Two Franchises Enter:
A Comparison of Two Sci-Fi Universes

If an Imperial Stormtrooper shot at a Star Trek ‘Red Shirt’, sure they’d miss, but would the Red Shirt die anyway? [cite: 53] Could a Wookie beat a Gorn at arm wrestling? [cite: 54] Can a Star Destroyer defeat the USS Enterprise? [cite: 54]

Do Star Wars vs Star Trek questions keep you up at night? [cite: 55] Probably not, but they’re fun, aren’t they? [cite: 55] That’s what science fiction is, and, by extension, what science is all about - asking questions, exploring, imagining, thinking of the way things could be or could have been or just reflecting on how they are. [cite: 56] If we limit ourselves to only what the writers of other stories have laid down, how will we make stories of our own? [cite: 57]

We can’t use the names and properties of Trek and Wars, but in imagining those universes colliding, a new universe might be born - but that’s getting ahead of ourselves a bit. [cite: 58] I’m not here to create a new universe. [cite: 59] Like Q, I’m here to judge. [cite: 59] Which of these two popular sci-fi universes is superior? [cite: 60] Which of them would win if they were to clash via some multiversal gateway that violates the currently unbreakable barriesrs of interdimensional copyright law and licensing? [cite: 60]

The easy answer is ‘whichever is your favorite’ or ‘whichever the narrative favors,’ an answer which takes all the fun out of this little thought experiment. [cite: 61] The niche segment of fans who buy Star Trek Technical Manuals and Star Wars Encyclopedias need to know how and why before making their decision. [cite: 62] As someone who loves both - though not equally, mind you, I will admit my Star Trek bias now - I have to say that Trek wins handily in most comparisons that are rooted in math, science, and apples-to-apples matchups. [cite: 63] How? [cite: 64] Why? [cite: 64] Well, a lot of the sources I draw from break things down into the following categories: Overall, Medicine, Ships and Engines, Weapons, and Space Magic. [cite: 64]

Buckle in, here we go – oh wait, I’m a Trek fan, we don’t use seatbelts... [cite: 65]

Overall Universe & Society

Looking at Trek vs Wars from a top-level view, it may seem too hard at first to draw generalizations. [cite: 65] After all, they both span so many different eras – millennia for Wars, centuries for Trek. [cite: 66] Can you really do an apples-to-apples comparison? [cite: 67] Yes, you can. [cite: 67] It’s easy, in fact. [cite: 67]

The societies in Trek don't generally struggle with scarcity, and those that do don't struggle much. [cite: 68] Capitalism still exists but is generally regarded as something optional - a hobby, or a way to get more than just the everyday basics. [cite: 69] Even the Ferengi who built their entire culture around capitalism are only able to do so because resources are, in fact, not scarce. [cite: 70] The only things that are scarce are things that Trek's replicator technology cannot authentically or safely recreate (more on this later). [cite: 71] Food, transport, medicine - all the staples of basic living - are generally accessible in some form to all beings in Trek. [cite: 72]

In the Wars universe, however - despite that universe being galaxy-spanning and absolutely dwarfing the population of the Trek-verse, making them look like a rounding error (“A Brief Comparison of Federation and Empire.” St-v-Sw.Net ) - all necessities have to be fought for. [cite: 73] Often, crime, violence, manipulation, and self-reliance are required to meet even the most basic needs. [cite: 74] So despite the sheer number of people in the Wars 'verse, if a clash of universes were to happen, how many there would be able to fight? [cite: 75] How many would be willing to? [cite: 76] How many would defect to where they could truly live? [cite: 76] What would you yourself do? [cite: 77] I know my answer. [cite: 77]

Medicine

On a mainline Trek starship - just an everyday starship - most ailments can be easily treated. [cite: 78] Are you sick? [cite: 78] Have a broken bone? [cite: 79] A disease? [cite: 79] Been caught in a planetary outbreak / pandemic? [cite: 79] Been exposed to a bioweapon? [cite: 79] Most of the medical care that any person would ever reasonably, or even unreasonably, need is available. [cite: 80] If you need a new limb or an organ transplant, or a new spine, that’s a little more difficult, but still easily manageable. [cite: 81] It might require a specially-equipped medical station or an experimental procedure, but wow… The tech, facilities, and training are top-notch and easily accessible...if you’re in Star Trek. [cite: 82]

Not so much in Star Wars… people in that ‘verse are getting limbs and digits lopped off with only bionics to replace them, and the only non-obvious bionics are reserved for important heroes. [cite: 83] (Helyer, Dan. “Star Trek vs. Star Wars: Which Is More Technologically Advanced?”) [cite: 84] I wonder: if Vader had had access to Federation Starbase’s medical facilities after Mustafar, would things have gone a bit differently? [cite: 84] We’ll never know. [cite: 85] In a conflict, our Trek-verse population will be better cared for, healthier, and in the fight longer. [cite: 85] Live long and prosper. [cite: 86]

Ships, Engines & Weaponry

Trek seems to fare even better when discussing ships and weaponry. [cite: 86] Wars-verse sub-light speeds are measured in [meters per second]. [cite: 87] Trek-verse sub-light speeds are measured in fractions of C (the speed of light) – thousands of [meters per second]. [cite: 87] During an encounter, no matter how many of what kind of ships are engaged, the Trek ships will just be dancing around the Wars ships as if they were standing still. [cite: 88]

Comparing FTL (faster-than-light) travel, though, is weird. [cite: 89] Trek warp drive ships are faster at the top end, much faster at the slow end, but astonishingly slower at cruising speeds. [cite: 89] This is all based on observations and math, so it’s obviously just inconsistencies in world building (“A Brief Comparison of Federation and Empire.” St-v-Sw.Net ). [cite: 90] Still, when you look at how the technologies are presented, Warp is far more versatile than Hyperdrive. [cite: 91] Warp can do small, tactical jumps in combat (aka, the Picard Maneuver ["The Battle (Star Trek: The Next Generation)." Wikipedia ]), has full maneuverability, and access to all sensors and communications. [cite: 92] With hyperdrive, you kinda just point, engage, and hope you don’t run into something. [cite: 93] Sure, you can course-correct some in flight, but it’s still more like comparing a train car to an airliner. [cite: 94]

When discussing weapons, Wars fans like to tout the Death Star and the absurd ultra wattage / number of ‘turbo-lasers’ on Star Destroyers as evidence of Wars superiority. [cite: 95] Trek fans will instead point out the Enterprise crew snickering at a ship attacking with lasers and having negligible effect on shields as evidence of Trek superiority. [cite: 96] These people forget that it’s not the weapon type that does the damage, but the energy output . [cite: 97] A pebble with sufficient speed has enough kinetic energy to release more energy than a nuclear bomb. [cite: 98] So, it then becomes a question of whose weapons are pumping out more power. [cite: 99] Well, the math calculated backwards from observation and worldbuilding puts 'Trek's beam weapons at around 10 times more powerful than Wars, and its missile weapons at least an order of magnitude more powerful (“A Brief Comparison of Federation and Empire.” St-v-Sw.Net ) - when also considering tracking / targeting ability, there's absolutely no contest. [cite: 100] Factor in the speed differences mentioned above, and there’s really no contest. [cite: 101]

"Space Magic" & Other Advantages

The Force - Wars staple panoply of magical and psychic abilities - is powerful, but only available to a relative handful. [cite: 102] Wars' equally iconic Death Stars are also powerful, but severely limited by factors such as fire cycle, rate of fire, targeting and tracking capabilities, build time, operating costs, and upkeep. [cite: 103] Cloned and programmed soldiers do create a massive and extremely capable fighting force to augment the above, but Star Wars is still not looking great in the ‘space magic’ category, especially for a Space Fantasy. [cite: 104]

Trek, on the other hand, has powerful shields, transporters that can put an assault team or explosive anywhere that doesn’t have shields, cloaking (especially on non-Federation ships), and replicators that can create nearly anything that’s needed – food, medicine, clothes, relief supplies, building materials, and weapons. [cite: 105] Not only does supply and logistics win wars, but it wins the hearts and minds of populations. [cite: 106] If you can feed, care for, and protect a population from their oppressor, that makes it easier to win. [cite: 107] (Victory is still not guaranteed, mind you - after all, there’s a psychology to why people support rotten empires. But that’s a whole other paper…) [cite: 108]

Conclusion

Given my own preferences, it was likely a foregone conclusion that I would pick Star Trek over Star Wars as the clear victor in a multiversal clash of franchises. [cite: 108] But I have also now explained why and how I believe Trek would win. [cite: 109] Despite being a smaller and less populous place, the Trek-verse is just generally a better place to be. [cite: 110] You get good medicine, food, transportation, all the necessities of life, allowing you to focus on being a person and chasing your dreams - not necessarily a utopia, mind you, but still a post-scarcity society. [cite: 111]

When you look at ship tech, engine tech, and weapons – it doesn’t matter how many ships or how big they are, the Wars-verse is just not going to win against Trek-verse technology. [cite: 112] I’m sure the Wars-verse Imperials could devise something clever to work around this - but then, they’re not allowed that kind of freedom or creativity in battle, are they? [cite: 113] There’s not a lot of rapid-response, emergency countermeasures, evasive maneuvers, or Plan Bs available to them when the enemy has an unexpected upper hand. [cite: 114] They have one tactic that has enabled them to establish galactic dominance – outnumber and overpower – and they’re going to stick with it. [cite: 115] Against the Trek-verse, that’s always going to fail. [cite: 116]

Works Cited

"The Battle (Star Trek: The Next Generation)." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Jan. 2025, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Battle_(Star_Trek:_The_Next_Generation). [cite: 117]
“A Brief Comparison of Federation and Empire.” St-v-Sw.Net, www.st-v-sw.net/STSWcompare.html. Accessed 14 Feb. 2025. [cite: 118]
Helyer, Dan. “Star Trek vs. Star Wars: Which Is More Technologically Advanced?” Make Use Of, 9 June 2020, www.makeuseof.com/tag/star-trek-star-wars-technologically-advanced/. [cite: 119]

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