Starfield best ship: 7 best ships in Starfield and locations
We break down Starfield's best ships for combat, cargo, and more
What is the best Starfield ship? Finding the best Starfield ships can be something of a minefield, especially when you're just starting out your playthrough. Most of us can agree that the greatest prospect of bounding through space is, of course, the vessel we choose to do so in. However, it's easy to get swamped by features like ship storage, weapons and the grav jump mechanic.
Luckily, we've cultivated a list of the best ships you can get across all the major classes, including ones you can get for free, buy, or even steal if you're set on becoming an intergalactic highwayman. Note that you can have up to ten ships, so you'll definitely want to be sure all of these are in your collection.
Starfield has dozens of ship types, with several free ships and many you can buy from various vendors throughout the Settled Systems. And, if you're feeling ambitious, you can also steal a ship or two, too. You'll also want to customize your ships with different weapons, engines, and other upgrades, including many that make them more powerful for combat or better for going undetected when dealing in Starfield contraband. So, while our look at the best ships will get you pretty far, note that your personally chosen upgrades to any base ship can make it even stronger.
When deciding which ships to keep in your arsenal of up to ten options, you'll want to look at things such as fuel capacity, cargo capacity, the ship's shield strength, and hull, which is a numerical representation of the overall health of the ship. You'll also want to consider the number of credits you'll need for the ship and to factor in the price of any upgrades you might want for your vehicle. Some ships will also have better jump ranges than others, allowing you to advance farther in a single grav jump.
Of course, if you'd rather make your own custom ship, you can do so in-game. Here is a list of the best ship designs in Starfield for some inspiration!
In this guide:
- Best Starfield ships
- What is the best Starfield early game ship?
- What is the best free ship in Starfield?
Best Starfield ships
The best Starfield ships are the Abyss Trekker, Narwal, Razorleaf, Silent Runner, Star Eagle, Starborn Guardian, and Stronghold.
Below we've gone into more detail about each of these ships and what makes them the very best.
Abyss Trekker
- Cost: 365,525
- Location: Can be purchased from the Ship Services Technician in Paradiso.
- Class: C
- Hull: 1031
- Shield: 850
- Particle Cannons: 38
- Missiles: 96
- Ballistics: 162
- Fuel: 950
- Grav Jump Range: 25 LY
- Cargo Capacity: 340
- Max Crew: 6
The Class C ship Abyss Trekker is great for moving quickly throughout space, rendering it a solid pick for speed and space combat. Although it has limited cargo capacity, it also has one of the game's most balanced overall ship systems in terms of fuel, its 25 lightyear jump distance, and base 96 missile and 162 ballistics stats.
Narwhal
- Cost: 455,400
- Location: Purchased from the Ryujin building in Neon from Taiyo Astroengineering.
- Class: C
- Hull: 2118
- Shield: 995
- Lasers: 24
- Ballistics: 114
- Missiles: 82
- Fuel: 560
- Grav Jump Range: 30 LY
- Cargo Capacity: 1760
- Max Crew: 7
As the most expensive ship in the game, it's no surprise that many players consider this class C ship the best due to its all-around solid stats, including 114 ballistics and 82 missiles. It is a beast of a ship with relatively high cargo and very hull stats, plus it holds seven crew, which is the most we've seen in the game to date.
Razorleaf
- Cost: Free
- Location: Reward upon completing the Mantis questline.
- Class: A
- Hull: 469
- Shield: 390
- Lasers: 6
- Particle Cannons: 16
- Missiles: 36
- Fuel: 140
- Grav Jump Range: 16 LY
- Cargo Capacity: 420
- Max Crew: 2
The Razorleaf is one of the best Class A early-game options. And, as a reward for completing the Mantis quest line, it's completely free. The ship has powerful weapons and a shielded cargo capacity of 160 for smuggling contraband. It's quickly grown to become a favorite ship among players, and with good reason.
Silent Runner
- Cost: 390,150
- Location: HopeTown.
- Class: C
- Hull: 1164
- Shield: 975
- Particle Cannons: 38
- Missiles: 96
- Fuel: 300
- Grav Jump Range: 30 LY
- Cargo Capacity: 6060
- Max Crew: 5
The Silent Runner is the best ship for running cargo, with a staggering 6060 cargo space, over 1,000 more than the next-highest ship. It also has a 30-lightyear jump distance and a 34 reactor, making this thing a powerful beast of a machine that's also not too shabby in its shield and hull stats.
Star Eagle
- Cost: Free.
- Location: Reward upon completing the Freestar Ranger questline. Can be picked up in Akila City.
- Class: A
- Hull: 948
- Shield: 760
- Electromagnetic: 2
- Missiles: 136
- Lasers: 12
- Fuel: 140
- Grav Jump Range: 16 LY
- Cargo Capacity: 2508
- Max Crew: 5
The Star Eagle is a large, well-rounded ship with a high cargo capacity, making it a strong choice for resource gathering. As a balanced middle-ground ship, it's an excellent pick for regular use as a middle-game ship option.
Starborn Guardian
- Cost: Free.
- Location: complete the main quest and start new game plus.
- Class: A
- Hull: 944
- Shield: 1480
- Solar Flare Beam: 30
- Gravity Torpedo: 100
- Fuel: 1500
- Grav Jump Range: 30 LY
- Cargo Capacity: 950
- Max Crew: 5
This powerful ship is a reward for Starfield's New Game+ mode and has a high laser damage rating and a decent jump range. It can grav jump 30 lightyears away, and its Solar Flare Beam and Gravity Torpedo make it extremely powerful in combat. The game will continue to reward you with upgraded versions of this ship as you play through more New Game+ games. Note that while this is a good ship, you cannot customize it. Be sure to check out our guide to learn more about how to get the Starborn ship.
Stronghold
- Cost: 400,125
- Location: Akila City.
- Class: C
- Hull: 1047
- Shield: 1600
- Lasers: 36
- Ballistics: 48
- Fuel: 2200
- Grav Jump Range: 30 LY
- Cargo Capacity: 2360
- Max Crew: 6
The Stronghold's high fuel capacity, cargo capacity, 30 lightyear jump, and extremely strong defenses make it one of Starfield's most powerful ships. It's an ideal choice for quickly transporting large cargo amounts over long distances. The ship's built-in defenses are strong enough to protect you from enemies as you travel. However, at more than 400,000, it will cost you a pretty penny.
What is the best Starfield early game ship?
We've cherry-picked some of the best ships you can get early on in Starfield, either for free or a few credits. Of course, there are better ships to choose from once you've established yourself, but these are solid options if you've found you have quickly outgrown The Frontier.
Kepler R
The fantastic thing about the Kepler R is that it is both free and has a cargo capacity of over 3,500. A substantial amount - especially for a free vessel that can be obtained fairly early in the game. To make the Kepler R yours, you must complete the quest 'Overdesigned' given to you by Walter at The Lodge (most players get to this quest at around level ten). The ship is a Class C vessel, with a fuel capacity of 2,800 - not bad, especially for those first-time runs to the Settled Systems.
Razorleaf
The Razorleaf is a fantastic ship for many of the reasons listed above. It can also be rewarded to the player for free early in the game if you're lucky. To get your hands on the ship, you need to kill Spacer and Crimson Fleet Pirates. Each enemy will have a random chance to drop a quest item called the Secret Outpost Slate, which will trigger The Mantis questline.
Wanderwell
The Wanderwell is another free ship that can be granted early in Starfield. However, you can only access the ship if you have chosen the Kid Stuff Trait. If you have the trait, regularly visit your parents, and donate 2% of your credits to them, they will eventually gift the ship to you. The Wanderwell has a fantastic cargo capacity of 800, making it a great option for relatively little work.
What is the best free ship in Starfield?
If you'd rather save your credits, we've scoured around for the best ship you can get in Starfield for free. It will come as no surprise that most of the best free ships are earned for completing faction missions or specific questlines. Here is our top pick.
Star Eagle
The Star Eagle is a great all-rounder with a substantial cargo capacity of 2,280 shield range of 760 and space for five crew members, as such it's a great little freebie. The Star Eagle can be obtained after completing the 'Hammer Falls' quest for the Freestar Collective on Arcturus.
That's our round-up on the best ships in Starfield. Be sure also to check out our guide to the game's free ships and our guide to the best skills on the Starfield skill tree, too. We also have a Starfield character creation guide, and an overview all Starfield traits and how they work.