When we speak about values and needs, it becomes important to determine the content of these concepts and their specificity, in contrast to others that are semantically similar. H. Rickert, one of the founders of the theory of value, distinguished the first from the latter, saying that values, unlike evaluation, do not correlate with benefit and are not “sensible things”. The specificity of value can be formulated through the explanation “this item is dear to me”, while evaluations can be formulated through the explanation “this item is useful to me”. According to the neo-Kantians, values objectively exist within the boundaries of culture, in contrast to evaluation, which can be subjective and individual for each person. The article shows that the position of the neo-Kantians, in a certain sense, became the basis for further research into this issue. The author examines the approaches of various researchers to the concepts of value and evaluation, revealing their specifics