Minecraft Smite vs Sharpness: Which Is Better?
Last updated: Mar 31, 2025 • 5 min readPlaying Minecraft nowadays is still as fun as it was years ago.
It doesn’t matter if you are a newbie or a hardcore player - you’ll still enjoy exploring the Overworld and its secrets.
Nonetheless, not everything is as pretty as it seems.
There’s more than one mob trying to kill you: zombies, cave spiders, and skeletons, are just some of the enemies that you and other players will need to face.
Regardless of whether you play on Minecraft Java Edition or Bedrock Edition**, you will need to craft melee weapons** to fight against a hostile mob.
That’s why you need a sword or an axe to defend yourself!
But a simple sword isn’t enough: you need an enchanted sword.
Today, we’ll be talking about Smite and Sharpness, which can add extra damage to your sword.
Read further to learn more about:
- Minecraft Smite vs. Sharpness: all you need to know;
- Which one is the best enchantment out of these two?;
- Things to consider before using one of these two enchantments.
Smite and Sharpness: Understanding these Two Enchantments
Sharpness and Smite are enchantments that can be used in a weapon, whether we talk about an axe or a sword.
An enchantment is nothing more than a tool that helps you to enhance your armor, weapons, swords, crossbows, and other objects in the Minecraft world.
They are found all over the world and are mutually exclusive to the Enchanting Table, and, in the case of weapons, Anvils.
Pro Tip
Besides applying enchantments in Enchanting Tables, players can also make potions that will help them in their adventure.
For instance, the Fire Resistance Potion protects you from the fire aspect of a hit.
What is Smite in Minecraft?
The Smite enchantment deals extra damage to certain mobs, specifically, undead creatures.
As it happens with other mutually exclusive enchantments, the attack damage provided by Smite depends on its level.
The overall melee damage of Smite increases by 2.5 every single level.
Thus, Smite l, Smite ll, Smite lll and Smite IV increase the melee hit against an undead mob up to 10 extra damage.
What is Sharpness in Minecraft?
On the other hand, the Sharpness enchantment just makes your sword deal more damage against all creatures.
Although your sword will certainly deal more damage, the hit won’t be as powerful as the one provided by a Smite Sword.
That being said, Sharpness deals 1.25 extra damage in swords depending on its level.
Hence, Sharpness l, Sharpness ll, Sharpness lll and Sharpness lV can potentially increase the extra damage of your standard or diamond sword up to 5 extra damage.
Minecraft Smite vs. Sharpness: Face to Face
So, why don’t you just go to a Minecraft Anvil or an Enchanting Table and get your diamond sword ready to fight against undead mobs such as zombies and other players?
Well, there’s a clear reason: you can’t apply both sword enchantments to the same weapon.
Since the same sword can’t have Sharpness and Smite, you need to choose only one.
Smite is Better Against Undead Mobs (Wither, Skeletons, Zombie Pigmen and More)
Smite deals insane damage… but only to undead creatures.
Thus, skeleton horses, zombie pigmen, wither, regular zombies won’t stand a chance against you.
What’s more, you’ll be able to kill wither skeletons pretty easily too.
And, when the moment to fight the Wither Boss comes, your Smite sword will be your best weapon against it.
Learn more about the Boss Wither Mob by clicking on this link.
Sharpness is Better Against most Hostile Mobs
Now, Sharpness is not as powerful as Smite, but it works against all mobs.
Creepers, spiders, and other creatures will fall prey to your Sharpness sword.
Since it works against most mobs, then you won’t have any problem using Sharpness during your journey.
Besides, increasing your Sharpness level will give you move benefits in the long haul that you will seriously appreciate.
Read Also
Sharpness, Smite and other enchantments are just a small part of all that Minecraft has to offer.
In any case, there’s a tool that serves as the keystone of this game: the Crafting Table in Minecraft.
Learn everything about the crafting table by reading the related blog post we’ve written about it!
Final Verdict: Which Enchantment is the Best One for Your Weapon?
Sharpness or Smite - Smite or Sharpness.
Which one will you choose? Well, it depends on the situation you are facing.
Consider this in order to make a decision:
- Sharpness is weaker, but it works against all mobs!;
- Smite is stronger, but it only works against specific mobs.
Will you use your sword to fight zombies, or are you going to combat Creepers?
The decision is yours.
In any case, since Sharpness is way more versatile, we’ll go with it… unless you need to fight the Wither!
Then again, it depends.
For more Minecraft content, keep checking Hypenoon!
Minecraft Smite vs Sharpness FAQ
Does Smite Works Against the Ender Dragon?
No, it doesn’t. You can’t fight against the Ender Dragon in Minecraft using a Smite weapon because the Dragon is not an undead creature.
In that case, you could improve your sword using Sharpness, but the Dragon is a ruthless mob that won’t be easy to beat.
Read our related Ender Dragon in Minecraft guide so you can be one step ahead in this boss fight!