Enchanting, repairing with Mending, and combining gear all eat XP fast. A good XP farm gives you an endless supply, so you never grind levels by hand again.
This guide ranks the best Minecraft XP farms by how much XP they actually produce and how hard they are to build, then tells you which one to make at each stage of the game. Everything here is accurate for the latest 2026 version of Minecraft.
Quick answer: the Guardian farm is the fastest XP farm for raw levels, up to around 180,000 XP per hour, because guardians drop bigger XP orbs and you can only absorb about 10 orbs per second. An Enderman farm is nearly as fast and far easier to build, so it is the best rate-to-effort pick once you have the End unlocked. For cheap early-game XP, the new Infestation (silverfish) farm is hard to beat.
Best Minecraft XP Farms at a Glance
| XP Farm | XP Speed | Difficulty | Build it when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guardian farm | Fastest (~180k XP/hr) | Hard, but quicker than its reputation | Late game |
| Enderman farm (End) | Very fast, near the cap | Easy (needs End access) | After beating the End |
| Infestation/silverfish farm | Fast, ~30 XP/sec | Very easy and cheap | Early to mid game |
| Gold farm (Nether) | High (plus gold) | Medium | Mid game |
| Mob spawner farm | Steady | Easiest | Early game |
| Blaze farm | Good (plus blaze rods) | Medium | Mid game |
The Best XP Farms Explained
1. Guardian Farm – The Fastest XP in the Game
A Guardian farm is built around an ocean monument and, at full size, produces up to around 180,000 XP per hour, the highest rate in the game. On top of that, it drops prismarine, sea lanterns, and cooked cod, so it doubles as a resource farm.
Its reputation is that it takes forever to build, but modern no-drain designs are far more approachable, and many players finish one in a couple of hours if they have the materials ready. Because it is entirely in the Overworld, it is also the most convenient high-rate farm to actually use.
If you are enchanting a full kit, see how many bookshelves you need for level 30.
Why Guardians Beat Endermen for Raw Levels
This surprises a lot of players, so it is worth explaining. The game only lets you absorb about 10 XP orbs per second, no matter how much XP each orb is worth.
Guardians drop their XP as two large orbs (a 7 and a 3), while most mobs, endermen included, scatter their XP into smaller orbs. Because a guardian packs more XP into each orb, it delivers far more XP per second before you hit that absorption cap. That single mechanic is why a guardian farm out-levels an enderman farm even though both look fast.
2. Enderman Farm – Best Rate to Effort
If you want the most XP for the least building, this is it. Built on a platform out over the void in the End, an Enderman farm spawns huge numbers of Endermen, drops them to low health, and lets you finish each with a single hit. It gets you from level 0 to 30 in about a minute and costs almost nothing to build.
It is not quite as fast as a guardian farm because of the XP-orb mechanic above, but it is close, and it is dramatically easier. The catch is you need End access.
Bedrock note: enderman farms are much weaker on Bedrock because of tighter mob-population limits, so if you play Bedrock, a guardian, gold, or infestation farm is the better pick.
3. Infestation (Silverfish) Farm – The New Cheap Meta
This is the one the technical community keeps recommending now, and for good reason: it is dirt cheap and buildable in the Overworld early on. It uses the Potion of Infestation (brew an Awkward Potion, then add a stone block). The Infested effect gives a mob a 10% chance to spawn 1 to 2 silverfish every time it takes damage.
Apply it to a mob like an armadillo, set it on a small non-lethal damage source, and it pumps out a steady stream of silverfish for you to kill. Good designs reach around 30 XP per second while costing almost nothing, which makes it one of the best early-to-mid-game farms available. It also works on both Java and Bedrock.
4. Gold Farm – XP Plus Endless Gold
Built in the Nether (often on the Nether roof or over a soul-sand valley), a gold farm spawns zombified piglins, drops them for the one-hit kill, and rewards you with strong XP and piles of gold. Players regularly report 1,000 to 2,000 levels per hour from a good one. It is a fantastic mid-game two-in-one.
5. Mob Spawner Farm – Easiest Early Game
Find a zombie or skeleton spawner in a dungeon, then funnel the mobs with water into a drop chute so they fall about 22 blocks, which leaves them at half a heart for a one-hit kill. It uses basic materials and takes under an hour.
It is the easiest farm to build early, though it is the slowest on this list, and on Bedrock, a basic spawner farm is barely worth it. If your mobs die in the fall instead of surviving it, your drop is too tall. Here is why your zombies die when falling on your XP farm and how to fix it.
6. Blaze Farm – Great XP Near a Fortress
If you have a blaze spawner in a Nether fortress, you can wall it into a small farm. Blazes give good XP and drop blaze rods, which you need for brewing and for reaching the End. That dual purpose makes it one of the most useful mid-game farms.
Passive Option: Auto-Smelter XP
Not every XP source needs mobs. An auto-smelter quietly banks the XP from smelting (feed it with an auto cactus, bamboo, or kelp farm) and lets you collect it all at once. It builds up slowly, but you do not have to stand there, so it is the ultimate set-and-forget option for topping up levels while you do something else.
Which XP Farm Should You Build?
Match the farm to where you are in the game:
- Early game: an infestation (silverfish) farm or a mob spawner farm. Cheap, fast to build, no special access needed.
- Mid game: a blaze farm or gold farm for XP plus a resource you actually need.
- Late game: a guardian farm for the highest raw rate, or an enderman farm for near-max XP with far less building.
For a wider mix of farms beyond XP, see our guide to the best Minecraft farms, and for non-farm leveling tricks like villager trading, see the best ways to get XP.
How Mob XP Farms Actually Work
Most mob XP farms share the same trick: let the mob drop to near death, then finish it by hand so you get the full kill XP.
Standard mobs like zombies and skeletons have 20 health, and fall damage is roughly the fall distance minus 3. A drop of about 22 blocks leaves them at half a heart, perfect for a one-hit kill. Go a couple of blocks higher, and they die from the fall, giving you no XP. Beyond that, the deeper limit on every farm is the 10-orbs-per-second absorption cap, which is why farms that drop bigger orbs (like guardians) win.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Guardian farm is the fastest for raw levels, up to around 180,000 XP per hour, because Guardians drop large XP orbs and you can only absorb about 10 orbs per second. An Enderman farm is close behind and much easier to build.
Guardian is faster and gives drops, but takes more building. Enderman is nearly as fast, far cheaper, and easier, but needs End access and is weak on Bedrock. Pick guardian for raw rate, enderman for rate-to-effort.
An infestation (silverfish) farm or a mob spawner farm. The infestation farm is cheap, works in the Overworld, and reaches around 30 XP per second, which is excellent for how little it costs.
No. The farms work on both, but rates and some designs differ. Enderman farms in particular are much weaker on Bedrock, so guardian, gold, and infestation farms are better picks there.
About 22 blocks for standard mobs like zombies and skeletons. That leaves them at half a heart, so one hit finishes them. Any higher and they die from the fall, giving you no XP.
Enchanting gear, repairing tools with Mending, renaming items, and combining enchantments on an anvil. A good farm keeps all of that topped up. Here is how to get Mending, which pairs perfectly with an XP farm.
An XP farm is one of the biggest quality-of-life upgrades in Minecraft. Start with a cheap infestation or spawner farm, then build a guardian farm for the highest rate once you are established. To round out your base, check our guide to the best Minecraft farms of every type.
