Star Citizen Ship Comparison
Pick a category, then a ship on each side. Every stat lines up one to one and the better number turns green. These are stock ships straight from the hangar, with nothing swapped out.
New to Star Citizen? Enlist with a referral code and your account starts funded.
Choose a ship on each side to see the comparison.
The numbers most people actually buy on.
Which starter package should you buy?
Every ship below is in the Starter ships category at the top of this page. Rather than take anyone’s word for which is best, put any two of them side by side and read the numbers yourself. Crew size, cargo, shields and handling are where these five genuinely differ.
| Package | Ship | From | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizen | Aurora Mk II | $60 | The classic starter reinvented. Compact and durable, fine for early combat and light delivery. |
| Generalist | Drake Cutter | $60 | Built for distance. Good fuel efficiency for Stanton to Pyro runs, and Pyro ready out of the box. |
| Duelist | Avenger Titan | $75 | The pilot’s choice. Best dogfighter of the five and it still carries an internal cargo hold. |
| Privateer | Cutlass Black | $125 | Best guns and the only manned turret here. Largest cargo grid, and it expects a crewmate. |
| Not sold | CNOU Nomad | n/a | Big cargo space, a built in tractor beam and it carries a ground vehicle. Not currently sold as a starter package, so you cannot begin here. |
You are not locked in. Cross Chassis Upgrade lets you move up later for the price difference rather than the full hull cost, so an Aurora bought today can become a Cutlass Black for the gap between them. Start on whichever package compares best for how you actually want to play. Prices move with sales and availability, so check the store for the current figure.
How to read this comparison
No single score ranks a ship in Star Citizen. The hull that wins this table can still be the wrong buy for you, because which stats matter depends entirely on what you plan to do with it. Start with these.
If you want to fight
Read DPS, shield HP and pitch rate together. DPS sets how fast a target dies and shields set how long you last, but pitch rate is the one people underrate. It decides whether you can hold your nose on anything at all. Big guns on a slow hull lose to a light fighter that simply sits behind you.
If you want to haul
Cargo capacity is the headline number, but quantum fuel and pad size decide whether a contract is practical at all. A hull that needs a large pad cannot land at plenty of the small outposts hauling missions send you to.
If you are buying your first ship
Crew size is the stat new players skip and later regret. Anything listed above one crew expects a friend in a turret or an engineering seat, and alone you will never touch half of what you paid for. Flown solo, a smaller ship usually earns more.
Popular starter matchups
| Matchup | Crew | Cargo SCU | Shield HP | Pilot DPS | SCM speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora Mk II | 1 | 2 | 6,000 | 1,312 | 225 |
| Mustang Alpha | 1 | 4 | 4,320 | 656 | 228 |
| Avenger Titan | 1 | 8 | 4,320 | 2,360 | 262 |
| Cutlass Black | 3 | 46 | 7,200 | 2,798 | 217 |
| Gladius | 1 | 0 | 6,336 | 1,945 | 226 |
| Arrow | 1 | 0 | 3,168 | 1,494 | 229 |
Popular ship comparisons
These are the match-ups people look for most. Each one opens the table above with both ships already selected.
| Comparison | Crew | Cargo SCU | Shield HP | Pilot DPS | Quantum range Gm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Golem vs Prospector | 1 v 1 | 0 v 0 | 2,160 v 2,160 | 437 v 437 | 172 v 155 |
| MOLE vs Prospector | 4 v 1 | 32 v 0 | 100,000 v 2,160 | 656 v 437 | 1,048 v 155 |
| RSI Constellation Mk IV Taurus vs Corsair | 4 v 4 | 174 v 72 | 72,000 v 100,000 | 4,910 v 7,175 | 1,177 v 682 |
| Perseus vs Polaris | 6 v 12 | 96 v 576 | 211,200 v 648,000 | 1,707 v 0 | 162 v 436 |
| Railen vs Hull B | 4 v 2 | 640 v 512 | 144,000 v 14,400 | 3,272 v 1,091 | 1,346 v 1,541 |
| Fury vs Pitbull | 1 v 1 | n/a v n/a | 2,244 v 2,160 | 1,312 v 1,531 | n/a v n/a |
| Starfarer vs Starfarer Gemini | 8 v 2 | 291 v 291 | 72,000 v 72,000 | 4,102 v 4,102 | 492 v 155 |
| Ironclad Assault vs Ironclad | 7 v 7 | 1,440 v 2,200 | 144,000 v 144,000 | 0 v 0 | 541 v 541 |
| M80 vs Stinger | 1 v 1 | 2 v 0 | 20,000 v 21,120 | 4,090 v 4,195 | 387 v 703 |
Which Star Citizen ship is best for beginners?
A single-seat fighter or a small cargo hull will earn more than anything bigger, because you can use all of it on your own. Compare a few starters on crew size, cargo capacity and price before you spend anything.
Does this comparison use stock ships?
Yes. Every figure is the hull as it leaves the hangar on its default components and weapons. Swapping parts moves shields, damage and speed, so read these as a starting point, not a limit.
Why do some ships show no price?
Not every hull is sold for in-game credits. Where a ship has no price in game, or is not buyable yet, the row stays empty instead of showing a guess.
What does size class mean?
It is the hull’s size band, running from the smallest snub craft up to capital ships. It sets which pads and hangars a ship can use, so read it alongside the landing pad row.
Where can I see full Star Citizen ship stats?
Every hull in the game is in the table above, with speed, shields, hull, armour, weapons, cargo, quantum range and handling for each one. Pick any two and the numbers line up side by side, so you can read the full stats for one ship or compare it against another.
Is a bigger ship always better in Star Citizen?
No. Big hulls carry more and survive longer, but they turn slowly, drink fuel and usually want a crew. Flown alone, most of their turrets and stations sit empty, and a smaller ship often earns more per hour. Check the crew row before you judge a hull by its size.
More Free Star Citizen Tools
Ship Loadout Builder
Picked your hull here? Fit weapons, shields and components to it and watch the numbers move before you spend a credit.
What Fits Inside This Ship?
Cargo capacity is only half the answer. Check whether a vehicle actually fits through the doors and into the hold before you commit to a haul.
Ship Weapon DPS
Every hardpoint gun ranked by damage per second, so you can see what the guns on your shortlist are actually worth.
Fuel and Jump Range Tracker
Quantum range and travel speed for every hull, tracked patch by patch, with the fuel figures this comparison draws on.
Ship Development Pipeline
Which ships are actually being built and how far each has moved through the art and development gates, quoted from the monthly reports.
Veterans: Give a New Recruit a Head Start
Got a referral code collecting dust? Drop it into the Referral Code Randomizer and let a new pilot pull a random veteran code for bonus starting credits and gear. Recruiting for your org? Use it to hand out codes fairly across your roster instead of playing favourites.
