Is MediaTek Better than Qualcomm in 2025?

When we asked about people’s hot takes in tech, one of the comments we noticed is the argument that MediaTek is better than Qualcomm. There are people who are biased against MediaTek processors, but we explained a few years ago how MediaTek is dominating over Qualcomm in the midrange segment. Does that still hold true in 2025?

With the latest chips from MediaTek and Qualcomm in 2025, we’d argue that while MediaTek has the lead in the midrange segment, Qualcomm is catching up nicely. Case in point? The Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 and Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 processors, both giving competition to the Dimensity 7300 that’s used by most midrange phones.

Looking at our benchmark data, the Snapdragon 6 Gen 4 used by the realme 14 5G closely matches the Dimensity 7300 used on phones like the CMF Phone 2 Pro in CPU performance, and takes a lead in GPU performance.

The same can be said with the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. Used on phones like the Redmi Note 14 Pro+, this chip is also a viable competitor against the Dimensity 7300 with higher GPU performance.

While MediaTek takes the lead against Qualcomm in the midrange segment, it’s a different story with flagship phones: Qualcomm has been focused with its Snapdragon 8 series chips in the past few years, and continues to be the de facto pick for flagship phones. MediaTek has a good line of flagship chips, but it is with the Dimensity 9400 where it proved that it can compete with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 8 chips.

This was evident with our experience with the vivo X200, one of the few flagships that used a Dimensity 9400. Looking at our date, the Dimensity 9400 trails behind the Snapdragon 8 Elite but is ahead of the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, proving to be a good alternative for flagship phones. The gap between MediaTek and Qualcomm flagship chips is becoming small–and that includes thermal stability, which is an aspect MediaTek addressed with the Dimensity 9400 and its all-performance core design.

To conclude on whether MediaTek is better than Qualcomm, our honest answer is that it depends on what segment you’re talking: MediaTek is the favorable pick for midrange phones, while Qualcomm remains to be the top pick for flagship phones.

But how about other chip brands?

We have limited data for HUAWEI’s Kirin and Samsung’s Exynos processors, but with Unisoc chips, their newer T760 and T8300 chips prove to be a viable alternative for budget phones especially if you’re after 5G connectivity. The nubia Neo 3 uses the T8300, and it’s intriguing to see it at par with MediaTek’s popular Helio G99/G100 while adding 5G connectivity.

While MediaTek and Qualcomm continue to duke it out in the midrange and flagship segment, we want to see them produce new chips in the budget segment so that we can move on from dated processors like the Helio G99 and Snapdragon 685. Qualcomm came close with the Snapdragon 4 Gen 2–we want to see more budget phones to use the chip in the future.