BEST ENCHANTMENTS FOR PICKAXE
The optimal enchantment setup for your Minecraft pickaxe.6 enchantments are compatible with this item.
Recommended Combination
Essential
Recommended
Optional
Keep two pickaxes: one with Fortune III for ores and one with Silk Touch for glass, ice, and stone. Efficiency V alone does not mine stone instantly; with Haste II from a beacon on top, a diamond or netherite pickaxe does.
All Compatible Enchantments (6)
Causes the item to disappear (be deleted) upon the player's death instead of dropping.
Increases mining speed on the blocks a tool is made for, and it works on shears as well.
Increases the number of drops from mining blocks like ores, crops, and gravel.
Uses experience orbs to repair the item instead of adding to the player's experience bar.
Mined blocks drop themselves instead of their usual drops (e.g., stone instead of cobblestone).
Increases item durability by giving a chance to not consume durability on use.
Which pickaxe to enchant
Of these 6, 5 fit on a pickaxe at the same time. The rest of the list is alternatives, not extras.
Which of the 6 pickaxes you enchant changes what the table offers. Golden Pickaxe carries enchantability 22 where Netherite Pickaxe has 15, so gold buys better rolls for the same levels and pays for it in wear: 32 uses against 2,031.
| Item | Durability | Enchantability |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden Pickaxe | 59 | 15 |
| Stone Pickaxe | 131 | 5 |
| Iron Pickaxe | 250 | 14 |
| Golden Pickaxe | 32 | 22 |
| Diamond Pickaxe | 1,561 | 10 |
| Netherite Pickaxe | 2,031 | 15 |
Which pickaxe gets the best enchantment rolls
Which pickaxe goes on the table decides whether Efficiency V is possible at all. At the level 30 slot wooden, iron, golden and netherite pickaxes can roll it, while stone and diamond stop at Efficiency IV. Diamond is the odd one out: it lasts far longer than iron, but with enchantability 10 against 14 it gets the worse rolls.
Fortune III is within reach of every pickaxe, stone included, but it shares a group with Silk Touch, so no pickaxe carries both. That is why most players end up with two: Fortune for ores, amethyst and anything else with a loot roll, and Silk Touch for glass, ice, ore blocks worth keeping and bee nests with the bees still inside. The mining enchantments page lists the drops block by block.
Enchanting Cost Notes
Anvil Costs: Each time you combine items on an anvil, the prior work penalty increases. Plan your enchantment order to minimize total XP cost.
Order Matters: Combine the most expensive enchantments first, then add cheaper ones. This keeps anvil costs lower overall.
XP Limit: Anvil operations are capped at 39 levels in survival mode. If the cost exceeds this, you need to restructure your combination order.