but the Oculus Quest 2 improves on its successor on every level. In fact, it's our pick for the best overall VR headset. With a sleeker, more intuitive design, faster performance, and better resolution, the Oculus Quest 2 delivers the best VR experience you can have without the need for a powerful PC or loads of cables.

Starting at $299, it's not the cheapest VR headset on the market, but you get an all-in-one system that can deliver room-scale virtual reality across a large library of games. and apps. It's also a better-designed headset than the old Quest. It ditches the plain black of its predecessor and is 10% lighter, and the Quest 2's light gray design is highlighted by a black face strap and quartet of camera sensors to make it simple, fun and inviting all at once. Improved audio and general boot specs further sweeten the VR package.

You can also link the Oculus Quest 2 to a PC and use it with computer-powered VR games; Remember that cable is an expensive extra. But if you haven't dabbled in VR yet or want to finally break away, the Oculus Quest 2's price, library of games, and overall ease of use make it the best entry point into virtual reality to date.

The Oculus Quest 2 won the "Best VR Headset" award at the

Tom's Guide Awards 2021 for games

.

See our full

Oculus Quest 2 reviews

.

(Image credit: Future)

2. Oculus Rift S

Best VR headset for PC

BEST DEALS OF THE DAY

$409

See on Amazon

$419

See on Amazon

$511.98

See at Walmart

16 Amazon customer reviews

☆ p>

☆

☆

☆

☆

Reasons to buy

+p>

Integrated part tracking

+

Large library of games

+

Touch controllers included

Reasons to avoid

-

Not a huge upgrade over the original Oculus Rift

-

PC required

The original Oculus Rift was one of the best VR headsets for connecting to a PC and enjoying immersive gaming. The Oculus RIft S builds on that. The headset itself is much sleeker than before and it now has a 2560 x 1440 resolution screen with a fast 80Hz refresh rate. VR gaming sessions, whether you're sitting at your desk or enjoying VR in a larger space. It also has a rather neat feature in the form of built-in speakers in the headband, negates the need to use the original Rift's built-in headphones; the audio results are quite impressive.

Using Oculus Insight tracking technology, the Oculus Rift S can provide room-scale virtual reality without the need to place external sensors around the location. And it comes with the impressive touch controllers that almost follow movements and help make virtual reality much more kinetic and immersive.

And the Oculus Rift S comes with an impressive library of games all from the Oculus Store, with notable highlights including Beat Saber, Superhot, Job Simulator. Overall, the Oculus Rift S is the best VR headset for people looking for a PC-based system that plays a huge library of great games at a decent price.

The Oculus Rift S won a "Highly Recommended" honor for "Best VR Headset" at the

Tom's Guide Awards 2021 for games

.

See our full

Oculus Rift S hands-on review

.

(Image credit: Future)

3.PlaystationVR

The best VR headset for consoles

BEST DEALS OF THE DAY

$199.99

See at Walmart

$373.99

See at Walmart

Prime

$415

View at Amazon

See all prices (42 found)

746 Amazon customer reviews

☆

☆

☆

☆

☆

Reasons to buy

+

Good game library

+

Fairly easy setup p>

+

Fairly affordable

Reasons to avoid

-

The camera can be very demanding

-

Could be visually sharper

If you want to play VR games on a console, the PlayStation VR system is your best, and pretty much the only bet. It combines a neat headset that looks semi-futuristic and is surprisingly comfortable, with a superb, slowly expanding gaming range. You can play games like Star Wars Battlefront: Rogue One X-Wing Mission, Eve: Valkyrie, and Batman: Arkham VR, as well as Astro Bot Rescue Mission, one of the most interesting recent VR games.

If you have a PS4 or PS4 Pro, then PlayStation VR is one of the most affordable ways to play VR games, especially since you don't need an expensive gaming PC. Still, with the Move Controllers initiative and motion tracking, you still get a pretty high-end VR experience.

But you shouldn't just use it for gaming as it can also be used to watch more immersive movies. As such, if you're a PlayStation fan and want to get into VR gaming, PlayStation VR comes highly recommended.

One thing to also keep in mind that the

PS5< /p>

also supports PlaySation VR. The only problem is that it doesn't work well with Move controllers. But there is good news because the helmet

PSVR 2

I'm considering getting an Oculus Quest Is a VR headset worth it

— David (Outside Goer) Sun Aug 29 15:23:59 +0000 2021

is in preparation and

he will bring with him a pair of new controllers

.

The PlayStation VR won the “Highly Recommended” award for “Best VR Headset” at the

Tom's Guide Awards2021 for games

.< /p>

Check out our

Full PlayStation VR Review

.

(Image credit: Future)

4.HTC Vive

Best VR headset for immersive experiences

BEST DEALS OF THE DAY

Prime

$899

See on Amazon

3 Amazon customer reviews

☆

☆

☆

☆

☆

Reasons to buy

+

Smooth graphics with low latency

+

Touch controllers are easy to use and highly adaptable

+

Large library of games

Reasons to avoid

-

Requires a lot of space and electrical outlets to use

-

No built-in audio

Following in the footsteps of the Oculus Rift, the HTC Vive showed what gaming company Valve could do by working in partnership with a tech company. The result was a stellar VR headset that offered a virtual reality experience that really got you moving rather than sitting in one place and looking around. Valve's Lightroom tech lets you map out a space that you'll walk, crawl or tiptoe through, depending on the game, while Chaperone ensures you don't walk into a wall or trip over a pet beloved.

The controls are also a highlight, offering at the time a more groundbreaking feel of being able to literally reach out and grab something, albeit by pulling a trigger rather than grabbing with your hands. The virtual experience is still quite impressive, despite other VR headsets catching up to the HTC Vive.

The only thing to keep in mind here is that it requires external tracking sensors, a powerful PC to run, and a good degree of setup and space. So for people living in small apartments, this might not be the best VR headset for them.

It's worth bearing in mind that if you want a high-end VR experience from HTC, then

the Vive Pro 2 has been revealed

, it's the first VR headset with a 5K screen and also features a suite of screen technologies including a 120Hz refresh rate.

See our full

HTC Vive review

.

(Image credit: Valve)

5.Valve Index

The best controls and tracking in VR

THE BEST OFFERS OF THE DAY

Prime

$1399.99

See on Amazon

Prime

$1,429.99

See on Amazon

Reasons to buy

+

Excellent build quality

+

Intelligently designed controllers

+

Future expansion options

Reasons to avoid

-

No charging cable in the box

-

heavy

Valve is no stranger to VR or gaming having first worked with HTC to create the Vive headset, one of the best VR headsets around when virtual reality became more mainstream about four years ago. . Now, the Valve Index represents the culmination of the video game company's efforts to create a VR headset on its own. And it is successful.

The Valve Index is a comfortable, premium VR system, with high-quality construction, comfortable padding, and smart built-in speakers. The downside to this quality is that the headphones can be quite heavy to wear for an extended period of time. And for some unfathomable reason, there's no USB-C cable included to charge components.

There's a lot to like about the Index, as it comes with an LCD panel that offers variable refresh rates depending on your computer's power. And the images it serves are sharp enough and high resolution. The controllers are also a highlight as they offer the ability to customize the shape of your hands and sport pressure sensitive controls plus wrist straps to keep you from dropping them when the VR action heats up.

See our full review

Valve Index

.

How to choose the best VR headset for you

Our latest list of the best VR headsets has a small selection of headsets to choose from so finding the right one for you shouldn't be too difficult.

If you want an all-in-one headset, the only real choice is the Oculus Quest 2, or maybe the

OculusQuest

if you can find one for sale.

But if you want a top-of-the-line VR headset, you need to consider a few more things than simply choosing between an HTC Vive and an Oculus Rift S. powerful, but you also need to make sure you have enough space to use VR; unless you plan to use the headset only when seated.

For PlayStation fans, your best and only option is the PSVR headset, which offers a relatively easy way to get into VR but is limited to Sony's PS4 and PS5 consoles. .

It's worth noting that a cheap smartphone VR headset, which uses an Android phone or iPhone to power it (like Google Cardboard-derived headsets) could be a way to try out VR to make sure you don't don't suffer from motion sickness first.

Will VR work with PS5 and Xbox Series X?

(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

As it stands, if you want VR action on PS5 and Xbox Series X, you're out of luck... most of the time. Only the PS5 supports VR in the form of the PSVR headset, although a second generation headset is in the works and will be designed specifically for the PS5. On Xbox Series X and Series S, there's no VR option, and there's no indication that VR support will come in the near future. We're hoping that will change given that Windows 10 supports built-in VR, but right now things don't look very promising for game console VR.

How we test VR headsets

Identifying the best VR headsets takes into account a range of factors, from the hardware itself to the software the headsets will work with. We test and consider how easy it is to set up a VR headset and system, how well-designed and comfortable the headset is, how well its interface works, and look at what accessories the VR headset can use.

An important part of the initial testing is to gauge the space needed to set up one of our picks for the best VR headsets to get the most out of them. This doesn't apply to headsets that use a smartphone to power them, but in this case we're looking at how easy they are to use with an Android phone and how much software to download and how well the phone runs. adapted. inside the headphone case.

A product can look great but still be uncomfortable to use. In addition to testing all the different content, we spend at least 30 minutes wearing each headset. We test to make sure the built-in air vents keep things cool. And if he sweats, we see how well the face shield wicks away moisture. We also weigh headsets because even the lightest gadget can feel heavy after long periods of use. Finally, we test how adjustable the head straps are and how secure they are.

As the de facto face of your virtual experience, the interface is vitally important. We test how responsive and intuitive the homepage and subsequent menus are, as well as special features, such as voice commands and gesture control.

Whether it's a traditional gamepad or something more elaborate, like Rift's touch controllers, we check to see if input devices are ergonomically designed; after all, no one wants hand cramps. We're also testing tracking and responsiveness in a number of games.

Hardware without great software is just an expensive paperweight. We not only look at a device's library size, but also run through the lists and test out some of the premium apps and titles. At this point, a good library should contain a number of games, apps, movies, and other experiences.

Discover the

best gaming pc

if you want the most power for virtual reality

The

best gaming headsets

can make games more immersive

Play at

best pc games

Summary of today's best deals

Oculus Quest 2 — Advanced...

Oculus Quest 2

Amazon

$375

To see

See all prices

Oculus Rift S PC-Powered VR...

Amazon

$409

To see

See all prices

Reduced price p>

Marvel's Iron Man VR -...

Sony PlayStation VR

walmart

$349.99

$199.99

To see

See all prices

Virtual Reality HTC Vive...

HTC Vive

Amazon

$899

To see

See all prices

Reduced price

Valve Index VR Complete Kit

valve index

Amazon

$1479.99

$1399.99

To see

See all prices

We check over 250 million prod ucts everyday for the best prices

Powered by

Roland Moore Colyer

Roland Moore-Colyer is UK editor at Tom's Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion pieces. He often writes about games, phones, laptops, and other hardware; he is also interested in cars. When not at his desk, Roland can be found wandering around London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.