How to Make an XP Farm in Minecraft

Guide Java Bedrock

Quick answer: The strongest XP farm is an enderman farm in the End: endermen are dropped 43 blocks so a fall leaves them on half a heart, then you finish each one in a single hit. This can reach level 30 in minutes once enough spawning pads are built. Before the End, use a monster spawner trap, a gold farm, or a furnace bank that stores smelting XP.

What you need

Early: water buckets, building blocks, torches (spawner trap)
Wolves + bones for the AFK skeleton version
Furnaces + kelp or cactus for an XP bank
Late: ender pearls, an endermite in a minecart, leaf blocks

Step by step

Match the farm to your stage. Early game: spawner traps and quartz mining. Mid game: gold farms and furnace banks. Late game: the enderman farm.
Build a spawner trap first. Find a zombie or skeleton spawner in a dungeon and build a kill chamber around it that leaves mobs at one hit. XP only drops if a player (or a tamed wolf) deals the killing blow, so finish mobs by hand. Drops with enchantments can be disenchanted at a grindstone for extra XP.
Try skeletons with tamed wolves. Standing tamed wolves attack skeletons without being provoked, and kills by tamed wolves count as player kills, so mobs they kill can drop experience. Keep the wolves fed to heal them.
Bank XP in your furnaces. Every smelted item stores a little experience inside the furnace. Feed it automatically (a cactus or kelp farm), let it run, then take one output item by hand to collect the stored XP. In Java, cactus gives the most smelting XP of any farmable block.
Upgrade to a gold farm. Killing angered zombified piglins by hand gives steady XP plus gold, and a Looting sword increases the gold drops.
Finish with the enderman farm. Build in the End at least 128 blocks away from any spawnable block, and use spawning pads at least 43 blocks above a killing platform, with vines or another fall breaker on the 43rd block so the fall leaves endermen on half a heart. An endermite lure (a name-tagged endermite in a minecart) pulls endermen toward the drop. Hit them once with a sword to get the XP.
Spend it wisely. Enchant at level 30, repair Mending gear as you go, and bank levels before risky trips: on death you drop 7 XP per level, up to 100 points.

Java vs Bedrock

All of these work in Java and Bedrock, but rates differ: enderman farm rates depend on simulation distance and spawning rules that favor Java designs, and Bedrock spawner traps often need different water layouts. Copy a build tagged for your edition and version.

Versions: XP farms have evolved with the game: spawner traps are as old as dungeons, gold farms moved to the Nether roof in 1.16, and 1.21.5 trimmed anger-based piglin XP. The enderman farm has been the speed king since the End opened in 1.0.

Frequently asked questions

What is the fastest XP farm in Minecraft?

The enderman farm in the End. It can reach level 30 in minutes once enough spawning pads are built. Before the End, a gold farm or a spawner trap is the practical choice.

Why do I lose all my XP when I die?

Dying drops 7 XP per level you had, up to 100 points, where you fell. Bank levels into enchantments and repairs as you earn them, and use an ender chest for valuables before risky trips.

Mob farm or spawner farm for XP?

A general mob farm gives better loot variety but mediocre XP per hour. A spawner trap is concentrated and faster for pure levels. If you want both, build the mob farm first for gunpowder and strings, then a dedicated XP source.