Meta Quest 3 128GB vs. 512GB: Which storage size do you need?

The Meta Quest 3 128GB model costs much more than its Quest 2 predecessor in exchange for significantly upgraded specs. On top of that price increase, should you spend another $150 to get the Quest 3 512GB, given that it has no other upgrades besides storage?

For context, the Oculus Quest 2 defaulted to 64GB with a $100 upgrade to 256GB before Meta raised the base storage to 128GB in response to climbing game sizes. With this generation, 512GB may sound excessive to all but the most hardcore VR gamers, but it's fair to wonder whether the Quest 3 128GB option will feel too small in a year or two.

We're big fans of what the Meta Quest 3 brings to the table and recommend that VR fans buy it. If you're leaning towards grabbing one but can't choose a storage size, we'll compare your Meta Quest 3 128GB vs. 512GB options to help you decide.

Meta Quest 3 128GB vs. 512GB: What's the difference?

There is no hardware difference between the Quest 3 128GB and 512GB, aside from storage space. We heard rumors prior to launch that Meta would sell a higher-end Quest 3 with extra storage and 12GB of RAM, but this turned out to be incorrect. Either storage size offers the same 8GB of memory, pancake lenses, high-res LCD, two hours of battery life, and game library.

In terms of actual storage space, you don't get the amount listed on either box due to preinstalled operating system files. In the storage settings, the Quest 3 512GB lists 481GB as the maximum storage size. Oddly, the 128GB model still lists 128GB as the max, but it shows about 20GB of System files in the Storage graph. In truth, you have just over 100GB of space.

Otherwise, the only key Quest 3 128GB vs. 512GB difference is what free perks you get when you buy one. With any Quest 3 purchase, you get a free copy of Asgard's Wrath 2, Meta's AAA open-world adventure starring Loki, due out in December. Only Quest 3 512GB buyers get six free months of Meta Quest Plus, a $7.99 monthly subscription offering two downloadable games per month, selected by Meta.

If you wanted Meta Quest Plus anyway, this promotion saves you $48 and gives you twelve games to enjoy in your first half-year with the headset; so far, Quest Plus games have been popular and well-reviewed titles like Pistol Whip, Walkabout Mini Golf, Onward, and Red Matter.

While this is a nice perk, we can't guarantee that you won't already own some curated titles. You won't get access to past free titles, only current and future ones. Plus, if you end your subscription, you'll lose access to any titles you've claimed until you re-subscribe. In our opinion, you shouldn't put too much stock in this launch promotion and focus solely on whether or not you need 512GB of storage.

Meta Quest 3 128GB vs. 512GB: Quest 3 game sizes

Do you need more than 100GB of storage space? That's the question at the heart of your Quest 3 128GB vs. 512GB decision. And to answer that question, we need to determine how much space Quest 3 games actually take.

Looking at the 50 newest Quest Store games between May and October 2023, they add up to about 107GB in total, or 2.14GB per game, according to the "Space Required" field on each store page.

Next, we added up the 40 top-selling Quest Store games as of October 2023: they totaled 144GB or 3.6GB per game.

Lastly, AC editor Nick Sutrich, who reviewed the Meta Quest 3, shared the photo below of his current storage. He informed me that he has 45 games installed, which take up 122GB of space — averaging just under 3GB per game, with the top seven games taking up nearly 60GB on their own.

If he owned the 128GB Quest 3, he'd have needed to delete a few games from his library, and he couldn't buy any more upcoming Quest 3 titles without blowing up his current list.

Image 1 of 2

There are a few key lessons to learn from this data.

First, most Quest 3 games are small, even the most recent ones. Their sizes will bloat slightly over time — especially with games like Beat Saber with lots of DLC — but you can typically fit a few dozen games on the 128GB Quest 3 before you have to start worrying about culling your list.

Second, the most popular Quest 3 games tend to be bigger, corresponding to better graphics, audio, and mechanics. For every Roblox (0.2GB) or Gorilla Tag (0.75GB), there's a Contractors (9.6GB), Red Matter 2 (8.5GB), or Iron Man (9GB).

And third, the games' actual storage space is larger than what the Quest Store lists. For example, store pages state that The 7th Guest and Espire 2 both take up about 12.3GB, but they both show 13.3GB on Nick's storage page. We can assume this gap stems from post-launch updates and Quest 3 enhancements.

Taken all together, these lessons teach us that you can make do with the 128GB Quest 3 and have plenty of games stored, but that just a few high-quality games will take up a huge portion of storage. If you run out of space, it's these games that you'll probably end up deleting rather than removing a bunch of games that only claim 1–2GB on their own.

If you're frustrated at the very idea of managing which games you buy or download based on storage, or you already own a large Quest 2 library, then maybe the 512GB Quest 3 is the option for you.

Meta Quest 3 128GB vs. 512GB: The Quest 3 128GB is enough if you're careful

As someone who used the old 64GB Quest 2 and had to find space for dozens of games while reviewing them, let me assure you that you can make do with the Quest 3 128GB model.

Meta didn't even add cloud saves until late 2021, so choosing which games to delete used to be a much harder decision when it meant losing all your progress. Now, it's simply a matter of waiting a few minutes to redownload something; I'm hoping that since the Quest 3 supports Wi-Fi 6E downloads, you won't have as long to wait, either.

We can assume that some future games like Asgard's Wrath 2 and Assassin's Creed VR Nexus will take up a healthy chunk of storage space. But I doubt many games will hit the same 45GB threshold as Medal of Honor did — a game that couldn't fit on 64GB Quest 2 headsets. Meta has a vested interest in ensuring that all Quest 3 owners can buy the most popular titles, so it should encourage devs to keep storage sizes small.

If you're a new or lapsed VR gamer without a major Quest library or someone who can't afford to buy dozens of AAA Quest 3 releases in the first place, then you're probably fine with the smaller storage option. Even if you're an active VR gamer, you'll probably be fine if you don't mind deleting games once you've 100%-completed them, as I typically do.

By saving this money, you can put it instead towards buying Quest 3 accessories like the $130 Elite Strap with Battery, which is arguably more vital for the overall experience than extra storage.

Meta Quest 3 128GB vs. 512GB: The Quest 3 512GB future-proofs the headset for massive games

Even though most 2023 Quest games have been about 2–3GB on average, that might very well change with the Quest 3. Now that it has more powerful graphics, we'll see developers taking advantage of the extra capacity with more assets and textures, which in turn will make the best Quest 3 games take up more space.

Let's assume that the average Quest 3 game size ends up closer to 5GB. That means you can probably fit about 20 games on the 128GB headset or maybe 30 games if you already have a library of smaller Quest 2 games. That's more than enough for some gamers, but my colleague Nick — who dives into VR worlds on a daily basis — would tell me that it definitely isn't enough for him.

Plus, some folks use sideloading to install custom apps for modding their favorite games or massive movie files for VR movie nights. If you're a tinkerer who wants breathing room for that kind of thing, then the 512GB Quest 3 gives you the space you need.

If you want your Quest 3 to last until Quest 4 arrives, it makes sense to future-proof it for larger future titles and new game trends that we can't predict. In that case, you may want to spend extra for the larger storage option.