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Meta Quest 3 vs Valve Index
Both devices below are described from their manufacturers’ own specification pages. Where a row does not apply to one of them, it says so rather than showing a dash — that is a different statement from “the maker does not publish it”.
What actually differs
Computed from the two records, most decisive first.
Device type
- Meta Quest 3
- Standalone VR, also PC-powered
- Valve Index
- PC-powered VR
Category
- Meta Quest 3
- VR — standalone
- Valve Index
- VR — PC-tethered
Runs Skillsive apps
- Meta Quest 3
- Yes
- Valve Index
- No
Price band
- Meta Quest 3
- Mid range
- Valve Index
- Premium
Launch price
- Meta Quest 3
- $499
- Valve Index
- $999
Performance
- Meta Quest 3
- 4 / 5 — current flagship
- Valve Index
- does not apply
This row does not exist for one of the two — they are different kinds of product.
Resolution per eye
- Meta Quest 3
- 2064x2208
- Valve Index
- 1440x1600
Field of view
- Meta Quest 3
- 110° horizontal
- Valve Index
- —
Refresh rate
- Meta Quest 3
- 72/90/120 Hz
- Valve Index
- 80/90/120/144 Hz
Weight
- Meta Quest 3
- 515 g
- Valve Index
- —
Hand tracking
- Meta Quest 3
- Yes
- Valve Index
- No
Battery
- Meta Quest 3
- 132 min
- Valve Index
- —
They match on 8 further specifications.
Full specification, row by row
| Specification |  Meta Quest 3 Meta |  Valve Index Valve |
|---|---|---|
| ManufacturerWho makes it — and who you buy support from. | Meta | Valve |
| CategoryWhich kind of product this is. It decides which rows below make sense at all. | VR — standalone | VR — PC-tethered |
| Device typeWhere the computing happens, and therefore what you need to run it. | Standalone VR, also PC-powered | PC-powered VR |
| ReleasedYear the model went on sale. Older is not automatically worse in this category. | 2023 | 2019 |
| AvailabilityWhether you can still order it new today. | On sale | On sale |
| Support endsThe date the manufacturer stops supporting it. Decisive for a fleet you are about to buy. | Support ends: not published by the manufacturer | Support ends: not published by the manufacturer |
| Runs Skillsive appsOur own statement about whether Skillsive training applications run on it today. | Yes | No |
| Suitable for trainingOur judgement on whether it survives real deployment: comfort, hygiene, fleet management. | Yes | No |
| Kiosk mode / MDMVendor tooling to enrol devices, push an app and lock the headset to it. Practically required above ten devices. | No | No |
| Business tierAn official business tier, so devices belong to the company rather than to employees’ personal accounts. | No | No |
| Swappable facial interfaceRemovable, wipeable face padding. A consumable, and the difference between shared use and complaints. | Yes | No |
| CertificationsIndustrial certifications stated on the manufacturer's own page. Empty means unconfirmed, never "probably fine". | Certifications: not published by the manufacturer | Certifications: not published by the manufacturer |
| PerformanceHow much the headset can run — sharper scenes, more objects, smoother mixed reality. Higher is better. | Very good | does not apply to this class |
| ProcessorThe processor and memory inside. This is what the performance grade above is derived from. | Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 | Processor: not published by the manufacturer |
| MemoryRAM on the device. Together with the chipset it sets how complex a scene can be. | 8 GB | Memory: not published by the manufacturer |
| PlatformThe platform an application is built against — and what an MDM has to speak. | Meta Horizon OS | does not apply to this class |
| StorageOn-board space for downloaded courses. More matters for an offline library in several languages. | 512 GB | does not apply to this class |
| BatteryRuntime as the manufacturer states it. A hot-swappable pack matters more than the figure. | 132 min | Battery: not published by the manufacturer |
| Hot-swap batteryWhether a charged battery can replace the empty one without ending the session. This is what decides if a headset can hold an all-day training station. | No | does not apply to this class |
| PanelThe screen type. micro-OLED gives deeper blacks and higher contrast; LCD is brighter and cheaper. | LCD | LCD |
| OpticsThe lenses in front of the panel. Pancake stays sharp closer to the edges than older Fresnel, which decides how much a trainee has to aim their head to read something. | Pancake lenses | Canted dual-element |
| Eyes coveredOne eye or both. Over a full shift this is a real difference in fatigue. | Eyes covered: not published by the manufacturer | Eyes covered: not published by the manufacturer |
| Resolution per eyePixels delivered to each eye. Higher means small text and labels stay readable. | 2064x2208 | ≈1440x1600*VRcompare |
| Refresh rateImages per second. Higher feels smoother and helps people prone to motion discomfort. | 72/90/120 Hz | 80/90/120/144 Hz |
| Field of viewHow much of your view the image covers. Bigger is more immersive, not automatically better for work. | 110° horizontal | Field of view: not published by the manufacturer |
| Pixel densityPixels per degree of view — the honest way to compare sharpness between a headset and a pair of glasses. Higher is sharper. Only shown where somebody published it; we never compute it ourselves. | Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer | Pixel density: not published by the manufacturer |
| BrightnessIn a plant or outdoors, brightness decides legibility more than resolution does. | Brightness: not published by the manufacturer | Brightness: not published by the manufacturer |
| WeightThe device alone. Anything above roughly 150 g is felt within an hour. | 515 g | Weight: not published by the manufacturer |
| TrackingWhether content stays put in the room (6DoF), follows head rotation (3DoF) or is simply fixed. | inside-out 6DoF | outside-in 6DoF (SteamVR base stations) |
| Hand trackingWhether bare hands can operate the interface, without a controller or the phone. | Yes | No |
| Eye trackingThe headset knows where the trainee is looking. Enables sharper rendering where they look, and attention analytics. | No | No |
| Controllers includedWhether motion controllers come in the box, or are bought separately — or the device is hands-only. | Yes | Yes |
| Controller tracking6DoF controllers track position and rotation, so a hand reaches in space; 3DoF only point. “None” means hands only. | 6DoF | 6DoF |
| IPD adjustmentMatching lens spacing to the eyes. Motorised is fastest when one headset passes between people. | Manual | Manual |
| IPD rangeHow far the lenses travel to match eye spacing. A narrow range excludes part of any group of adults, which matters when one headset is shared. | 53–75 mm | IPD range: not published by the manufacturer |
| Works with glassesWhether people who wear glasses can use it — fits over them, or takes prescription lens inserts. | Yes | Works with glasses: not published by the manufacturer |
| Colour passthroughShows the real room in colour through the cameras — the prerequisite for any mixed-reality exercise. | Yes | No |
| ConnectivityHow it connects to a phone, a PC or a network. | Connectivity: not published by the manufacturer | Connectivity: not published by the manufacturer |
| AudioBuilt-in sound. Matters most where somebody has to hear a remote expert while working. | Audio: not published by the manufacturer | Audio: not published by the manufacturer |
| MicrophoneBuilt-in microphone — the other half of talking to a remote expert. | Microphone: not published by the manufacturer | Microphone: not published by the manufacturer |
| Price bandThe band it sits in, rather than a price that goes stale. | Mid range | Premium |
| Launch priceThe manufacturer's launch price. Fixed history, so it never goes stale. | $499 | $999 |
| Price todayApproximate current net price in USD — a general figure, since these barely differ between regions once tax is stripped out. A snapshot from the date shown, not an offer. | $499 | Price today: not published by the manufacturer |
| Comfort (from reviews)How it wears over a full session. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers, not from our own testing. | 3 / 5models.quest-3.ratingNotes.comfortRoad to VR review,UploadVR review | Comfort (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer |
| Edge clarity (from reviews)Sharpness away from the centre of the lens. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers. | Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer | Edge clarity (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer |
| Tracking reliability (from reviews)How tracking holds up in poor light and fast movement. Scored from agreement between independent reviewers. | Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer | Tracking reliability (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer |
| Hand tracking quality (from reviews)How usable controller-free hand tracking is in a training scenario. Scored from agreement between reviewers. | 4 / 5models.quest-3.ratingNotes.handTrackingUploadVR, Quest 3 vs PSVR2 hand tracking,Road to VR, hand-tracking upgrade | Hand tracking quality (from reviews): not published by the manufacturer |
“—” means the manufacturer does not publish that figure. “≈” with an asterisk means it was measured by somebody else — follow the asterisk for who. Prices are an indicative net figure in USD, a snapshot from the date on each model page, not an offer.
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