Minecraft Cartographer Villager Trades
Workstation: Cartography Table · Java Edition 1.21
Full list of Cartographer villager trades by level, with exact emerald prices. Most players come here for Ocean Explorer Map. Want to search across every profession instead? Use the trade finder.
What a Cartographer sells
What a Cartographer buys (sell these for emeralds)
Getting a Cartographer: the Cartography Table
Cartographers use a cartography table, which is two paper on top of four planks. Cartography tables also clone, lock and zoom out maps, so keep one near the cartographer for map walls.
How to reroll and lock Cartographer trades
Cartographer trades are mostly fixed, so rerolling at Novice only swaps between paper and empty map offers. What matters is levelling: explorer maps unlock at Journeyman and Expert and each map you buy points to a structure no other map has claimed, so buying many maps finds many monuments or mansions.
Best Cartographer trades by level
- Novice — 24 paper for 1 emerald — Shares the paper trade with librarians, so a sugar cane farm levels both.
- Journeyman — Ocean Explorer Map (7–11 emeralds + compass) — Leads to an ocean monument — the start of a guardian farm and a source of prismarine and sponges.
- Expert — Woodland Explorer Map (12–20 emeralds + compass) — The most reliable way to find a Woodland Mansion and its Totems of Undying.
- Master — Globe Banner Pattern for 8 emeralds — Only obtainable from cartographers; used for decorative banners.
Cartographer emerald farm idea
Cartographers are emerald spenders, not earners. Fund them with a sugar cane farm: sell paper to the cartographer itself and to librarians, then spend the emeralds on explorer maps. In Java 1.21 they can also sell a Trial Explorer Map pointing to a Trial Chamber.
Java vs Bedrock Cartographer trades
Bedrock cartographers sell additional explorer maps for villages and buried treasure-like locations depending on the version, and show all tier trades at once. Java cartographers roll two trades per tier, so occasionally a Journeyman lacks the ocean map.
Cartographer trading tips
A cartographer is the only villager-based way to find a Woodland Mansion in survival without third-party seed tools: the Woodland Explorer Map points straight to the nearest one, which is often thousands of blocks away. Ocean Explorer Maps lead to ocean monuments, the only place to get sponges and prismarine in bulk. Each explorer map leads to the nearest structure of that type that hasn't already been mapped, so if two players need separate monuments, each map trade points somewhere new. Cartographers also sell the globe banner pattern at Master, which can't be found anywhere else. Paper and glass panes are the cheapest trades to level them, so put one next to a sugar cane farm and a glass furnace.
FAQ
What workstation makes a villager a Cartographer?
Place a Cartography Table next to an unemployed villager and it will take the Cartographer profession.
What does a Cartographer sell?
A Cartographer sells Empty Map, Ocean Explorer Map, Woodland Explorer Map, Item Frame, and more for emeralds.
How do I reset a Cartographer's trades?
Before trading with it for the first time, break and replace its Cartography Table to reroll all offers. After the first trade, its offers are locked.
How do I find a woodland mansion?
Buy a Woodland Explorer Map from an Expert cartographer. It points to the nearest mansion not already marked on another map.
Why does my explorer map not show a structure?
The map is filled in only when you are close enough. Hold it while walking toward the marker.
Do cartographers sell Trial Chamber maps?
Yes, in Java 1.21 cartographers can offer a Trial Explorer Map that leads to a Trial Chamber.