If you’ve spent even a few hours roaming the galaxy in No Man’s Sky, you’ve definitely spotted another pilot cruising past in a sleek, high-powered starship that makes your starter vessel feel like a rusty space tricycle. It’s normal to immediately start wondering how to buy ships in No Man's Sky that fit your playstyle and don’t cost a ridiculous number of units. I’ve logged over 400 hours in the game, and I’ve made every possible mistake when shopping for new ships, from wasting millions on a low-tier model to missing out on a rare S-class because I didn’t have enough cash on hand. This guide covers all the legitimate, non-glitch methods I’ve tested to get the best ships without endless grinding.
How to Buy Ships in No Man's Sky: The Basic Process You Need to Know
The core process of buying a ship is surprisingly simple, even for brand new players. Any time you see a pilot land their ship at a space station, trading post, or planetary landing pad, you can walk up and interact with them to request a look at their vessel. You’ll see its full stats, inventory size, class rating, and purchase price, and you can choose to buy it on the spot if you have enough units. You don’t have to sell your old ship to buy a new one—you can store multiple ships in your collection, and swap between them any time you visit a space station or your freighter.
One key detail many new players miss is that all ship models are procedurally generated per star system. That means if you see a ship design you love in a specific system, that exact model will keep spawning there as long as you come back. The class rating (C, B, A, S) will be random each time it spawns, but the look and maximum potential stats stay the same. Prices range from around 500,000 units for a small C-class shuttle to over 120 million units for a top-tier S-class freighter, so you’ll want to plan your budget ahead of time.
If you don’t have enough units for the ship you want, you can trade in any ship from your collection to lower the total cost. Trade-in values are based on the ship’s class, inventory size, and upgrades, so you’ll get a fair price no matter when you trade it in. I usually keep 2 or 3 extra ships in my collection to trade in when I find a rare model I want, which cuts the total cost by 30 to 50 percent most of the time.
Where to Find High-Quality Ships Without Endless Grinding
You could wander random systems for hours looking for a good ship, but there are a few spots that have way higher spawn rates of top-tier models. I’ve tested all of these spots across dozens of playthroughs, and they cut down the time I spend shopping for ships by at least 70 percent:
If you haven’t unlocked the economy filter for your galaxy map yet, look for systems with descriptions that include words like “prosperous,” “wealthy,” or “industrial” to find high-economy spots. You don’t need any special upgrades to access these systems, just a working hyperdrive and enough fuel to reach them. Just make sure you bring enough units with you when you go ship hunting—there’s nothing worse than seeing a perfect S-class spawn and realizing you’re 10 million units short.
How to Get the Best Price and Save Thousands of Units
Ship prices might look fixed at first glance, but there are a few easy ways to knock a big chunk off the total cost without glitches or exploits. First, your current ship's trade-in value is fixed, no matter which vendor you sell to, so you don’t have to shop around for a better deal on your old vessel. The value is calculated based on its class, inventory slots, and installed upgrades, so adding high-tier upgrades to a ship you plan to trade in will actually raise its value, even if you only installed them a few minutes before.
Another easy way to get a discount is to raise your standing with the dominant alien race in the system. You can negotiate discounts of up to 30 percent by improving your standing with the system's dominant race. You can raise standing by completing missions for NPCs in the system, giving them gifts of their race’s preferred resource, or defending their ships from pirate attacks. I once got a 27 percent discount on an S-class fighter just because I’d completed three side missions for Vy’keen NPCs in the system earlier that day.
One mistake I see new players make all the time is buying a low-class ship with the plan to upgrade it later. Upgrading a C-class ship to S-class costs more than buying a pre-generated S-class ship of the same model. The nanites you’d spend on upgrading the class could be used to buy high-tier upgrades for your new ship instead, so it’s almost always better to wait and save up for a higher class ship than to upgrade a low-tier one. The only exception is if you find an extremely rare exotic ship model that spawns as a B or A class—those are worth upgrading if you can’t find an S-class variant after a few hours of farming.
How to Pick the Right Ship for Your Playstyle
Not all ships are built the same, and picking the right type for how you play will make your time in the galaxy way more enjoyable. There are five main ship types, each built for a specific purpose: fighters, explorers, haulers, shuttles, and exotic ships. Fighters have the highest base damage and maneuverability, so they’re perfect if you spend a lot of time fighting pirates or doing combat missions for the guilds. Explorers have the highest base hyperdrive range, so they’re ideal for players who love visiting uncharted systems and looking for ancient ruins or rare resources.
Haulers have the largest base inventory sizes, so they’re the best pick for players who do a lot of trading or resource farming. Shuttles are cheap, well-rounded ships that are great for new players who need a little extra inventory space while they save up for a better model. Exotic ships are rare, uniquely designed ships that have balanced, high-end stats across the board, making them a great all-purpose pick for any playstyle. You can expand any ship's inventory slots up to the maximum for its class, but base stats like hyperdrive range can't be changed, so prioritize base stats over inventory size when you’re shopping.
It’s also smart to keep at least one multi-purpose ship in your collection, even if you have a favorite for your main playstyle. I keep a high-range explorer for long trips, a high-damage fighter for combat missions, and a large hauler for trading runs, so I’m prepared for whatever I run into in the galaxy. You don’t need more than 3 or 4 ships unless you’re a collector, but having a few options means you won’t get stuck using a ship that’s wrong for the task you’re doing.
Learning how to buy ships in No Man's Sky is one of the most impactful upgrades you can make to your gameplay experience, far more useful than any individual weapon or base upgrade. Taking a little extra time to find the right system, save up enough units, and pick a ship that fits your playstyle will save you hours of frustration later. I still use the first S-class explorer I bought 300 hours ago, and it’s never let me down even on the longest cross-galaxy trips. Don’t settle for the first decent ship you see—wait for one you actually love, and it’ll serve you well for hundreds of hours of exploration.
