There are six practical ways to look at your own 3D file on a Meta Quest in 2026, and they differ mostly in three things: which formats they open, whether you have to install or sideload something, and whether they only display a model or also let you inspect it. This page is written by the maker of one of them, Model Explorer, so the others are described only by what their own listings say, and the places where they are the better choice are stated.
Short version: for GLB, glTF, USDZ, OBJ, STL, FBX and a dozen more with nothing to install and with section planes, exploded view and per-part counts, use Model Explorer in the Quest browser. If you would rather install an app than open a browser tab, Glimpse or ModelView. For a wireless push straight from Blender use Model Viewer. For models that already live on Sketchfab, Sketchfab's own VR mode needs no file at all.
Model Explorer (0xr.space, and a free app on the Meta Horizon Store). Opens GLB, glTF folders, USDZ, USD, VRM, OBJ, STL, PLY, FBX, Collada, 3MF, 3DS, AMF, OFF and VOX, as well as Gaussian splats and point clouds, and every one of them is read on the headset itself. Runs from a URL in the Quest browser, so there is nothing to install. Places the model in your room at authored size and adds section planes, an exploded view, wireframe and UV views, animation playback and per-part triangle, material and texture counts. Has no export.
Glimpse (Meta Horizon Store and SideQuest, also listed as Glimpse GLB). Its own site describes GLB, FBX, OBJ and STL support, PBR materials, animation with skeletal rigs, and a passthrough toggle that puts the model in your room. It does not list USDZ or glTF folders. A solid choice if you prefer an installed app to a browser tab.
Model Viewer (SideQuest). Its listing describes GLB and glTF import, passthrough AR placement, and a Blender add-on that sends a model to the headset wirelessly, which no browser-based viewer offers.
Modelspace VR (SideQuest). Its listing describes a GLB-only viewer for the headset.
ModelView (SideQuest and itch.io). Its listing describes support for glTF, GLB, STL, OBJ and FBX, in an installed app rather than a browser.
Sketchfab (in the Quest browser). Models hosted on Sketchfab can be viewed in VR from their page. Your own file has to be uploaded to Sketchfab first, which rules it out for unreleased or client work.
Questions
Which of these needs no install?
Model Explorer and Sketchfab both run in the Quest browser. The others are apps installed from the Meta Horizon Store or sideloaded through SideQuest.
Which one opens USDZ on Quest?
Of the six, Model Explorer is the one whose listing includes USDZ. It reads the USD data in the browser, so no conversion is needed first.
Which one keeps my file private?
Any viewer that loads a local file keeps it on the headset, and that includes Model Explorer, which never uploads an imported file. Sketchfab is the exception, because it displays what has been uploaded to it.
Which one should I use for 3D printing files?
Model Explorer opens STL and 3MF directly, so a part can be stood in the room at real size and cut through with a section plane before it is printed. Glimpse and ModelView list STL as well, if you would rather install an app.