Compound fertilizer and bulk-blend fertilizer are two major types of fertilizers used in wheat production. However, it remains unclear which type of fertilizers has lower ammonia (NH₃) emission and greater wheat productivity. We conducted a field experiment in Hefei, China during 2018–2019 and 2019–2020 wheat growing seasons. The objectives were to assess the effects of three compound fertilizers and three bulk-blend fertilizers on NH₃ emission and wheat growth, and elucidate the mechanisms involved. The seven treatments included the control test without N application (CK), bulk-blend fertilizer (BF), bulk-blend fertilizer with bentonite (BFb), bulk-blend fertilizer with humic acid (BFh), compound fertilizer (CF), compound fertilizer with bentonite (CFb), and compound fertilizer with humic acid (CFh). Results showed that compared with bulk-blend fertilizers, the corresponding compound fertilizers decreased total area-scaled NH₃ emissions by 10.2%−19.2% and yield-scaled NH₃ emissions by 12.8%−23.5%, increased average soil nitrification rate by 7.2%−20.9%, and reduced average soil NH₄⁺ content by 7.2%−16.8% and average soil pH by 0.3%−1.0%. Greater soil nitrification rate in compound fertilizer treatments was partly responsible for the decreases in soil NH₄⁺ content, soil pH, and NH₃ emission, and then led to the increases in soil inorganic N content, grain yield, and N use efficiency. Compared with bulk-blend fertilizers, the corresponding compound fertilizers increased grain yields by 2.3%−12.2% and N use efficiency by 8.6%−43.9% (except for CF in 2019–2020). Overall, compound fertilizers had better performances than bulk-blend fertilizers in reducing NH₃ emission (area-scaled and yield-scaled) and improving wheat productivity; while adding functional materials (e.g., bentonite and humic acid) and using proper application methods (e.g., banded application) are possible strategies for decreasing NH₃ emission from bulk-blend fertilizers.