When you pick a freighter in No Man’s Sky, you are making a bigger decision than it first looks, because you can only own one at a time and its class can never be upgraded.

The best freighter is an S-class capital ship or Pirate Dreadnought that you like the look of. Class decides how many slots your freighter can reach and how good its stats are, while the type mostly decides its looks, its starting size and its interior.

That being said, S-class freighters are not all identical. Hyperdrive and Fleet Coordination roll within a band for every class, and a top A-class can tie a bottom S-class on both of them.

This tier list will rank every freighter you can own by class and type, and then go through how to get, upgrade and swap one. Most numbers below come from the game files of Forsaken (7.11) and the official patch notes, and patch 7.13 lists no changes to freighter numbers.

Contents

• Freighter tier list
• What class changes
• Are S-class freighters all the same?
• Freighter types
• How to get a freighter
• Upgrading your freighter
• Switching freighters
• Freighter problems
• Freighter FAQ
• Which freighter to keep

Freighter tier list

Class does most of the work in this list, because it sets the slot ceiling and both stat bands for the life of the ship. Type only moves a freighter up or down a little, based on its starting slots, effort and looks.

S tier

An S-class Pirate Dreadnought and an S-class capital ship share the top spot. Both will reach the highest ceiling of 120 inventory and 60 technology slots, both roll from the best Hyperdrive and Fleet Coordination bands, and both start with 24 to 34 inventory slots, which saves you a good pile of Cargo Bulkheads.

I would say the Pirate Dreadnought has a slight edge, because it gets its own hangar and bridge and should cost you nothing if you make it surrender. One downside is where you will find it, as players report that freighters from outlaw systems often start with fewer slots at higher classes.

A tier

An S-class system freighter will reach exactly the same maximum as an S-class capital ship. The main difference is the smaller start of 15 to 19 inventory and 8 to 12 technology slots, which costs you roughly 5 to 20 extra Cargo Bulkheads for the inventory grid. It is also the easiest S-class to farm, since new system freighters keep warping in and you can simply buy the one you want with Units. I would say it sits right on the edge of S tier.

A-class Pirate Dreadnoughts and A-class capital ships land here as well. They top out at 100 inventory and 50 technology slots, and a perfect A-class roll ties the worst possible S-class roll on both stats.

For most players, an A-class capital ship is going to feel just as good as an S-class, and A-class freighters turn up far more often.

B tier

An A-class system freighter has the same 100 and 50 slot ceiling as the A-class capital ships. It just starts smaller and will need more bulkheads to get there.

B-class Pirate Dreadnoughts and B-class capital ships sit in B tier too. They stop at 80 inventory and 40 technology slots, and their Hyperdrive band of 10 to 19 is far below the 40 to 60 of an A-class. A big starting inventory does not fix that ceiling.

C tier

A B-class system freighter combines the B-class ceiling and weak stats with the small start. You are going to spend a lot of bulkheads only to get an average ship out of it.

The Restored Freighter from Expedition 13 sits here as well. It is a B-class system freighter that arrives with the Freighter Hyperdrive and the Matter Beam already installed, which is nice, but you could only get it in that expedition.

D tier

Any C-class freighter lands in D tier, whatever its type. It will top out at 60 inventory and 30 technology slots, half of what an S-class can hold, and its Hyperdrive rolls only 7 to 15.

Even so, a C-class is perfectly fine as your free first freighter. Take it for the storage, the hangar and the frigates, and simply do not spend your Cargo Bulkheads on it.

Two big ships are missing from the list on purpose. The hostile Sentinel Capital Ship and the Swarm hive cannot be claimed at all, because neither of them can surrender or be bought, and destroying them will only get you loot. The ownable “Sentinel” freighters are a different thing, a family of capital-ship hulls with a fan name.

What class changes

Class sets the ceiling for everything your freighter can become. A fully expanded S-class freighter holds 120 inventory slots and 60 technology slots, an A-class 100 and 50, a B-class 80 and 40, and a C-class 60 and 30. Freighters have no separate cargo grid, which means those two numbers are the whole ship.

The old maximums of 34 or 48 slots date from before the Waypoint update (4.0), which raised the ceiling to 120 and 60.

The starting size works differently from the ceiling. System freighters start with 15 to 19 inventory slots and 8 to 12 technology slots, while capital ships, including the Pirate Dreadnought, start with 24 to 34 and 12 to 20. That head start only saves you Cargo Bulkheads, because both will end at the same class maximum.

Stat rolls

Class also rolls two stats when the freighter spawns. Hyperdrive adds to your freighter’s jump range and lands between 7 and 15 on a C-class, 10 and 19 on a B-class, 40 and 60 on an A-class and 60 and 80 on an S-class. Fleet Coordination helps your frigates on expeditions (speed, fuel use and their combat, trade, exploration and mining results) and rolls 1 to 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 40 and 40 to 60 for the same classes.

Both rolls are set once and will never change afterwards. Technology and upgrade modules add their own bonus on top, but the roll itself stays where it landed.

A perfect A-class ties the worst S-class on both stats, and the real gap is between B and A, where Hyperdrive jumps from at most 19 to at least 40.

Supercharged slots

An S-class freighter can have up to 4 supercharged technology slots, always in the top three rows of the tech grid. Lower classes can have fewer (an A-class with 3, a C-class with as few as 1), and some of them may only appear once you expand those rows. Where exactly they sit is random, which matters later when you place your hyperdrive technology.

No class upgrade

None of this can be changed later, because a freighter’s class is permanent.

Starships and Multi-Tools can be class-upgraded with Nanites, freighters cannot, and nothing up to 7.13 changed that. If you want an S-class, you will have to rescue, buy or seize one.

Are S-class freighters all the same?

Every S-class freighter can be expanded to the same 120 inventory and 60 technology slots, whatever its type or hull. They are not identical, though. Each one rolls its own Hyperdrive (60 to 80) and Fleet Coordination (40 to 60) and gets its own supercharged-slot layout, and none of that can be changed.

That spread inside S-class is as wide as the whole A-class band. Two S-class freighters can be 20 points apart on Hyperdrive, and a poorly rolled one can sit level with a perfect A-class.

If jump range matters a lot to you, compare a few S-class freighters before you settle on one. A ship with its supercharged slots close together should also make your hyperdrive upgrades easier to place.

For most players an A-class freighter is going to be enough. You give up 20 inventory and 10 technology slots and a bit of fleet strength, but the Hyperdrive bands touch at 60, and A-class freighters are far more common, with 28% of the freighters in a wealthy system rolling A-class against only 2% that roll S-class. An S-class is probably only worth hours of reloading if you want the absolute maximum, or one specific hull you love in S-class.

Freighter types

The game itself only uses three names: Freighter, Capital Ship and Pirate Dreadnought. Every freighter you own is marked as your Capital Ship, whatever it looks like, although most menus simply call it your freighter. In this post, system freighter means the smaller regular hulls and capital ship means the big ones.

The type is mostly looks. A system freighter, a capital ship and a Pirate Dreadnought of the same class share the same maximum slots, the same stat ranges and the same technology. What type changes is the starting slots, the hangar and bridge interior, and how awkward the hangar is to fly into.

You will not get more frigates or more crew from any type either, and hull size is pure looks as well. The bigger capital-ship variants carry no extra slots, stats or hangar space, and more turrets on a hull do not add anything to its stats.

System freighters

System freighters are the regular freighters you will see parked around most star systems once you have made your first two warps. They come in a bunch of hull styles, start with 15 to 19 inventory and 8 to 12 technology slots, and are by far the cheapest freighters to buy.

Their big advantage is how easy they are to farm, because new ones tend to warp in when you pulse away and stop again.

Capital ships

Capital ships are the large freighters you can rescue or buy. They start with 24 to 34 inventory and 12 to 20 technology slots and come in two hull families with three sizes each, often called the Venator and the Sentinel family. Those names are fan labels and do not appear in the game.

Some of the Sentinel-family hulls have an antenna right in front of the hangar, which makes landing a little bit fiddly.

Pirate Dreadnought

The Pirate Dreadnought is the only freighter you can own with its own hangar and bridge. You will get a red-lit interior and a menacing hull, and seizing one after it surrenders should not cost you anything, though it replaces your current freighter. It has no stat or slot advantage over another freighter of the same class, though.

Restored Freighter

The only freighter handed out as a fixed reward is the Restored Freighter from Expedition 13: Adrift, which launched in May 2024. It is a B-class system freighter that arrives with the Freighter Hyperdrive and the Matter Beam already installed.

It was a milestone reward inside the expedition rather than one of the phase rewards that every save can redeem afterwards, which means it is not a way to get a freighter on your main save.

How to get a freighter

You can rescue a freighter from a pirate attack, buy one that is parked in a system, or make a Pirate Dreadnought surrender and seize it. Your first one will usually be a rescued freighter, because the first one you accept from a rescue captain is free.

Space battle rescue

The rescue battle is gated by two numbers, 5 warps and 3 hours since your last battle. Whether you will rescue a regular freighter or a capital ship depends on the type of battle that spawns.

Your first rescue battles tend to involve a regular freighter, and players report capital ships turning up from around the third rescue. While the offer is still free, declining a regular freighter you do not like is a fair gamble.

1. Save at a space station before the warp that should start the battle. Count on the 3 hours being active play, since paused or closed-game time does not seem to count. The fight will usually start as you arrive in a system on your fifth warp.
2. Fight off the pirates without hitting the freighter itself, and make sure to dismiss your squadron pilots beforehand.
3. Check the class before you claim anything. Land on the freighter’s deck, step out and scan it with the Analysis Visor, or use Eject in the Quick Menu of a normal starship (added in COSMOS) and scan it from space.
4. If the class is not what you want, reload your station save and warp in again.
5. If you like it, talk to the captain on the bridge and inspect the freighter to claim it.

The free offer is tied to not owning a freighter yet. Every rescue captain will offer you their ship for free until you accept one, and you can inspect it, back out and still take the payment instead.

That payment is a Cargo Bulkhead, 200 to 300 Nanites and 300 to 500 Gold plus some standing. Once you own a freighter, it is the only thing the captain will offer you.

Buying a system freighter

Once you have your first freighter, buying a better one is the most reliable way to an S-class. Pulse away for a few seconds and stop, and new system freighters should warp in around you. Scan each one with the Analysis Visor to see its class, then fly over and buy the one you want from its captain. Rinse and repeat.

Price follows starting slots and class. System freighters are the cheap ones, usually somewhere around 5 to 25 million Units, while capital ships cost the most and can go well past 100 million. An S-class will also cost a lot more than a C-class of the same size.

Your current freighter should count as a trade-in, which brings the price down.

Seizing a Pirate Dreadnought

A Pirate Dreadnought battle can only start when you warp into a high-conflict system (a 10% roll) or an outlaw system (a 20% roll). Hopping between outlaw systems is the fastest way to meet one. You will need a freighter of your own first, as Dreadnought battles do not seem to appear before you own one.

Once the fight turns your way, you will get one of two prizes. Destroy the Dreadnought before it surrenders and it almost always drops a salvaged freighter upgrade, which has been S-class every time since patch 4.42.

Knock out its warp engines and the cannons on top instead and it should surrender. You can then board it and seize the Dreadnought, which should not cost you anything and will replace your current freighter, or demand 5 to 10 million Units in tribute. Mind that you should not expect the upgrade and the ship from the same fight.

Class odds by economy

Freighter class odds follow the system’s economy, with poor systems rolling 60% C, 30% B, 10% A and no S, average ones 49% C, 35% B, 15% A and 1% S, wealthy ones 30% C, 40% B, 28% A and 2% S, and outlaw systems roughly 5% each for B, A and S with the rest C-class.

Outlaw systems are the better bet for an S-class, while a wealthy system is far better for an A-class. If this is your first freighter, our beginner guide walks through the free freighter step by step.

Upgrading your freighter

Most freighter upgrades are bought at the Upgrade Control terminal on the bridge. Slots cost Cargo Bulkheads, technology blueprints cost Salvaged Frigate Modules and new colours cost Nanites.

Cargo Bulkheads

Every extra slot costs one Cargo Bulkhead (Add Additional Storage at the terminal). It is the only way to expand a freighter, and there is no Units price for freighter slots.

Do not mix it up with the Storage Augmentation, which is the starship version and will do nothing for your freighter.

Your most reliable source is the rescue payment. Once you own a freighter, every captain you save will hand you a bulkhead when you talk to them afterwards. Each derelict freighter also gives you one if you pick Fabricate Freighter Bulkhead at the captain’s terminal.

The Merchants Guild envoy adds one free bulkhead at its top reward tier, though that slot can offer a Storage Augmentation or a Salvaged Frigate Module instead, so it is a trickle rather than a farm. Additionally, crashed freighter containers, the outlaw mission board and some expedition milestones can give you a few more. Shooting NPC freighters and their cargo pods will not get you any, and you should not count on frigate expeditions either.

The number you need is your class maximum minus your starting slots. For the inventory grid alone, an S-class system freighter needs up to about 105 bulkheads, while an S-class capital ship needs about 86 to 96. An A-class needs 20 fewer than an S-class with the same start, a B-class 40 fewer and a C-class 60 fewer. The technology grid will need more on top of that.

Freighter technology

Freighter technology is researched with Salvaged Frigate Modules at the same terminal, and all nine blueprints together cost 69 of them. The Matter Beam costs 5 and the Interstellar Scanner 4. The three hyperdrive boosters (Warp Core Resonator, Plasmatic Warp Injector and Reality De-Threader) cost 4, 8 and 12, and the four warp shielding upgrades cost 4, 8, 12 and 12.

Base rooms and frigate boosts should only cost 1 module each.

Warp shielding

Your freighter needs a warp shielding upgrade to jump to red, green, blue and purple stars. In that order, they are the Amplified Warp Shielding, Chromatic Warp Shielding, Temporal Warp Computer and Resonance Matrix, and each one adds 50 jump distance. You will research them as a chain, which means the Resonance Matrix needs all the earlier ones first, 40 modules in total with the Warp Core Resonator.

Players report that the highest one you install also covers the lower colours, but each module adds range, and it is better to keep them all installed.

Upgrade modules

Freighter upgrade modules have their own C to S letter, separate from the ship’s class, and any freighter class can use any module. S-class Expedition Speed, Defences, Trade, Scientific and Mining Control modules are always +15%, S-class Efficiency Control cuts fleet fuel use by 15 to 20%, and S-class Freighter Hyperdrive modules roll 200 to 250 jump distance.

You will mostly get them from destroyed Pirate Dreadnoughts and from the technology choice at derelict freighters.

Derelict freighters

Since COSMOS (7.0), derelict freighters sit at fixed spots and are flagged as completed once you use the captain’s terminal. The old trick of re-running one derelict for endless S-class upgrades no longer works, and each derelict now gives one end reward, which is either a freighter technology upgrade, a Cargo Bulkhead, corvette modules or Nanites.

They are still worth a visit for other reasons, and our Forsaken guide explains the haunting mementos you can find inside.

Recolouring

Freighter Recolouring is a Nanite tree at the Upgrade Control terminal. It will cost you 5,000 Nanites to buy and then another 5,000 Nanites for each of the 10 colours, which adds up to 55,000 for the full set. If that sounds like a lot, our guide to farming nanites lists the fastest ways to get them.

Switching freighters

You can only own one freighter at a time. Claiming or buying another one will replace your current ship, and a purchase should take the old one as a trade-in.

The game will offer to copy your freighter base across, and your frigates come with you. Installed technology, cargo and any slots you added with Cargo Bulkheads stay with the old ship, though.

Before you switch, make sure to empty the old freighter and move your technology by hand with the Matter Beam last, but leave a few junk items in the cargo grid, because a completely empty one can make the game skip the base prompt and you would lose the chance to copy your base across. The base copy can also fail now and then, so take a screenshot of your layout first.

Since the bulkhead slots stay behind, hold on to your Cargo Bulkheads until you have the freighter you really want to keep.

Freighter problems

Cannot board after a rescue

If the freighter you just saved will not let you land or walk in, update the game first. Patch 7.05 fixed being unable to land on a freighter after a battle, and 7.13 fixed an issue that could stop you entering freighters after freighter battles. Patch 7.13 came out on PC first, and consoles that are still on 7.11 or 7.12 can run into it until the patch arrives there.

Either way, avoid hitting the freighter during the fight and dismiss your squadron pilots, because stray shots can lock the hangar. If the hangar stays shut anyway, leave your ship nearby and spacewalk to an outside door of the freighter’s base. The captain should still give you the reward once you reach the bridge.

If hitting its hull turned the freighter hostile, reload your save and try again.

No freighter battle

The rescue battle needs 5 warps and 3 hours since your last battle, and time with the game paused or closed probably does not move the clock. On a new save, you will also have to make your first two warps before NPC freighters appear at all. Patch 7.10 also fixed battles spawning in the wrong position when you warp in.

If you are waiting for a Pirate Dreadnought instead, remember that it only rolls in high-conflict and outlaw systems and seems to need a freighter of your own.

Bought an A-class too early

Buying an A-class freighter and finding an S-class one jump later is one of the more annoying things that can happen, but it is not the end of the world. You cannot upgrade the A-class. The only way to get the S is to buy it and trade the A in, and the slots you added with Cargo Bulkheads will stay behind.

Before you switch, compare the two. A perfect A-class ties the weakest S-class on Hyperdrive, and the S only adds 20 inventory and 10 technology slots to the ceiling, which might not be worth redoing all the bulkheads you have spent.

Freighter FAQ

What is the best freighter in No Man’s Sky?

The best freighter is an S-class capital ship or Pirate Dreadnought that you like the look of. Both will reach 120 inventory and 60 technology slots and roll the highest stats. An S-class system freighter reaches the same maximum and only needs more Cargo Bulkheads to get there.

Can you upgrade a freighter’s class?

No, a freighter’s class is permanent. Starships and Multi-Tools can be class-upgraded with Nanites, but freighters cannot. If you want a better class, you are going to have to rescue, buy or seize a new freighter.

How many Cargo Bulkheads to max a freighter?

It depends on the class and the starting slots. For the inventory grid of an S-class, it is up to about 105 bulkheads from a system freighter’s small start and about 86 to 96 from a capital ship. Each lower class needs 20 fewer, and the technology grid comes on top.

Is the Pirate Dreadnought worth it?

I would say it is worth it if you like the look, since it should cost nothing when it surrenders and has its own hangar and bridge. It has no stat or slot advantage over a capital ship of the same class, though.

Can you own a Sentinel capital ship?

No, the hostile Sentinel Capital Ship that arrives at a high wanted level cannot surrender, be bought or be claimed, and destroying it will only get you loot. The “Sentinel” freighters you can own are just a capital-ship hull family with a fan name.

Which freighter to keep

If you just want a good freighter without hours of reloading, then take the free one first and buy an S-class system freighter later, or settle for an A-class from a wealthy system. If you want the best one, an S-class capital ship or Pirate Dreadnought is the way to go, and outlaw systems are probably the best place to hunt the Dreadnought.

Either way, keep your Cargo Bulkheads in your pocket until you have found the freighter you want to keep.