Best starter ships in Starfield

Your spaceship is one of the most important elements of your character in Starfield. It’s how you get from system to system in the galaxy and also where you will be storing most of your cargo.

While you will eventually unlock some incredible ships, the beginning of the story can be rough with just the Frontier to fly around in.

There’s nothing wrong with the Frontier early on in Starfield, but it’s not exactly what you would be calling an upper-class ship. It doesn’t have any bells and whistles and is as basic as a ship can come in the universe. Luckily, there are other starter ships you can acquire for not too much money within your first several hours.

Five best starter ships in Starfield

Let’s go over some clarifications before I get onto the list. First, all these ships are located at vendors within the earliest systems in Starfield. Second, they all cost under 100,000 credits, which is the main distinction I made to clarify them as a starter ship. While this is still a ton of money, there aren’t too many ships worth using that are much cheaper.

5) Responder

The Responder is a ship worth 64,000 credits and only comes with two available weapons. However, for such a small price, you’re getting a ship that can hold three crew members instead of the standard two and you have a base 410 cargo capacity. The Responder is a decently-sized ship with terrific speed, a fast Grav Drive time, and plenty of room for upgrades.

You can purchase the Responder from the ship services technician in Neon on the Volii Alpha planet.

4) Endeavor

Next up, we have the Endeavor, which has a higher cargo capacity than the Responder but a lower crew member total. However, all that is dwarfed by the Endeavor’s top speed, which completely maxes out the Engine meter in your Ship Systems menu. The Endeavor is incredibly fast and has some decent default weapons to boot.

You can purchase the Endeavor for 70,000 credits at the ship services technician in Red Mile on the Porrima III planet.

3) Longsword

Now we’re getting into the more advanced stage of the starter ships in Starfield. Kicking off this tier is the Longsword, which sells for 85,000 credits. The Longsword has a maximum crew capacity of four, making it larger than anything I’ve listed so far. This comes with a lower cargo capacity and balanced stats across the board. However, the Longsword comes equipped with three total weapons, which is something the other ships didn’t have. I recommend going with the Longsword if you’re looking for something spacious over anything else.

You can purchase the Longsword from the ship services technician in New Atlantis on the planet Jemison.

2) Trader Railstar

This is the most expensive ship on my list, but it’s well worth it to anyone who needs to smuggle contraband or wants a bigger cargo capacity. The Trader Railstar comes in at a lean 91,260 credits but has a massive 1,200 cargo capacity, 160 of which is shielded. This means that if you put contraband in your ship’s cargo hold, it has a chance of slipping past the contraband scans when you enter a Settled System. The Trader Railstar isn’t meant for combat, but it can hold three crew members and be your pack mule across the stars.

You can purchase the Trader Railstar from the ship services technician in Red Mile on the Porrima III planet.

1) Razorleaf

The final spot on my list goes to a ship you don’t need to spend any credits on.

You can acquire the Razorleaf by completing the Mantis side quest in Starfield. I have a complete guide on starting and finishing that quest for those interested, but the main objective of this quest is to head to the Denebola system and follow in the footsteps of a son looking to fulfil his mother’s last wish. At the end of the quest, you will get to take home the Razorleaf ship, along with a legendary spacesuit, for free.

I recommend starting the Mantis quest when you are roughly level seven or eight, as there are some high-level enemies you need to fight during the mission.

And that does it for my list of the top five starter ships in Starfield. You can acquire all of these ships in your first several hours if you’re careful with your credits and visit enough systems. You might also need to sell your Frontier ship and any others that you might steal during your journey in order to afford a ship from a vendor.