Starfield free ships and how to get all of them

What are all the Starfield free ships? Whether you're short on credits or just want to know what quests you need to complete to get a free Starfield ship as a reward, we have everything you need to know right here.

Some of these free Starfield ships are among the best in the game. You can check out our master list of all Starfield ships, to find out about every single vessel you can pilot.

Here, we'll focus on all the free ships you can get in the game and how to get them and add them to your arsenal. And, while our primary list of free Starfield ships come as gameplay rewards, we've also added some insights on some shadier ways to get your hands on free ships as long as you're not afraid to start your own criminal enterprise.

Free Starfield ships list

The free Starfield ships are the Frontier, the Kepler R (or the Kepler S), the Razorleaf, the Star Eagle, UC Prison Shuttle, Wanderwell, and the Starborn Guardian.

Free Starfield ships come from a variety of different sources. The Frontier is your first ship, the Starborn Guardian is your New Game+ ship, you can get the Wanderwell as a trait reward, and the others are in-game mission rewards. You can have up to ten ships in your arsenal, so you have plenty of space in your fleet to collect these free ones. You can also upgrade almost every one of these ships to make it even stronger. Regardless of which ships you choose, you'll want to continuously upgrade any ships as the game progresses and you face more difficult situations and combat encounters.

Here's a deeper look at all of Starfield's free ships.

Frontier

• Fuel: 50
• Hull: 366
• Cargo: 450
• Crew: 2
• Shield: 310

The Frontier is your starter ship. This free Starfield ship is about as baseline as they get, which makes sense as this basically functions as your tutorial ship. Most players will want to invest in better ships as soon as possible, as this one is ill-equipped for serious combat.

Kepler R

• Fuel: 2800
• Hull: 999
• Cargo: 3550
• Crew: 6
• Shield: 805

The Kepler R has the highest fuel and cargo capacity of Starfield's free ships. The class C ship is fast and equipped with solid weaponry, making it good for exploring and engaging in battle. You can earn the Kepler R by completing the Overdesigned mission for Walter Stroud as part of the Crimson Fleet questline. It also has a value of 448,477, making it one of the most valuable ships in the game.

However, you must make a specific series of choices to get this ship. For example, you'll have the option to choose a smaller or larger budget and have the opportunity to complete up to two "destroy" missions, up to two "transport" missions, or a mix of both. To get the Kepler R, you'll need to choose the "teambuilding" option near the conclusion of this mission, sticking to the most motivational and positive responses. You'll likely even find yourself tasked with giving a motivational speech, but if you do this, you'll find the rewards are much greater than they would be otherwise. If you fail to make the correct choices, you'll instead end up with the much weaker Kepler S.

Razorleaf

• Fuel: 140
• Hull: 469
• Cargo: 420
• Crew: 2
• Shield: 360

The Razorleaf may be one of the best ships you can get in the game, and it's completely free. It's quick, has a 30-lightyear jump, and has a powerful weapon. These things combined make it great for combat. You will earn it as a reward for completing the Mantis quest. The ship has additional perks in that it is feared, so enemies may purposefully avoid you should they see you roaming space in this thing. It also has a built-in shielded cargo capacity of 160, allowing you to transport Starfield contraband quickly.

Star Eagle

• Fuel: 140
• Hull: 948
• Cargo: 2736
• Crew: 5
• Shield: 760

This is a large, well-rounded class A ship (29 reactor) with a relatively high cargo capacity, making it a strong choice for resource gathering. It's a balanced middle-ground ship good for regular use, as it also has a solid missile stat of 136. You will obtain this ship as a reward for the Freestar Ranger questline, which you can get in the Akila City area of the game.

UC Prison Shuttle

• Fuel: 200
• Hull: 418
• Cargo: 1090
• Crew: 1
• Shield: 0

Though it's not an all-around great ship, the UC Prison Shuttle looks cool and has a neat backstory as a ship you acquire as a means of escape. It's not particularly strong and has zero shields, but a free ship is a free ship, and if it helps get you out of prison, that's all the better. You can acquire this during the Crimson Fleet mission line as part of a mission called Echoes of the Past.

Wanderwell

• Fuel: 200
• Hull: 502
• Cargo: 800
• Crew: 2
• Shield: 544

You can acquire this class A ship by choosing the Kid Stuff Trait, which allows you to visit your parents in exchange for 2% of your overall earned credits. At a certain point, your parents will give it to you as a gift. It's a decent all-around ship, and at a minimum, it is worth more than the credits you give up to your parents to be able to see them throughout the game. It also has a 27-lightyear grav jump and a 28 ballistics stat. So, while it's not the best, it's still a fun and free Starfield ship option.

Starborn Guardian

• Fuel: 1500
• Hull: 649
• Cargo: 950
• Crew: 5
• Shield: 630

This is a powerful ship designed for combat with a 24 solar laser stat, a 70 torpedo stat, and a 30 lightyear jump distance. You'll get this ship by starting the game in New Game+ mode, which is probably why it's also ultimately one of the game's best ships. Note that you cannot customize it, but you will continue to get upgraded versions of this ship each time you complete a New Game+ playthrough.

The sixth and final version of this ship that you can get boasts a staggering 1254 hull, 1976 shield, 150 shielded cargo capacity, a 42 solar laser stat, and a 150 torpedo stat. Check out our guide for more info on how to get the Starborn ship and Starborn items in general.

How to steal ships in Starfield

You can also get your hands on free ships in Starfield by stealing them. You can always steal a ship from an NPC, technically making it free, although you may face some repercussions. Consider stealing ships from NPCs that land near you as you explore. When you steal a ship this way, you must fly it off a planet's surface to a new destination to sell it.

While in space, you can also dock and board hostile ships to try to steal them. Do this by disabling an enemy ship's engines, prompting you to dock and board the ship to steal it. If there's a civilian ship in space you want to steal, you can provoke it to turn the ship hostile by hailing the ship and starting a conversation. However, note that this may result in in-game repercussions. You must also undock from your previous ship if you steal another while in space. You can then travel to the nearest spaceport, at which point you can mark the stolen ship as yours, add it to your fleet, and then change back to your previous ship.

If you board a ship to steal it, you will generally have to kill every NPC on that ship to take it. Also, note that many ships will require a certain level of piloting skills if you want to pilot them, so ensure you spend your skill points on the Piloting Skill. You can learn more about skills in Starfield by checking out our guide to the the best skills on the Starfield skill tree.

If you steal a ship and then want to sell it, you must register it with a Ship Services Technician for a fee that's a sizable portion of the actual ship itself. But you'll then be able to sell the ship for its full price, netting you a fairly solid profit. As a pro tip, sell all the items in a ship's inventory before selling a ship to net even more profit from it.

That's everything you need to know about Starfield's free ships. As you play through the game, you may also benefit from checking out our Starfield character creation guide and our picks for the best Starfield backgrounds. For more help with Starfield ships, check out also our guides on the best ship designs, how to sell ships and how to get new ship modules.