Home > Smartphone processors comparison > Helio G85 vs Helio G81 – what's better?

Helio G85 vs Helio G81

Helio G85
VS
Helio G81
Helio G85
Helio G81

We compared two 8-core processors: MediaTek Helio G85 (with Mali-G52 MP2 graphics) and Helio G81 (Mali-G52 MP2). Here you will find the pros and cons of each chip, technical specs, and comprehensive tests in benchmarks, like AnTuTu and Geekbench.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Benchmarks
  4. AnTuTu v11
  5. GeekBench 6
  6. Gaming
  7. Specs
  8. Comments (19)

Review

General comparison of performance, power consumption, and other indicators
CPU Performance
Single and multi-core processor tests
Gaming Performance
GPU performance in games and OpenCL/Vulkan
Battery life
Efficiency of battery consumption
NanoReview Score
Overall chip score

Key Differences

Main differences and advantages of each chip
Pros of MediaTek Helio G85
  • Higher GPU frequency (~22%)
  • Performs 22% better in floating-point computations
Pros of MediaTek Helio G81
  • Supports 7% higher memory bandwidth (14.4 against 13.41 GB/s)

Benchmarks

Performance tests in popular benchmarks
SoC:
Helio G85
vs
Helio G81

AnTuTu 11

The AnTuTu Benchmark measures CPU, GPU, RAM, and I/O performance in different scenarios
Helio G85
348562
Helio G81 +3%
358608
CPU 134798 143539
GPU 28350 23709
Memory 87667 90462
UX 97747 100898
Total score 348562 358608
Samples [65 tests] [43 tests]
Submit your AnTuTu result

GeekBench 6

The GeekBench test shows raw single-threaded and multithreaded CPU performance
Single-Core Score
Helio G85
419
Helio G81 +3%
432
Multi-Core Score
Helio G85 +3%
1461
Helio G81
1416
Asset compression 75.4 MB/sec 71.5 MB/sec
HTML 5 Browser 38.9 pages/sec 40.5 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 51.3 Mpixels/sec 49.6 Mpixels/sec
Image detection 25.2 images/sec 26.2 images/sec
HDR 45.3 Mpixels/sec 46.2 Mpixels/sec
Background blur 3.04 images/sec 3.76 images/sec
Photo processing 14.2 images/sec 12.2 images/sec
Ray tracing 1.99 Mpixels/sec 2.17 Mpixels/sec
Samples 35 tests 11 tests
Compute Score (GPU)
Helio G85 +9%
1056
Helio G81
971
Background blur 1.73 images/sec 1.58 images/sec
Face detection 1.09 images/sec 0.89 images/sec
Horizon detection 0.05 Gpixels/sec 0.04 Gpixels/sec
Edge detection 0.08 Gpixels/sec 0.06 Gpixels/sec
Gaussian blur 0.04 Gpixels/sec 0.04 Gpixels/sec
Feature matching 0.01 Gpixels/sec 0.02 Gpixels/sec
Stereo matching 3.58 Gpixels/sec 2.94 Gpixels/sec
Particle physics 100.4 FPS 109.8 FPS
API Vulkan OpenCL
Samples 17 tests 8 tests

3DMark

A cross-platform benchmark that assesses graphics performance in Vulkan (Metal)
3DMark Steel Nomad Light
Helio G85 +16%
80
Helio G81
69
Score 80 69
Graphics test 1 FPS 1 FPS
3DMark Wild Life Extreme
Score 187 -
Stability 98% -
Graphics test 1 FPS -

PCMark 3.0

Benchmark for evaluating overall system performance in everyday workloads
PCMark 3.0
Helio G85
8539
Helio G81 +3%
8824
Web score 8358 9422
Video editing score 6167 6024
Data manipulation score 5552 5618
Photo editing score 16644 19146
Writing score 9124 9297
Phones tested 20 models 12 models

Gaming

Table of average FPS and graphics settings in mobile games
PUBG Mobile 45 FPS
[High]		 -
Call of Duty: Mobile 40 FPS
[Medium]		 -
Fortnite 21 FPS
[Low]		 -
Shadowgun Legends 49 FPS
[Low]		 -
World of Tanks Blitz 51 FPS
[Medium]		 -
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang 46 FPS
[Ultra]		 -
Device Xiaomi Redmi Note 9
1080 x 2340		 -
We provide average results. FPS may differ, depending on game version, OS and other factors.

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
MediaTek Helio G85
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-15 (Bruno)AnTuTu 12411293
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-10 (Carl M)AnTuTu 11346590
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-08 (Ramjan miah)AnTuTu 11320749
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-28 (whytezz)AnTuTu 11384012
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-07 (Jasur)AnTuTu 11345264
Add View all (77)
MediaTek Helio G81
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-26 (Junior)AnTuTu 12398363
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-22 (TecPix)AnTuTu 12421841
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-18 -> AlvinAnTuTu 11309692
πŸ“˜ 2026-09-08 (BerQt)AnTuTu 11348068
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-12 (Wayne)AnTuTu 11360964
Add View all (39)

Specifications

Full list of technical specifications of Helio G85 and Helio G81

CPU

Architecture 2x 2 GHz – Cortex-A75
6x 1.8 GHz – Cortex-A55		 2x 2 GHz – Cortex-A75
6x 1.7 GHz – Cortex-A55
Cores 8 8
Frequency 2000 MHz 2000 MHz
Instruction set ARMv8.2-A ARMv8.2-A
Process 12 nanometers 12 nanometers
TDP (Sustained Power Limit) 5 W 5 W
Manufacturing TSMC TSMC

Graphics

GPU name Mali-G52 MP2 Mali-G52 MP2
Architecture Bifrost 2nd gen Bifrost 2nd gen
GPU frequency 1000 MHz 820 MHz
Pipelines 2 2
Shading units 24 24
Total shaders 48 48
FLOPS 96 Gigaflops 78.7 Gigaflops
Vulkan version 1.3 1.3
OpenCL version 2.0 2.0

AI Accelerator

Neural processor (NPU) Yes Yes

Memory

Memory type LPDDR4X LPDDR4X
Memory frequency 1800 MHz 1800 MHz
Bus 2x 16 Bit 2x 16 Bit
Max bandwidth 13.41 Gb/s 14.4 Gb/s
Max size 8 GB 8 GB

Multimedia (ISP)

Storage type eMMC 5.1, UFS 2.1 eMMC 5.1, UFS 2.1
Max display resolution 2520 x 1080 2520 x 1080
Max camera resolution 1x 48MP, 2x 16MP 1x 48MP, 2x 16MP
Video capture 2K at 30FPS 2K at 30FPS, 1K at 60FPS
Video playback 2K at 30FPS 2K at 30FPS, 1080p at 60FPS
Video codecs - H.264
- H.265
- VP9		 - H.264
- H.265
- VP9
Audio codecs - AIFF
- CAF
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV		 - AIFF
- CAF
- MP3
- MP4
- WAV

Connectivity

4G support LTE Cat. 7 LTE Cat. 4
5G support No No
Download speed Up to 300 Mbps -
Upload speed Up to 100 Mbps -
Wi-Fi 5 5
Bluetooth 5.0 5.4
Navigation GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo GPS, GLONASS, Beidou, Galileo

Info

Announced April 2020 August 2024
Class Low end Low end
Model number MT6769Z MT6769J
Official page MediaTek Helio G85 official site MediaTek Helio G81 official site
Successor - MediaTek Helio G88 -

Cast your vote

So, which SoC would you choose?
913 (42.3%)
1244 (57.7%)
Total votes: 2157

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Comments

Please give your opinion on the comparison of Helio G81 and Helio G85, or ask any questions
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Avatar
Mitch October 12, 2025 at 05:46 PM
Wish MediaTek could give us 4G chipset with 4xA76 cores and 4xG68 cores for better gaming instead of P22/P35 which is rubbish for gaming.
+3 Reply
Avatar
AbdelRahman June 26, 2025 at 07:38 AM
G85 is better than G81 Because :: G81 Less than GPU Frequency is 820MHz To G85 GPU Frequency 1000MHz and G81 Support LTE Cat 4 Not Support LTE Cat 7 in G85 We take a look at the platform Antutu Benchmark We will notice that the number of points Of G81 in GPU It is noticeably less, and this is due to the lower frequency in G81 On the other hand, we see that G85 By points in GPU which has higher frequencies Don't look at the small improvement in G81 On the one hand CPU This difference happened because CPU weak When the frequency was reduced GPU A very simple breathing space has been extended on one side CPU The bottom line is that G81 he Downgrade To G85 Definitely one G85 The best and strongest in everything about G81 Source of information:: MediaTek official website
+12 Reply
Avatar
Manong July 31, 2025 at 05:26 AM
All these G81, 85,88,92,99,100 are recycled SoC's... It's just the Helio P65,P70,P80 renamed. I'd rather buy a used Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 than buying a newly released phone that was powered by G81 lol
+21 Reply
Avatar
mruseless January 17, 2026 at 08:35 PM
Manong, used 8s gen3 phone don't cost 6- 7k
+3 Reply
Avatar
quatron January 19, 2026 at 10:06 PM
Manong, Someone really comparing snap 8s gen 3 to helio g81??????
+5 Reply
Avatar
Barry June 2, 2026 at 05:16 AM
quatron, What you are asking is like comparing a bicycle to power bike
0 Reply
Avatar
Capi April 7, 2025 at 09:17 AM
I have G85 and my friend has G81, almost no difference, except for gaming, G85 is better than 81 when were talking about games, G85 can handle games better than 81
+58 Reply
Avatar
Ron May 5, 2025 at 03:55 PM
So, is Helio G85 better?
+47 Reply
Avatar
loko May 28, 2025 at 11:48 AM
g85 is older bro so it is but overall g81 is better
+15 Reply
Avatar
v1sper October 8, 2025 at 05:37 AM
G81 Ultra is good not the base G81. The GPU Clock is raised to 950MHz which closes the gap between the regular G81 and G85. I have a G81 Ultra phone and I get 120FPS support in PUBG at smooth (not Ultra Smooth). Also, the new Antutu V11 actually closed the gap in GPU scores as well as I got 24,651 in GPU while my sister's G85 got 26,149 in GPU. Yes G85 is still better but G81 Ultra can hold up. I don't know why NanoReview doesn't have G81 Ultra to compare while they do include Dimensity 7300 Pro/Ultra or rebranded chips like that. Also, the overall optimizations in this G81 Ultra is better as it's actually the newer chip now. resulting in a more consistant performance.
+4 Reply
Avatar
Demroy March 4, 2025 at 04:51 AM
Helio g81 supports 120hz screen refresh rate.
+68 Reply
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Al wasiu May 17, 2025 at 01:54 PM
No probably because it's an low end processor
+7 Reply
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v1sper October 8, 2025 at 05:38 AM
Al wasiu, It does support 120Hz meh.
0 Reply
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raygun January 23, 2025 at 01:02 PM
...wait so G81 is *newer* than G85, and is basically the same chip other than the bluetooth version bump tech companies have sensible naming scheme challenge (impossible)
+62 Reply
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Amesh December 14, 2024 at 05:09 PM
Was expecting a 2024 processor to be better here media tek failed. Hop new processor will be better in coming days.
+33 Reply
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Miguel Silva November 30, 2024 at 06:04 AM
So, MediaTek had the coverage to release, in 2024, a clearly outdated 12nm chip that that's basically just a revamped version of a 4 yo chip with a worse GPU (?) and just better Bluetooth? Why?
+43 Reply
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James October 1, 2024 at 06:27 AM
nothing is special. there's no improvement, wtf.
+146 Reply
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Oofi November 28, 2024 at 09:37 AM
just an average mediatek moment
+41 Reply
Avatar
Alex June 14, 2025 at 04:28 AM
Oofi, Snapdragon is not much better in this aspect.
+4 Reply
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