diff --git a/lib/vocabularies/validation/enum.ts b/lib/vocabularies/validation/enum.ts
index fa85373c4..371d5d69c 100644
--- a/lib/vocabularies/validation/enum.ts
+++ b/lib/vocabularies/validation/enum.ts
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+/* eslint-disable */
 import type {CodeKeywordDefinition, ErrorObject, KeywordErrorDefinition} from "../../types"
 import type {KeywordCxt} from "../../compile/validate"
 import {_, or, Name, Code} from "../../compile/codegen"
@@ -20,7 +21,11 @@ const def: CodeKeywordDefinition = {
     const {gen, data, $data, schema, schemaCode, it} = cxt
     if (!$data && schema.length === 0) throw new Error("enum must have non-empty array")
     const useLoop = schema.length >= it.opts.loopEnum
-    const eql = useFunc(gen, equal)
+    const needsEql =
+      useLoop ||
+      ($data && !Array.isArray(schema)) ||
+      schema.some((x: unknown) => x !== null && typeof x === "object")
+    const eql = needsEql ? useFunc(gen, equal) : undefined
     let valid: Code
     if (useLoop || $data) {
       valid = gen.let("valid")