"A pirate raid is inevitable"

You can go to the pirate menu and bid money on other players in order to get the pirates from raiding you. Whoever has the most bounty on them are the most likley to get attacked.

Turn them off in the options!!! (Assuming you have patched the game!!!)

team up with other player!

Take over their base If it is on a map that has a dedicated pirate base/planet. Capture it and the raids will stop

This may sound backwards, but trade routes are probably your best defense against pirates. Pirates have a habit of breaking combat to run after the tiny, nimble, hardened cargo ships. This both wastes time wastes time they could have spent attacking your military, and splits up their ranks. A strong trade route can keep them occupied nearly indefinitely, which is great for bringing the calvalry back to take them out.

Early in the game, repair bays are your best bet for surviving a pirate attack. These structures will keep your casualties down to near 0 (unless you don't actually fight back), and buy an enormous amount of time to take them out.

doesnt the trade kinda back fire tho when the next raid comes along you have more priates in the same grav-well in the end the pirates will out number your fast nimble Transports.

normally i set up out side they base and bunker down in that Gravwell only problem is wont work if Phase lines from the base join a sun more ways out

It is actually quite useful when they attack your trade ships.  however only some of them do. but yeah do what the others have said...get an economy, bribe the pirates off and build a fleet to lvl up your cap ships when they do attack.  anticipate their attack as well so youll be ready.

fun when the pirates send a fleet of like 30, only to be blown apart by cap ships and a fortified planet

They almost always atack the same planet or another that you conquered more close to that. Just have 3 or more hangars (not less) and upgrade them earlier if there is it. Build only bombers at the hangar. Remember then something: when you are being atacked by anything, you can and many times should build things while being atacked. Most times, and pirates I'm sure, won't just go to destroy your builder ship, they don't bother with that, so you should build the plataform defenses close to where the group are (when they stop to atack something) to liquidate them faster. Just build 2 or 3 close by and let those right there after destroying the enemy. But hangars are always important because they are more practical and reliable, tough not has powerful.

Pirates are only a problem if you get all unprepared for them. To have more hangars and defenses, you need to always remember to increase the tactical slots of the planet and look to only and to fortify to the max the planets that are in rout of atack (unless you have plenty of money, but it's good to have at least one hangar in most planets). And you see that, when you get atacked there one first time because it will be again much probably (by the AI anyways and always true for pirates).

A single capital ship can hold a pirate group for long and get some cool leveling, but need a hangar or two to back it up. Pirates are your friends, not only because of that, but they also force you to protect some planets that might be atacked by stronger forces in the future.

Try make a trade port (they have a fetish to go destroy it) and put some plataform defense (ex beams) close to it too. Beams are good close to each other, not scattered arround.

Usually within 3 research station, I already have research defense squadron. So usually, when a pirate raid occurs, my fighters and bombers just can take care of them.

Most of the time, I have my fleet intercept them a planet before. Usually they will hit the planet which is cloest to them.

Cutthroats and Rogues have the highest tendencies to go after trade ships, while Corsairs tend to go after structures and Reapers after strike craft (if no strike craft, they tag along with the Corsairs).

With lots of trade ships milling about (pirate raid size increase as the amount of trade activity increases), you'll start finding invasion fleets composing of half Corsairs.

I've noticed that pirates always attack the planets closest or second closest to them. What I usually do is post a small fleet of ships to defend those planets - it's of course also an easy way to earn experience for your caps.

Indeed...it's its own science using pirate raids.