Elite Dangerous has more ships than ever, and Frontier keeps adding them. That’s great, but it makes the old question harder to answer: which ship should I actually buy? This guide breaks the fleet down by what you want to do, with the ships I’d point most commanders towards and the trade-offs that matter. Where I’ve done a full review, I’ve linked it so you can go deeper.
How to Think About Ships in Elite
Before looking at specific ships, three things decide whether a ship suits you:
- Landing pad size. Small, medium or large. Outposts only have small and medium pads, so a large ship can’t dock at a lot of places. For many players a medium ship is the sweet spot.
- Internal and optional slots. These decide what the ship can actually do: cargo racks, shield generators, fuel scoops, limpet controllers, fighter hangars and so on.
- Hardpoints and power. How many weapons you can carry and whether the power plant and distributor can keep up with them.
Price matters too, but don’t forget the outfitting cost and the rebuy, which is roughly 5 percent of the full value. A ship you can buy but can’t afford to lose isn’t a ship you can afford.
Best Starter and Early Ships
- Sidewinder. Your free starter. Fine for learning, not for earning.
- Eagle. Nimble and cheap. A good way to learn dogfighting.
- Hauler. Tiny, but the jump range and cargo make it a cheap early trader or explorer.
- Cobra Mk III. Still one of the best all-rounders for new players.
- Cobra Mk V. A modern take on the Cobra idea. Full thoughts in my Cobra Mk V review.
- Diamondback Explorer. A small-pad exploration favourite with very good jump range.
Best Multi-Role Ships
Multi-role ships are where most commanders end up spending their time. They’re good at several jobs and you can refit them as your interests change.
- Python. The original medium-pad workhorse. Huge internals for its size.
- Python Mk II. A combat-focused Python that still lands on medium pads.
- Krait Mk II. Fast, well armed, and it carries a fighter. A brilliant medium-pad all-rounder.
- Anaconda. The classic large-pad multi-role. Combat, exploration, mining, passengers. It does all of it.
- Anaconda Mk II. The newest big multi-role. See my first look and why I think Frontier missed a chance to bring back the Boa.
Best Combat Ships
- Vulture. Small-pad, two large hardpoints, very agile. Great for learning proper combat.
- Fer-de-Lance. A medium-pad duelling ship with a huge hardpoint.
- Mamba. Fast, aggressive and fun to fly.
- Chieftain. A strong medium-pad ship that also does well against Thargoids.
- Federal Corvette. One of the strongest combat ships in the game. It needs Federal Navy rank to buy.
- Type-10 Defender. Slow but tough, with lots of hardpoints. Popular for anti-xeno work. See the Type-10 AX combat guide.
Best Exploration Ships
- Diamondback Explorer. Cheap, small and jumps a long way.
- Asp Explorer. Great cockpit view, good jump range, comfortable for long trips.
- Mandalay. A newer medium-pad explorer built around jump range and agility.
- Caspian Explorer. A dedicated deep-space ship. My Caspian review covers where it fits.
- Anaconda. Still a strong choice for long expeditions where you want plenty of internals for repairs and an SRV bay.
Best Trading and Hauling Ships
- Type-6 Transporter. A cheap first hauler.
- Type-7 and Type-8 Transporter. The Type-8 is a big improvement for medium-pad hauling.
- Python. Often the best medium-pad trader because outposts only take medium ships.
- Type-9 Heavy. Huge cargo, very slow.
- Imperial Cutter. The best large-pad trader for many commanders, with a lot of cargo and good shields. It needs Imperial Navy rank.
For the side-by-side, my best cargo ships guide goes into more detail, and the trading guide covers how to use them.
Best Mining Ships
- Type-6 Transporter. A cheap way into laser mining.
- Krait Mk II and Python. Good medium-pad miners.
- Type-11 Prospector. A dedicated mining ship. Read the Type-11 review, and see how it pairs with the Rhino SRV in this build.
- Imperial Cutter and Anaconda. Big-ship mining with plenty of room for refineries and limpets.
The laser mining guide covers setups and hotspots.
Passenger Ships
- Dolphin. Small, quiet, good for tourist missions.
- Lynx Highliner. A newer medium-pad passenger ship. Overhyped or a money printer? I tested it here.
- Beluga Liner. The large-pad luxury liner.
Rank-Locked Ships
Some ships need navy rank. The Federal Dropship, Gunship and Corvette need Federal Navy rank, and the Imperial Courier, Clipper and Cutter need Imperial Navy rank. You earn rank through navy missions for the matching superpower. It’s a grind, but the Corvette and Cutter are worth it for most long-term players.
Buying, Storing and Transferring Ships
You can own as many ships as you can afford. Ships you’re not flying sit in storage at the station where you left them, along with their modules. If you need a ship somewhere else, you can pay to have it transferred. It isn’t instant and the cost goes up with distance, so it’s worth picking a home system with good outfitting and keeping your main fleet there.
Not every station sells every ship. Shipyards vary by system economy and allegiance, and rank-locked ships only appear at stations aligned to the right superpower. Use a third-party site like Inara or Spansh to find which stations stock the ship and modules you want before you set off.
New Ships and ARX Early Access
Recent ships have often launched first as pre-built versions bought with ARX, Frontier’s premium currency, before becoming available for credits at shipyards a few months later. If you don’t want to spend real money, you just wait. Nothing you can buy with ARX is permanently locked away from players who earn credits in game.
When a new ship arrives, don’t rush to sell your current one. Check proper reviews and real outfitting numbers first, because the marketing rarely tells you how a ship actually flies once it’s loaded up.
Which Ship Should You Buy Next?
If you’re unsure, aim for a medium-pad multi-role ship like the Krait Mk II or Python. They do everything well enough, land almost anywhere and hold their value as your interests change. Compare specific ships head to head in the ship comparisons guide, or find everything else on the Elite Dangerous hub.
