How to use the enchantment calculator
- Choose your edition and the item you want to enchant.
- Tick the enchantments you have books for and set their levels. Picking one that conflicts, such as Smite on a Sharpness sword, swaps it in.
- If the item has been on an anvil before, set how many times. Renaming alone does not count.
- Follow the steps in order. Combine the books in the left and right slots exactly as shown, then add the combined books to your item.
How anvil costs work
Every time you combine two things on an anvil, you pay for three things:
- The enchantments on the right-hand item. Each one costs its level times a multiplier. Books have lower multipliers than tools, so it is cheaper to put books in the right slot.
- The prior work penalty of both items. It starts at 0 and roughly doubles with every anvil use.
- Extras: 1 level to rename the item, and 2 levels if the left item is damaged and you are combining it with another tool.
The order matters because the penalty grows so fast. Adding seven books to boots one at a time ends in steps over 40 levels. Combining the books in pairs first keeps every item's penalty low, which is what this calculator works out for you: it tries every way of pairing the books and returns the cheapest one that the anvil will accept.
Prior work penalty
The penalty after a number of anvil uses is 2uses − 1. When two items are combined, the result keeps the higher use count of the two, plus one.
| Anvil uses | Penalty (levels) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 1 |
| 2 | 3 |
| 3 | 7 |
| 4 | 15 |
| 5 | 31 |
| 6 | 63 |
Why the anvil says “Too Expensive!”
In Survival and Adventure, the anvil refuses any single operation that costs 40 levels or more, however many levels you have. It is the cost of the step that counts, not your total. Once an item has been worked six times, its penalty alone is 63, so nothing more can be added to it. A grindstone resets the penalty but also removes every enchantment except curses.
Enchantment cost multipliers
Multiply the enchantment's level by this number to get its cost. Rare enchantments like Mending, Silk Touch and Thorns have the highest multipliers, so the calculator tries to move them as few times as possible.
| Enchantment | Max | From book | From item |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protection | IV | 1 | 1 |
| Fire Protection | IV | 1 | 2 |
| Blast Protection | IV | 2 | 4 |
| Projectile Protection | IV | 1 | 2 |
| Feather Falling | IV | 1 | 2 |
| Thorns | III | 4 | 8 |
| Respiration | III | 2 | 4 |
| Aqua Affinity | I | 2 | 4 |
| Depth Strider | III | 2 | 4 |
| Frost Walker | II | 2 | 4 |
| Soul Speed | III | 4 | 8 |
| Swift Sneak | III | 4 | 8 |
| Sharpness | V | 1 | 1 |
| Smite | V | 1 | 2 |
| Bane of Arthropods | V | 1 | 2 |
| Knockback | II | 1 | 2 |
| Fire Aspect | II | 2 | 4 |
| Looting | III | 2 | 4 |
| Sweeping Edge (Java only) | III | 2 | 4 |
| Lunge | III | 1 | 2 |
| Density | V | 1 | 2 |
| Breach | IV | 2 | 4 |
| Wind Burst | III | 2 | 4 |
| Efficiency | V | 1 | 1 |
| Fortune | III | 2 | 4 |
| Silk Touch | I | 4 | 8 |
| Power | V | 1 | 1 |
| Punch | II | 2 | 4 |
| Flame | I | 2 | 4 |
| Infinity | I | 4 | 8 |
| Multishot | I | 2 | 4 |
| Piercing | IV | 1 | 1 |
| Quick Charge | III | 1 | 2 |
| Impaling | V | 2 (Bedrock 1) | 4 (Bedrock 2) |
| Loyalty | III | 1 | 1 |
| Riptide | III | 2 | 4 |
| Channeling | I | 4 | 8 |
| Luck of the Sea | III | 2 | 4 |
| Lure | III | 2 | 4 |
| Unbreaking | III | 1 | 2 |
| Mending | I | 2 | 4 |
| Curse of Binding | I | 4 | 8 |
| Curse of Vanishing | I | 4 | 8 |
Incompatible enchantments
These enchantments cannot be on the same item. The anvil either refuses the combination or drops the one from the right slot.
- Protection, Fire Protection, Blast Protection, Projectile Protection
- Sharpness, Smite, Bane of Arthropods
- Density, Breach, Smite, Bane of Arthropods
- Depth Strider, Frost Walker
- Fortune, Silk Touch
- Infinity, Mending
- Multishot, Piercing
- Loyalty, Riptide
- Channeling, Riptide
Java vs Bedrock anvil differences
- How levels are charged. Java charges each enchantment's final level; Bedrock charges only the levels gained. When you add books to an item that does not have those enchantments yet, both come out the same.
- Impaling is cheaper on Bedrock (1 per level from a book instead of 2).
- Conflicts. When the right-hand item has an enchantment that conflicts with the left one, Java still charges 1 level for it; Bedrock does not.
- Sweeping Edge exists only on Java, and Silk Touch on shears only on Bedrock.
Tips to spend fewer levels
- Rename the item in its first anvil step: renaming costs 1 level plus the penalty, which is lowest then.
- Repair with Mending instead of the anvil, so the penalty never grows.
- Do each step as soon as you have the levels. Higher levels cost more experience points each, so ten 3-level steps at level 5 are much cheaper than one 30-level step at level 30.
- Getting gear ready for the Nether? The brewing chart shows how to brew Fire Resistance and Strength to go with it.
Enchantment order questions
What is the best order to combine enchantments in Minecraft?
Combine your books in pairs first, then add the combined books to the item, putting the most expensive enchantments in as few steps as possible. That keeps every item's prior work penalty low. The calculator tries every pairing and gives you the cheapest one.
How do I avoid "Too Expensive!" on an anvil?
The anvil refuses any single step of 40 levels or more in Survival. Combine books with each other before adding them to the item, avoid repairing enchanted gear on the anvil, and rename only during a step you are already paying for.
How does the anvil prior work penalty work?
Each anvil use raises an item's penalty to 2 to the power of its use count, minus 1: 0, 1, 3, 7, 15, 31. Both items' penalties are added to the cost, and the result takes the higher use count plus one.
Is it cheaper to put books on the item one at a time?
Usually not. One at a time, the item's penalty doubles with every book, so the last steps get very expensive. Pairing books first spreads the penalty out and often saves 10 or more levels.
Why is Mending so expensive to add?
Rare enchantments have higher cost multipliers. Mending costs 2 levels from a book, Silk Touch 4 and Thorns 4 per level, against 1 for Sharpness or Protection. Moving them fewer times saves the most.
Does the enchantment order work the same on Bedrock?
Mostly. Bedrock charges only the levels an enchantment gains, while Java charges its final level, but when you add books to an item that does not have those enchantments yet the costs are the same. Impaling is cheaper on Bedrock.
How do I reset the anvil penalty on an item?
A grindstone removes the prior work penalty, but it also removes every enchantment except curses. Mending is the better way to keep enchanted gear repaired without adding penalty.