COMPASS
8 trades involving this item across 2 traders.
View on Items Database →- Last checked
- 11 August 2026
- Java Edition
- 26.2, 8 of 8 rows found
- Bedrock Edition
- 1.26.30.5, 2 of 8 matching
- Edition differences
- none, 6 rolled prices aside
Compass in villager trading
Compass sits on both sides of the trading screen: some villagers will buy it from you for emeralds, while others sell it back. That makes it a useful pivot item when you are turning farm output into gear.
Compass is a utility item rather than a material or a weapon, which is why it sits on a villager's shelf next to the food and the gear. A crafting grid makes one from 4 × iron ingot and 1 × redstone. It also sits in 5 of the game's chest loot tables.
Villagers that buy Compass(you give Compass, get emeralds)
| Profession | Level | You Give | You Get | Villager XP |  Java 26.2 |  Bedrock 1.26.30.5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartographer | Journeyman | Compass |  | 20same in Bedrock | verified | verified |
Villagers that sell Compass(you give emeralds, get Compass)
| Profession | Level | Price | Amount | Villager XP | Java 26.2 | Bedrock 1.26.30.5 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Librarian | Expert | | | 15same in Bedrock | verified | verified |
The swamp explorer map is a jungle, snowy or taiga one and the jungle explorer map a desert, savanna or swamp one. No other cartographer offers them, whatever its tier.
The cartographer has not one village explorer map trade but 5, each tied to its own villager types: desert village map from a jungle or savanna one, plains village map from a desert, savanna, snowy or taiga one, savanna village map from a desert, jungle or plains one, snowy village map from a swamp or taiga one, taiga village map from a plains, snowy or swamp one.
A villager's type is the biome it spawned in, so this is settled before you ever meet it. Read out of merchant_predicate in each trade's own file. How that check works.
All 8 trades on this item were read out of the trade files Minecraft Java 26.2 ships in its own data, checked on against the item, both amounts and the use limit. Bedrock 1.26.30.5 is read as well, and where it disagrees the row says how. Which files, and what is not checked.
Your odds of finding Compass
A villager only shows part of its trade table, so knowing who trades compass is not the same as getting it. The friendliest roll here is the cartographer (journeyman): 67% of them carry it, so it takes about 1.5 of them on average before one does.
| Villager | Tier | Villagers with this offer | Rolls to see it | Most from one villager | After a cure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cartographer | Apprentice | 25% (2 in 8)same in Bedrock | about 4 | 24 village explorer map a day2 restocks a day | 1 emeraldwas 8, 7 off |
| Cartographer | Apprentice | 25% (2 in 8)same in Bedrock | about 4 | 24 swamp explorer map a day2 restocks a day | 1 emeraldwas 8, 7 off |
| Cartographer | Apprentice | 25% (2 in 8)same in Bedrock | about 4 | 24 jungle explorer map a day2 restocks a day | 1 emeraldwas 8, 7 off |
| Cartographer | Journeyman | 67% (2 in 3)same in Bedrock | about 1.5 | 24 emeralds a day2 restocks a day | no change |
| Cartographer | Journeyman | 67% (2 in 3)same in Bedrock | about 1.5 | 24 ocean explorer map a day2 restocks a day | 1 emeraldwas 13, 12 off |
| Cartographer | Journeyman | 67% (2 in 3)same in Bedrock | about 1.5 | 24 trial chambers map a day2 restocks a day | 1 emeraldwas 12, 11 off |
| Cartographer | Master | 100% (2 in 2)same in Bedrock | none, it is always there | 24 woodland explorer map a day2 restocks a day | 1 emeraldwas 14, 13 off |
| Librarian | Expert | 50% (2 in 4)Bedrock 33% (1 in 3) | about 2 | 24 compass a day2 restocks a day | 1 emeraldwas 4, 3 off |
The chance is the draw size over the pool size in the game's own trade set file for that tier. The Bedrock line under it is the same sum on Bedrock's own table, which splits a tier into groups and draws out of each one separately, so the two editions often disagree. The day figure is the trade's use limit times the 2 restocks a villager is allowed per in-game day (Villager.allowedToRestock), so it is a ceiling and not an average: it assumes you are there for every restock. The cure column is 125 reputation times the trade's own multiplier, floored, and never takes a cost below one. Counted from the game's own draw sizes. How that check works.
Who trades Compass, and at what price
To buy Compass, visit a Librarian at the Expert tier (4 emeralds).
To sell Compass for emeralds, bring it to a Cartographer at the Journeyman tier (1 unit per 1 emerald).
Compass is also required as a secondary cost on the Cartographer's Apprentice-tier village explorer map trade, the Cartographer's Apprentice-tier swamp explorer map trade, the Cartographer's Apprentice-tier jungle explorer map trade, the Cartographer's Journeyman-tier ocean explorer map trade, the Cartographer's Journeyman-tier trial chambers map trade, and the Cartographer's Master-tier woodland explorer map trade, where you hand it over alongside emeralds rather than receiving emeralds for it.
Is trading Compass worth it?
The best rate any villager offers is an emerald for a single compass, from the Cartographer, and nothing else on the list pays out faster.
| CompassJourneyman | 1 | |
| Glass PaneApprentice | 11 | ||
 | PaperNovice | 24 |
What 4 emeralds cost in goods
The Librarian at its expert tier asks 4 emeralds for a compass. 8 of the 72 villagers that pay emeralds, emptied out:
| A full slot of | To | Emeralds | Buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12 acacia boats | master Fisherman | 12 | 3 compasses |
| 48 iron ingots | apprentice Weaponsmith | 12 | 3 compasses |
| 96 leather | novice Leatherworker | 16 | 4 compasses |
| 120 sweet berries | master Butcher | 12 | 3 compasses |
| 192 any dye | apprentice Shepherd | 16 | 4 compasses |
| 240 coal | apprentice Butcher | 16 | 4 compasses |
| 288 brown wool | novice Shepherd | 16 | 4 compasses |
| 312 flint | apprentice Leatherworker | 12 | 3 compasses |
4 acacia boats against 104 flint for the same 4 emeralds, 26 times the carrying, and the shortest wait is the Leatherworker at 2.5 real minutes of shelf, gathering not counted. Compass itself pays 1 an emerald, so nothing in that table asks less and 62 ask more.
How Compass trading works
Every compass offer here locks after 12 uses, and a villager restocks up to twice per Minecraft day, so one is good for 24 of these trades a day and no more.
The earliest compass shows up is the Cartographer's Journeyman tier, level 3 of five, which a villager reaches at 70 trade experience. A freshly employed one is 2 tiers short of offering compass at all.
How long Compass takes in real time
12 compasses empty one slot at the Librarian, 2400 ticks (Villager.allowedToRestock) at 20 a second (TickRateManager) refill it 2 real minutes later, and the 24000-tick villager day (Timelines) holds 2 of those fills in 20 real minutes.
So one librarian moves 24 compasses against 96 emeralds a Minecraft day, a compass every 50 real seconds, 4.8 emeralds a real minute. 64 compasses take 6 fills across 3 Minecraft days, 6 minutes of it watching the librarian walk back to its lectern.
Tips for trading Compass
- One villager, one restock: the Cartographer pays an emerald for a single compass and that slot runs 12 trades, so 12 compasses is all one will take before it locks, for 12 emeralds in total.
- Clearing the shelf: one Librarian sells 12 compasses before it has to restock, 48 emeralds for the full slot.
- Where the emeralds come from: the same Librarian pays an emerald per 2 book and quills.
- Also on the Librarian's list: yellow candle, red candle, paper, bookshelf, enchanted book, book.
Compass trading FAQ
How many compasses make an emerald?
How much does Compass cost from a villager?
Same trader, other items
The Cartographer works at a cartography table and also trades:
Empty MapThe Librarian works at a lectern and also trades:
Bookshelf
Lantern
Ink Sac
Book and Quill