diff --git a/compaction.go b/compaction.go
index 61c19f68ce..0389f514b8 100644
--- a/compaction.go
+++ b/compaction.go
@@ -883,7 +883,7 @@ func (c *compaction) newInputIters(
 	// boundaries.
 	if len(rangeDelIters) > 0 {
 		mi := &keyspanimpl.MergingIter{}
-		mi.Init(c.cmp, keyspan.NoopTransform, new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers), rangeDelIters...)
+		mi.Init(c.comparer, keyspan.NoopTransform, new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers), rangeDelIters...)
 		rangeDelIter = mi
 	}
 
@@ -891,7 +891,7 @@ func (c *compaction) newInputIters(
 	// keyspanimpl.MergingIter, and then interleave them among the points.
 	if len(rangeKeyIters) > 0 {
 		mi := &keyspanimpl.MergingIter{}
-		mi.Init(c.cmp, keyspan.NoopTransform, new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers), rangeKeyIters...)
+		mi.Init(c.comparer, keyspan.NoopTransform, new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers), rangeKeyIters...)
 		// TODO(radu): why do we have a defragmenter here but not above?
 		di := &keyspan.DefragmentingIter{}
 		di.Init(c.comparer, mi, keyspan.DefragmentInternal, keyspan.StaticDefragmentReducer, new(keyspan.DefragmentingBuffers))
diff --git a/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/level_iter_test.go b/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/level_iter_test.go
index 0d98eb220e..e852f188ea 100644
--- a/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/level_iter_test.go
+++ b/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/level_iter_test.go
@@ -320,8 +320,8 @@ func TestLevelIterEquivalence(t *testing.T) {
 			levelIters = append(levelIters, &levelIter)
 		}
 
-		iter1.Init(base.DefaultComparer.Compare, keyspan.VisibleTransform(base.InternalKeySeqNumMax), new(MergingBuffers), fileIters...)
-		iter2.Init(base.DefaultComparer.Compare, keyspan.VisibleTransform(base.InternalKeySeqNumMax), new(MergingBuffers), levelIters...)
+		iter1.Init(base.DefaultComparer, keyspan.VisibleTransform(base.InternalKeySeqNumMax), new(MergingBuffers), fileIters...)
+		iter2.Init(base.DefaultComparer, keyspan.VisibleTransform(base.InternalKeySeqNumMax), new(MergingBuffers), levelIters...)
 
 		// Check iter1 and iter2 for equivalence.
 		s1, err1 := iter1.First()
diff --git a/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/merging_iter.go b/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/merging_iter.go
index 16eb537609..8840754ecc 100644
--- a/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/merging_iter.go
+++ b/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/merging_iter.go
@@ -23,10 +23,6 @@ import (
 // seeks would require introducing key comparisons to switchTo{Min,Max}Heap
 // where there currently are none.
 
-// TODO(jackson): There are several opportunities to use base.Equal in the
-// MergingIter implementation, but will require a bit of plumbing to thread the
-// Equal function.
-
 // MergingIter merges spans across levels of the LSM, exposing an iterator over
 // spans that yields sets of spans fragmented at unique user key boundaries.
 //
@@ -170,6 +166,7 @@ import (
 // accommodate this, find{Next,Prev}FragmentSet copy the initial boundary if the
 // subsequent Next/Prev would move to the next span.
 type MergingIter struct {
+	comparer *base.Comparer
 	*MergingBuffers
 	// start and end hold the bounds for the span currently under the
 	// iterator position.
@@ -294,16 +291,17 @@ func (l *mergingIterLevel) prev() error {
 
 // Init initializes the merging iterator with the provided fragment iterators.
 func (m *MergingIter) Init(
-	cmp base.Compare,
+	comparer *base.Comparer,
 	transformer keyspan.Transformer,
 	bufs *MergingBuffers,
 	iters ...keyspan.FragmentIterator,
 ) {
 	*m = MergingIter{
+		comparer:       comparer,
 		MergingBuffers: bufs,
 		transformer:    transformer,
 	}
-	m.heap.cmp = cmp
+	m.heap.cmp = comparer.Compare
 	levels, items := m.levels, m.heap.items
 
 	// Invariant: cap(levels) >= cap(items)
@@ -393,7 +391,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) SeekGE(key []byte) (*keyspan.Span, error) {
 			return nil, err
 		case s == nil:
 			l.heapKey = boundKey{kind: boundKindInvalid}
-		case m.cmp(s.End, key) <= 0:
+		case m.comparer.Compare(s.End, key) <= 0:
 			l.heapKey = boundKey{
 				kind: boundKindFragmentEnd,
 				key:  s.End,
@@ -459,7 +457,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) SeekGE(key []byte) (*keyspan.Span, error) {
 	// equal to the seek key `key`. In this case, we want this key to be our
 	// start boundary.
 	if m.heap.items[0].boundKey.kind == boundKindFragmentStart &&
-		m.cmp(m.heap.items[0].boundKey.key, key) == 0 {
+		m.comparer.Equal(m.heap.items[0].boundKey.key, key) {
 		// Call findNextFragmentSet, which will set m.start to the heap root and
 		// proceed forward.
 		return m.findNextFragmentSet()
@@ -529,7 +527,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) SeekLT(key []byte) (*keyspan.Span, error) {
 			return nil, err
 		case s == nil:
 			l.heapKey = boundKey{kind: boundKindInvalid}
-		case m.cmp(s.Start, key) >= 0:
+		case m.comparer.Compare(s.Start, key) >= 0:
 			l.heapKey = boundKey{
 				kind: boundKindFragmentStart,
 				key:  s.Start,
@@ -594,7 +592,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) SeekLT(key []byte) (*keyspan.Span, error) {
 	// equal to the seek key `key`. In this case, we want this key to be our end
 	// boundary.
 	if m.heap.items[0].boundKey.kind == boundKindFragmentEnd &&
-		m.cmp(m.heap.items[0].boundKey.key, key) == 0 {
+		m.comparer.Equal(m.heap.items[0].boundKey.key, key) {
 		// Call findPrevFragmentSet, which will set m.end to the heap root and
 		// proceed backwards.
 		return m.findPrevFragmentSet()
@@ -757,7 +755,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) switchToMinHeap() error {
 	if invariants.Enabled {
 		for i := range m.levels {
 			l := &m.levels[i]
-			if l.heapKey.kind != boundKindInvalid && m.cmp(l.heapKey.key, m.start) > 0 {
+			if l.heapKey.kind != boundKindInvalid && m.comparer.Compare(l.heapKey.key, m.start) > 0 {
 				panic("pebble: invariant violation: max-heap key > m.start")
 			}
 		}
@@ -812,7 +810,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) switchToMaxHeap() error {
 	if invariants.Enabled {
 		for i := range m.levels {
 			l := &m.levels[i]
-			if l.heapKey.kind != boundKindInvalid && m.cmp(l.heapKey.key, m.end) < 0 {
+			if l.heapKey.kind != boundKindInvalid && m.comparer.Compare(l.heapKey.key, m.end) < 0 {
 				panic("pebble: invariant violation: min-heap key < m.end")
 			}
 		}
@@ -827,10 +825,6 @@ func (m *MergingIter) switchToMaxHeap() error {
 	return nil
 }
 
-func (m *MergingIter) cmp(a, b []byte) int {
-	return m.heap.cmp(a, b)
-}
-
 func (m *MergingIter) findNextFragmentSet() (*keyspan.Span, error) {
 	// Each iteration of this loop considers a new merged span between unique
 	// user keys. An iteration may find that there exists no overlap for a given
@@ -880,7 +874,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) findNextFragmentSet() (*keyspan.Span, error) {
 		if err := m.nextEntry(); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
-		for len(m.heap.items) > 0 && m.cmp(m.heapRoot(), m.start) == 0 {
+		for len(m.heap.items) > 0 && m.comparer.Equal(m.heapRoot(), m.start) {
 			if err := m.nextEntry(); err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
@@ -962,7 +956,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) findPrevFragmentSet() (*keyspan.Span, error) {
 		if err := m.prevEntry(); err != nil {
 			return nil, err
 		}
-		for len(m.heap.items) > 0 && m.cmp(m.heapRoot(), m.end) == 0 {
+		for len(m.heap.items) > 0 && m.comparer.Equal(m.heapRoot(), m.end) {
 			if err := m.prevEntry(); err != nil {
 				return nil, err
 			}
@@ -1015,7 +1009,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) heapRoot() []byte {
 // with a span returned by a child iterator.
 func (m *MergingIter) synthesizeKeys(dir int8) (bool, *keyspan.Span, error) {
 	if invariants.Enabled {
-		if m.cmp(m.start, m.end) >= 0 {
+		if m.comparer.Compare(m.start, m.end) >= 0 {
 			panic(fmt.Sprintf("pebble: invariant violation: span start ≥ end: %s >= %s", m.start, m.end))
 		}
 	}
@@ -1046,9 +1040,7 @@ func (m *MergingIter) synthesizeKeys(dir int8) (bool, *keyspan.Span, error) {
 		Keys:      m.keys,
 		KeysOrder: keyspan.ByTrailerDesc,
 	}
-	// NB: m.heap.cmp is a base.Compare, whereas m.cmp is a method on
-	// MergingIter.
-	if err := m.transformer.Transform(m.heap.cmp, m.span, &m.span); err != nil {
+	if err := m.transformer.Transform(m.comparer.Compare, m.span, &m.span); err != nil {
 		return false, nil, err
 	}
 	return found, &m.span, nil
diff --git a/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/merging_iter_test.go b/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/merging_iter_test.go
index 2425e6989d..e17ad0223d 100644
--- a/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/merging_iter_test.go
+++ b/internal/keyspan/keyspanimpl/merging_iter_test.go
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ func TestMergingIter(t *testing.T) {
 				}
 			}
 			var iter MergingIter
-			iter.Init(cmp, keyspan.VisibleTransform(snapshot), new(MergingBuffers), iters...)
+			iter.Init(base.DefaultComparer, keyspan.VisibleTransform(snapshot), new(MergingBuffers), iters...)
 			keyspan.RunIterCmd(td.Input, &iter, &buf)
 			return buf.String()
 		default:
@@ -181,7 +181,7 @@ func testFragmenterEquivalenceOnce(t *testing.T, seed int64) {
 
 	fragmenterIter := keyspan.NewIter(f.Cmp, allFragmented)
 	mergingIter := &MergingIter{}
-	mergingIter.Init(f.Cmp, keyspan.VisibleTransform(base.InternalKeySeqNumMax), new(MergingBuffers), iters...)
+	mergingIter.Init(testkeys.Comparer, keyspan.VisibleTransform(base.InternalKeySeqNumMax), new(MergingBuffers), iters...)
 
 	// Position both so that it's okay to perform relative positioning
 	// operations immediately.
diff --git a/internal/rangekeystack/user_iterator.go b/internal/rangekeystack/user_iterator.go
index 2f52466336..8397a62382 100644
--- a/internal/rangekeystack/user_iterator.go
+++ b/internal/rangekeystack/user_iterator.go
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ func (ui *UserIteratorConfig) Init(
 	ui.snapshot = snapshot
 	ui.comparer = comparer
 	ui.internalKeys = internalKeys
-	ui.miter.Init(comparer.Compare, ui, &bufs.merging, iters...)
+	ui.miter.Init(comparer, ui, &bufs.merging, iters...)
 	ui.biter.Init(comparer.Compare, comparer.Split, &ui.miter, lower, upper, hasPrefix, prefix)
 	if internalKeys {
 		ui.diter.Init(comparer, &ui.biter, keyspan.DefragmentInternal, keyspan.StaticDefragmentReducer, &bufs.defragmenting)
diff --git a/internal/rangekeystack/user_iterator_test.go b/internal/rangekeystack/user_iterator_test.go
index 6c7fb9c6ea..c87f1327b1 100644
--- a/internal/rangekeystack/user_iterator_test.go
+++ b/internal/rangekeystack/user_iterator_test.go
@@ -63,7 +63,7 @@ func TestIter(t *testing.T) {
 				dst.End = s.End
 				return nil
 			})
-			iter.Init(cmp, transform, new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers), keyspan.NewIter(cmp, spans))
+			iter.Init(testkeys.Comparer, transform, new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers), keyspan.NewIter(cmp, spans))
 			return "OK"
 		case "iter":
 			buf.Reset()
diff --git a/scan_internal.go b/scan_internal.go
index d6ee26618f..8eb87bdd96 100644
--- a/scan_internal.go
+++ b/scan_internal.go
@@ -952,7 +952,7 @@ func (i *scanInternalIterator) constructPointIter(
 
 	buf.merging.init(&i.opts.IterOptions, &InternalIteratorStats{}, i.comparer.Compare, i.comparer.Split, mlevels...)
 	buf.merging.snapshot = i.seqNum
-	rangeDelMiter.Init(i.comparer.Compare, keyspan.VisibleTransform(i.seqNum), new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers), rangeDelIters...)
+	rangeDelMiter.Init(i.comparer, keyspan.VisibleTransform(i.seqNum), new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers), rangeDelIters...)
 
 	if i.opts.includeObsoleteKeys {
 		iiter := &keyspan.InterleavingIter{}
diff --git a/table_stats.go b/table_stats.go
index ed589c55fa..3b34fd88cc 100644
--- a/table_stats.go
+++ b/table_stats.go
@@ -902,7 +902,7 @@ func newCombinedDeletionKeyspanIter(
 		keyspan.SortKeysByTrailer(&out.Keys)
 		return nil
 	})
-	mIter.Init(comparer.Compare, transform, new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers))
+	mIter.Init(comparer, transform, new(keyspanimpl.MergingBuffers))
 
 	iter, err := cr.NewRawRangeDelIter(m.IterTransforms())
 	if err != nil {