MediaTek Helio G81 phones: benchmarks, gaming & which to buy

What the Helio G81 is

MediaTek's 2024 entry-level chip — the current floor of our performance catalog: rank #71 of 79, AnTuTu about 359K, Geekbench 6 near 430 single-core and 1,420 multi-core. Full scores on the Helio G81 page.

What it's like to use

Essentially zero on our gaming scale, and the honest use case is narrow: calls, messaging, banking apps and streaming on a large, cheap screen with a large, cheap battery. It does that job acceptably and nothing more — which is precisely the trade the sub-$150 segment makes. Set expectations there and the chip is fine.

Phones that ship with it

Buying advice

New pricing only — this tier has no meaningful used market, and at $119–130 that is the point. The Redmi 14C is the safest default of the pair, and our Redmi 14C review covers how far the money goes on display and battery; the Tecno Spark 40 review covers the same trade from Tecno. If the budget stretches even $30–50, the Helio G99 tier buys a visibly quicker phone — and the Helio G85 page shows the direct predecessor of this same chip.