Starship is taller than the Saturn V but published Starship thrust and payload figures are design targets that vary across versions. The Saturn V remains a retired historical vehicle with 13 launches.
The Saturn V launched Apollo astronauts to the Moon using three expendable stages. SpaceX’s Starship uses two fully reusable stages built around methane fuel.
The Short Answer: Bigger on Paper, Unproven at Scale
Starship is taller than the Saturn V but its payload and thrust numbers are still targets or vary by version, while Saturn V’s performance is settled history. Starship’s 100-ton goal (reusable profile) is not directly comparable with Saturn V’s 118 metric tons expendable. Fully stacked, Starship stands roughly 120 meters tall, compared to 111 meters for the Saturn V. That height makes Starship about 9 meters taller, or roughly an 8 percent increase in total height.
Published thrust totals for the full Starship stack vary by hardware revision, so we do not give one. NASA documented the Saturn V at 34.5 million newtons (7.6 million pounds) of thrust across 13 operational launches between 1967 and 1973. Starship first reached orbit on Flight 14, which deployed 26 V3 Starlink satellites, but it has not flown human crews.
The two rockets also pursue different goals. The Saturn V threw away every stage to place Apollo hardware on translunar trajectories. Starship aims to recover both stages for reuse.
The Comparison at a Glance
| Measure | Starship | Saturn V |
|---|---|---|
| Height (stacked) | Roughly 120 meters | 111 meters (363 feet) |
| Stages | Two stages (Super Heavy and Starship) | Three stages (Apollo), two stages (Skylab) |
| Liftoff Engines | About 33 Raptor engines on booster | Five F-1 engines on first stage |
| Propellant | Liquid methane and liquid oxygen | Not given in the sources used here |
| Reusability | Both stages designed to land and refly | Fully expendable, nothing recovered |
| Payload to Low Earth Orbit | 100 tons (target, reusable mode) | About 118,000 kilograms (130 tons, expendable) |
| Crew Status | Uncrewed flight testing, no crew flown | Launched the Apollo crewed missions |
| Flight Record | Flight testing (e.g., Flight 14 reached orbit) | 13 launches (1967 to 1973), retired |
Physical Size Favors Starship
Starship stands taller than the Saturn V. The Saturn V reached 111 meters (363 feet), weighing 2.8 million kilograms (6.2 million pounds) when fully fueled. Starship reaches roughly 120 meters tall when its ship sits stacked atop the Super Heavy booster.
In our internal calculations, we compared the heights using NASA’s 111-meter Saturn V figure against the roughly 120-meter Starship stack on our Starship page. Dividing 120 by 111 yields a ratio of 1.08, showing Starship is about 8 percent taller. Readers can reproduce this arithmetic directly by dividing the two published heights.
Payload reports that Starship V3 is expected to stand about five feet taller than V2; the sources do not say which version the 120-meter figure describes, per Payload.
Power and Engine Mechanics
The two vehicles use very different engines. The Saturn V relied on five F-1 engines on its first stage. Each F-1 engine produced 1.5 million pounds of thrust. Together, the five F-1 engines generated 34.5 million newtons (7.6 million pounds) of thrust at liftoff. The first stage housed the most powerful engines of the Saturn V stack.
Starship uses dozens of smaller engines rather than five large ones. The Super Heavy booster carries about 33 Raptor engines, while the Starship upper stage carries six. These engines burn liquid methane and liquid oxygen.
Raptor performance has changed across versions. Reporting from Payload notes that Raptor V3 hits 280 metric tons of force (tf), which represents roughly 50 percent more thrust than the original Raptor 1 engine. Published total thrust numbers for the combined vehicle vary between releases.
To see how modern expendable systems compare against Saturn V’s power, our SLS vs Saturn V guide reviews NASA’s certified Space Launch System. NASA’s Space Launch System Block 1 delivers 8.8 million pounds of thrust, which NASA states is 15 percent more thrust than the Saturn V.
Understanding the Payload Figures
Saturn V remains the benchmark for proven mass delivered to orbit. NASA reports that the Saturn V delivered about 118,000 kilograms (130 tons) into low Earth orbit and about 43,500 kilograms (50 tons) toward the Moon. Every kilogram launched on a Saturn V was sent on an expendable path.
Starship targets a capacity of 100 tons to low Earth orbit as reported by Payload. In our internal calculations, we compared Starship’s 100-ton goal against Saturn V’s 118 metric tons (118,000 kg) expendable figure from NASA, treating Payload’s “100 tons” as roughly comparable. Dividing 100 by 118 produces a ratio of 0.85. Readers can reproduce it by dividing the two figures; the ratio is approximate.
This comparison contains an operational caveat. Starship’s 100-ton target applies to a reusable mission profile. Payload describes this 100-ton number as a goal rather than a demonstrated capability. Comparing a reusable target directly against an expendable historical record does not mean Starship possesses less raw lift capacity in absolute terms. For an overview of how heavy-lift vehicles stack up, see our index of the most powerful rockets compared.
Reusability: Expendable vs Designed to Refly
Every Saturn V launched was discarded completely. Between 1967 and 1973, NASA expended 13 complete flight stacks to support Apollo and launch Skylab.
Starship uses an architecture built around reusable rockets. SpaceX designed both the Super Heavy booster and the Starship upper stage to return to Earth, land, and launch again. Our breakdown of what a Starship launch costs explores the financial models surrounding these reuse goals.
On Flight 14, Starship reached orbital velocity and deployed its payload of 26 V3 Starlink satellites, but the Super Heavy booster could not relight all engines during descent. Recovery and reflight of both stages are still being proven; see the Starship explainer for current status.
Crew Ratings and Operational History
The Saturn V launched the Apollo crewed missions. Its maiden launch occurred in 1967, and its final mission in 1973 lofted the Skylab space station into orbit without a crew. NASA retired the Saturn V after 13 launches.
Starship has not flown humans. The rocket remains in uncrewed flight testing. NASA has contracted Starship to support the Artemis program, selecting it as the Human Landing System as detailed in our guide on Starship vs SLS.
Our Takeaway
Starship is taller, by about 9 meters over the 111-meter Saturn V. Saturn V is the one with proven payload, settled thrust and crew flights. The sources give no Starship vehicle thrust total, only a per-engine Raptor V3 figure of 280 tonnes-force, roughly 50% above Raptor 1.
Our comparison relies on NASA’s documented Saturn V flight records alongside our internal arithmetic and design targets reported by Payload. The Saturn V holds a finished record: 13 launches, verified 34.5 million newtons of liftoff thrust, and 118,000 kilograms placed into orbit. Starship’s numbers represent an active development program.
The comparison will shift if SpaceX executes regular orbital flights, demonstrates reliable stage reuse, and validates the 100-ton orbital payload target. For height, pick Starship. For proven lift, thrust and crew flights, pick Saturn V. For reuse, Starship is the design goal, not yet a proven record.