With Alpha 3.24 introducing cargo hauling missions, the cargo ships will finally rise to their full potential, being able to haul cargo through contracts rather than visiting shady places to buy and sell cargo.
So, if you don’t already own a cargo-focused ship, we have listed the best available options here. Of course, these are mostly medium and heavy cargo haulers, excluding the light subclass, which includes brilliant options like C1 Spirit, Corsair, and Freelancer.
Here we will rather announce ships capable of carrying around 100 SCU of cargo at least with a reasonable in-game price tag, regarding the price hikes applied after this patch.
Updated on August 29, 2024: Removed Reclaimer from the list as the ship is not appropriate for manually loading and unloading cargo based on Alpha 3.24.
Crusader MSR
- Cargo Capacity: 114 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Rear Ramp
- Quantum Drive Speed: 74.4K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 1490 Gm
- In-game Price: 12.2 million aUEC
Even though its major role is to be a data runner, MSR features a big cargo bay capable of carrying up to 114 SCU of cargo which also makes it a tempting and fancy option for running cargo.
MSR is a nimble ship compared to the other options on this list and it has significantly better defensive options with two manned turrets and a nose turret in control of the pilot. However, since MSR is more than just a simple cargo hauler, it is not an economical choice, especially if the cargo space is what matters the most to you.
Argo Raft
- Cargo Capacity: 96 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Hanging Grids
- Quantum Drive Speed: 74.4K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 4200 Gm
- In-game Price: 3.54 million aUEC
Specifically designed for cargo hauling, Raft is a medium-sized ship with a unique set of hanging grids that can handle almost any cargo box size.
Raft is the most efficient ship on this list. Not only does it come at a pretty cheap price but also it has an incredibly low quantum fuel consumption, allowing it to travel between MicroTech and ArcCorp back and forth up to 70 times.
If you are new to cargo hauling, this is a great starter ship at a pretty decent price. However, keep in mind that Raft is way too slow in atmosphere compared to other ships on this list. So, don’t get it if you can’t tolerate slow traveling.
Misc Freelancer Max
- Cargo Capacity: 120 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Rear Ramp
- Quantum Drive Speed: 124K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 229 Gm
- In-game Price: 4.25 million aUEC
The amount of players who love Freelancer Max in Star Citizen is not much, and it is mostly due to its worker-class design and aesthetics, but if you value efficiency and getting the job done, then Freelancer Max will become your favorite ship in no time.
It is only 750K aUEC more expensive than Argo Raft, but it has a bigger cargo space that can carry vehicles and other items as well. The Quantum Speed is much faster, and the flying experience is much smoother in the atmosphere.
With only a single manned turret on the back, Freelancer Max is vulnerable in fights, but still more reliable than Argo Raft thanks to its pilot-controlled Omnisky scatterguns on the front.
RSI Constellation Taurus
- Cargo Capacity: 174 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Elevator
- Quantum Drive Speed: 74.4K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 459 Gm
- In-game Price: 8.04 million aUEC
Taurus is almost a bridge between medium and heavy cargo haulers. While having the same size as other Constellation variants, Tauras allows nearly double the amount of cargo space, making it a decent upgrade over Freelancer Max or Argo Raft.
The Constellation series has its ups and downs overall, but if there is one thing that most Star Citizen players can agree upon is the fact that Taurus is quite good at defending itself. With a Size-3 shield that can absorb up to 100K hitpoints, you won’t be an easy target to light or medium fighters at all.
Misc Hull C
- Cargo Capacity: 4608 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Retractable Grids
- Quantum Drive Speed: 59.5K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 1967 Gm
- In-game Price: 16.5 million aUEC
If we were supposed to rank ships based on their cargo space, Hull-C would be the best one with the colossal amount of cargo that it can haul in a single run. However, multiple reasons contribute to the ship’s current ranking.
First of all, Hull C is not in a polished state at the moment, as players still struggle with the docking system on space stations. Moreover, the current process of loading and unloading cargo is quite exhausting, as you will need to travel back and forth between the ship and the Admin terminals.
Most importantly, Hull C is not capable of running between all cargo routes. So, buying cargo from outposts or selling it in shady locations like Brio’s Brakeryard is not an option for Hull C as it cannot land on the surface with the cargo grids deployed.
Misc Starfarer
- Cargo Capacity: 291 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Rear Ramp
- Quantum Drive Speed: 59.5K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 285 Gm
- In-game Price: 13.2 million aUEC
Starfarer is not supposed to be used as a cargo hauler, as its main job is to be a refuel station on the go. However, with a cargo bay that can accept up to 291 SCU of cargo, it is a viable option, especially knowing that the refueling role is not popular enough as there are no missions for it.
The price tag for Starfarer is also decent, though you can get a much better cargo hauler if you add a few million of aUEC to that amount unless you prefer to have three manned turrets rather than bigger cargo space.
Crusader M2 Hercules
- Cargo Capacity: 522 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Rear and Front Ramps
- Quantum Drive Speed: 188K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 719 Gm
- In-game Price: 29.4 million aUEC
With three remote turrets and a Size-5 nose turret, the M2 Hercules is often considered the defense-heavy variant of C2, sacrificing over 170 SCU of cargo space to help it have more tools to defend itself.
Another reason to justify its significantly higher price is a fast quantum travel speed and a huge fuel tank that allows this gigantic ship to run between MicroTech and ArcCorp up to 12 times without refueling.
That being said, you must have the crewmates take those turret seats as well. If you are running cargo on your own, there is no specific reason to prefer M2 over C2.
Drake Caterpillar
- Cargo Capacity: 576 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Separated Side Ramps
- Quantum Drive Speed: 188K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 90 Gm
- In-game Price: 12.4 million aUEC
I’d like to call Drake Caterpillar the bigger brother of Freelancer Max, though they are two different ships from two different manufacturers. However, both ships are equally efficient in their role and their price tags.
Drake Caterpillar offers a massive amount of space for cargo while guaranteeing quite fast quantum travel and coming at a pretty decent price. Caterpillar’s cargo space is nearly 5 times bigger than Freelancer Max, while its price is only 3 times more expensive.
Hopefully, Caterpillar is a defense-heavy hauler with two manned turrets and two remote turrets. The separated cargo bays make it quite easy to use them as hangars for snub fighters like Mirai Fury.
Crusader C2 Hercules
- Cargo Capacity: 696 SCU
- Cargo Bay Access: Rear and Front Ramps
- Quantum Drive Speed: 59.5K km/s
- Quantum Drive Max Travel Distance: 2277 Gm
- In-game Price: 18.9 million aUEC
After Misc Hull-C, C2 Hercules is the biggest flight-ready cargo hauler in Star Citizen at the moment. Despite its snail-paced quantum travel, C2 will solve all your cargo problems with a large space that is capable of carrying any ground vehicle available in the game, from the smallest hover-bikes to the gigantic Nova tank.
C2 is not as defense-heavy as M2 or Caterpillar, but the increased cargo space, the fancy interior design, and the decent dimensions make it worth the price tag. Trust me, no one in Star Citizen regrets buying a C2!
