The best trades at a glance
| # | Trade | Villager, level | Base price | Chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Enchanted book (Mending) | Librarian, Novice to Expert | 10–38 + book | 67% (Expert 50%) |
| 2 | 32 sticks → 1 emerald | Fletcher, Novice | 32 sticks | 67% |
| 3 | Bottle o' Enchanting | Cleric, Master | 3 emeralds | 100% |
| 4 | Enchanted diamond armor | Armorer, Expert and Master | 13–35 | 100% |
| 5 | Enchanted diamond pickaxe | Toolsmith, Master | 18–32 | 100% |
| 6 | Enchanted diamond sword | Weaponsmith, Master | 13–27 | 100% |
| 7 | 3 golden carrots | Farmer, Master | 3 emeralds | 100% |
| 8 | Ender pearl | Cleric, Expert | 5 emeralds | 67% |
| 9 | 4 melons → 1 emerald | Farmer, Journeyman | 4 melons | 100% |
| 10 | 24 paper → 1 emerald | Librarian, Novice | 24 paper | 67% |
| 11 | 4 glass | Librarian, Journeyman | 1 emerald | 67% |
| 12 | Block of Quartz or Quartz Pillar | Mason, Master | 1 emerald | 100% |
Chance is how likely a Java villager is to offer the trade when it reaches that level. For Mending, the book trade must also roll Mending, which is why you reroll. Bedrock uses different chances for some trades. Enchanted gear has random enchantments, and better enchantments cost more.
Best trades for emeralds
Every other trade on this page costs emeralds, so start here. These trades also level the villager up, usually faster than buying from it, which is how you unlock its better trades.
- Fletcher, Novice: 32 sticks for 1 emerald. One log makes 8 sticks, so every emerald costs just 4 logs. The trade shows up 67% of the time in Java and always in Bedrock. Later the fletcher also buys 14 string (Journeyman), which pairs well with a spider farm.
- Farmer: crops, pumpkins and melons. The novice farmer buys 20 wheat, 26 potatoes, 22 carrots or 15 beetroots (40% chance each in Java). The apprentice buys 6 pumpkins (67%) and the journeyman buys 4 melons (100%). Pumpkin and melon farms are easy to automate.
- Librarian, Novice: 24 paper for 1 emerald. Paper comes from sugar cane, one of the easiest farms in the game.
- Cleric, Novice: 32 rotten flesh for 1 emerald. Always offered, and a good use for the drops from a zombie farm.
- Also good: the mason buys 10 clay balls (Novice) and 20 stone (Apprentice), and the butcher buys 10 dried kelp blocks (Expert) and 10 sweet berries (Master).
Most of these trades can be used 16 times before the villager has to restock, which it does up to twice a day at its job site. If you use up a trade every time, demand rises and the villager asks for more items, so spreading your trades over a few villagers keeps prices low.
Mending and enchanted books
The librarian sells a random enchanted book at every level from Novice to Expert, for a book plus some emeralds. Almost every enchantment can appear, including Mending. Only Soul Speed, Swift Sneak and Wind Burst are never sold.
- Price: 2 + 3 × level to 6 + 13 × level emeralds, doubled for treasure enchantments and capped at 64. Mending has only one level and is a treasure enchantment, so it costs 10 to 38 emeralds.
- How to get it: place a lectern next to a fresh librarian, check its first trades, and break and replace the lectern until Mending shows up. Then trade once to lock it. The trading guide explains rerolling step by step.
- Why it is the best trade: a librarian locked with Mending sells it again after every restock, so you can put Mending on every piece of gear you own.
Diamond armor, tools and weapons
Three smiths sell enchanted diamond gear at their top levels. Each of these trades can only be used 3 times per restock.
- Armorer: enchanted diamond leggings (19–33 emeralds) and boots (13–27) at Expert, helmet (13–27) and chestplate (21–35) at Master. All four are always offered, so a master armorer sells a full set.
- Toolsmith: enchanted diamond pickaxe (18–32, Master, always offered), plus a diamond axe (17–31) or shovel (10–24) at Expert (67% each).
- Weaponsmith: enchanted diamond axe (17–31, Expert) and sword (13–27, Master), both always offered.
The price is a fixed base plus the strength of the random enchantment, so a cheap piece usually has weaker enchantments. Pair this gear with a Mending book from your librarian. Getting a smith to Master takes a while. At each level, the trades where it buys coal, iron ingots, flint or diamonds from you give it the most villager XP.
XP bottles
A master cleric sells a Bottle o' Enchanting for 3 emeralds, 12 per restock, always offered. Throw them while holding Mending gear to repair it, or save them up for enchanting. The cleric also sells 2 redstone dust for 1 emerald (Novice), lapis lazuli (Apprentice) and glowstone (Journeyman).
Ender pearls
The expert cleric sells an ender pearl for 5 emeralds, 12 per restock (67% chance). That saves you from hunting endermen before you look for a stronghold. Cured, this trade drops to 1 emerald.
Food
- Farmer, Master: 3 golden carrots for 3 emeralds. Golden carrots are one of the best foods in the game. The master farmer also sells 3 glistering melon slices for 4 emeralds, an ingredient for healing potions.
- Butcher, Apprentice: 8 cooked chicken or 5 cooked porkchops for 1 emerald (67%).
- Farmer, Novice: 6 bread for 1 emerald (40%).
Glass, quartz and other blocks
- Librarian, Journeyman: 4 glass for 1 emerald (67%). The novice librarian also sells bookshelves for 9 emeralds.
- Mason, Master: a Block of Quartz or a Quartz Pillar for 1 emerald each, so you never need to mine Nether quartz for builds. At Expert the mason sells terracotta and glazed terracotta for 1 emerald each.
- Shepherd, Apprentice: wool in any color for 1 emerald, and 4 carpets for 1 emerald.
- Others worth a look: saddles from the master leatherworker (6 emeralds) and explorer maps from the cartographer. Master librarians no longer sell name tags; since Java 26.1 they sell red and yellow candles instead.
How to get these trades cheaper
Cure a zombie villager. In Java, curing a villager gives you a permanent discount on its trades. Each price drops by the trade's price multiplier times your reputation. For enchanted books and diamond armor that is about 20 emeralds off for good, so a 38-emerald Mending book becomes 18 and a 21-emerald chestplate becomes 1. Prices never go below 1 emerald. The discount does not stack if you cure the same villager again. Our trading hall guide shows how to build a curing station.
Hero of the Village. Win a raid and every price drops by 30% at level I, plus 6.25% per extra level, up to 55% at level V. It always takes at least 1 off, rounded down. At level I the 32-stick trade only needs 23 sticks, and a 38-emerald Mending book costs 27.
Keep your reputation clean. Every trade slowly improves your reputation. Hitting or killing villagers raises prices in Java, while in Bedrock it only removes discounts. Read the discounts section of the trading guide for the full rules.
Once you know which villagers you want, give each one a safe cell next to its job site with our trading hall guide and planner.