Best Mac for running local LLMs
Every Mac we track, ranked by how much memory a model can actually use, with estimated speed for six popular open models at Q4_K_M. Unified memory lets a Mac hold models no single consumer GPU can.
- Macs tracked
- 10
- Usable memory range
- 12–384 GB
- Biggest at Q4
- Qwen3-Coder-480B-A35B-Instruct
Start with the model you want. For 27–32B models, the cheapest current Mac that fits is the Mac mini M6 32GB ($1,799). For 70B models and gpt-oss-120b, the cheapest current Mac that fits is the MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB ($6,699).
Top picks
Mac mini M6 16GB
- Usable memory
- 12 GB
- Bandwidth
- 153 GB/s
- Run at Q4
- 350 / 656
$899 Apple list price, M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 16GB/256GB (MHQK4LL/A), source, 2026-11-12
AmazoneBayMac mini M6 32GB
- Usable memory
- 24 GB
- Bandwidth
- 170 GB/s
- Run at Q4
- 423 / 656
$1799 Apple list price, M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 32GB/1TB (MHQV4LL/A), source, 2026-11-12
AmazoneBayMacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB
- Usable memory
- 96 GB
- Bandwidth
- 614 GB/s
- Run at Q4
- 545 / 656
$6699 Apple list price, 14-inch M5 Max 18C CPU/40C GPU, 128GB/2TB, source, 2026-11-12
AmazoneBayMac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB
- Usable memory
- 384 GB
- Bandwidth
- 1200 GB/s
- Run at Q4
- 610 / 656
$22299 Apple list price, M5 Ultra 36C CPU/80C GPU, 512GB/1TB, source, 2026-11-12
AmazoneBayWe may earn a commission when you buy through these links, at no extra cost to you.
Every Mac, by usable memory
| Mac | Price | Usable memory | Bandwidth | $ per usable GB | Biggest model at Q4 | Models that fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini M4 16GB16 GB unified · discontinued | $789B&H sale, 16GB/256GB MU9D3LL/A (was $899 Apple list; discontinued at Apple, replaced by M6; was $799 on 2026-10-29), source, 2026-11-05 | 12 GB | 120 GB/s | $66 | OLMo-2-1124-13B-Instruct~10.6 GB at Q4 | 350 / 656 |
| Mac mini M6 16GB16 GB unified | $899Apple list price, M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 16GB/256GB (MHQK4LL/A), source, 2026-11-12 | 12 GB | 153 GB/s | $75 | OLMo-2-1124-13B-Instruct~10.6 GB at Q4 | 350 / 656 |
| Mac mini M6 24GB24 GB unified | $1,299Apple list price, M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 24GB/512GB (MHQM4LL/A), source, 2026-11-12 | 18 GB | 170 GB/s | $72 | gpt-oss-20b~15.6 GB at Q4 | 393 / 656 |
| Mac mini M6 32GB32 GB unified | $1,799Apple list price, M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 32GB/1TB (MHQV4LL/A), source, 2026-11-12 | 24 GB | 170 GB/s | $75 | ERNIE-4.5-VL-28B-A3B-PT~21.5 GB at Q4 | 423 / 656 |
| MacBook Pro M6 32GB32 GB unified | $2,399Apple list price, 14-inch M6 12C CPU/12C GPU, 32GB/1TB (MHWV4LL/A; available starting Nov 6, 2026), source, 2026-11-12 | 24 GB | 170 GB/s | $100 | ERNIE-4.5-VL-28B-A3B-PT~21.5 GB at Q4 | 423 / 656 |
| Mac mini M5 Pro 64GB64 GB unified | $3,199Apple list price, M5 Pro 18C CPU/20C GPU, 64GB/1TB (MHQU4LL/A), source, 2026-11-12 | 48 GB | 307 GB/s | $67 | AI21-Jamba2-Mini~37.0 GB at Q4 | 511 / 656 |
| MacBook Pro M4 Max 128GB128 GB unified · discontinued | $4,999reseller listing, 16-inch 128GB/1TB (AppleInsider price guide; sold out at listed reseller), source, 2026-11-05 | 96 GB | 546 GB/s | $52 | Mistral-Small-4-119B-2603~84.2 GB at Q4 | 545 / 656 |
| MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB128 GB unified | $6,699Apple list price, 14-inch M5 Max 18C CPU/40C GPU, 128GB/2TB, source, 2026-11-12 | 96 GB | 614 GB/s | $70 | Mistral-Small-4-119B-2603~84.2 GB at Q4 | 545 / 656 |
| Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB256 GB unified | $9,499Apple list price, M5 Ultra 30C CPU/64C GPU, 256GB/1TB, source, 2026-11-12 | 192 GB | 1200 GB/s | $49 | Intern-S1~168.8 GB at Q4 | 574 / 656 |
| Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB512 GB unified | $22,299Apple list price, M5 Ultra 36C CPU/80C GPU, 512GB/1TB, source, 2026-11-12 | 384 GB | 1200 GB/s | $58 | Qwen3-Coder-480B-A35B-Instruct~335.8 GB at Q4 | 610 / 656 |
Which popular models run, and how fast
| Mac | Qwen3-8B ~6.7 GB | gpt-oss-20b ~15.6 GB | Qwen3.8-27B ~20.4 GB | Qwen3-30B-A3B ~22.3 GB | Llama-3.3-70B-Instruct ~50.2 GB | gpt-oss-120b ~82.5 GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mac mini M4 16GB12 GB usable | Fits 11–19 tok/s | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | Won’t fit |
| Mac mini M6 16GB12 GB usable | Fits 14–25 tok/s | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | Won’t fit |
| Mac mini M6 24GB18 GB usable | Fits 15–27 tok/s | Fits up to 62 tok/s | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | Won’t fit | Won’t fit |
| Mac mini M6 32GB24 GB usable | Fits 15–27 tok/s | Fits up to 62 tok/s | Fits 5–8 tok/s | Tight up to 75 tok/s | Won’t fit | Won’t fit |
| MacBook Pro M6 32GB24 GB usable | Fits 15–27 tok/s | Fits up to 62 tok/s | Fits 5–8 tok/s | Tight up to 75 tok/s | Won’t fit | Won’t fit |
| Mac mini M5 Pro 64GB48 GB usable | Fits 28–49 tok/s | Fits up to 113 tok/s | Fits 8–15 tok/s | Fits up to 135 tok/s | Won’t fit | Won’t fit |
| MacBook Pro M4 Max 128GB96 GB usable | Fits 49–88 tok/s | Fits up to 200 tok/s | Fits 15–26 tok/s | Fits up to 240 tok/s | Fits 6–10 tok/s | Fits up to 141 tok/s |
| MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB96 GB usable | Fits 56–99 tok/s | Fits up to 225 tok/s | Fits 16–29 tok/s | Fits up to 270 tok/s | Fits 6–11 tok/s | Fits up to 159 tok/s |
| Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB192 GB usable | Fits 109–193 tok/s | Fits up to 440 tok/s | Fits 32–57 tok/s | Fits up to 528 tok/s | Fits 13–22 tok/s | Fits up to 310 tok/s |
| Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB384 GB usable | Fits 109–193 tok/s | Fits up to 440 tok/s | Fits 32–57 tok/s | Fits up to 528 tok/s | Fits 13–22 tok/s | Fits up to 310 tok/s |
Not a Mac, but similar
Unified-memory mini PCs with up to 128 GB: Framework Desktop (Ryzen AI Max+ 395) 128GB (96 GB usable, 256 GB/s, $3,449), NVIDIA DGX Spark 64GB (48 GB usable, 273 GB/s, $4,999), NVIDIA DGX Spark 128GB (96 GB usable, 273 GB/s, $6,950). See Mac mini M5 Pro vs Framework Desktop and DGX Spark vs Mac Studio, or the best mini PC for local LLMs.
Quick answers
- What is the best Mac for running local LLMs?
- It depends on the model size. For 27–32B models: the Mac mini M6 32GB (24 GB usable, $1,799). For 70B models and gpt-oss-120b: the MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB (96 GB usable, $6,699). Most memory: the Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB (384 GB usable, $22,299). Memory decides what fits; memory bandwidth decides speed.
- How much of a Mac's memory can an LLM use?
- We count about 75% of unified memory as usable for model weights, since macOS and other apps need the rest by default. A 32 GB Mac gives about 24 GB, a 128 GB Mac about 96 GB.
- What is the cheapest Mac for local AI?
- The Mac mini M6 16GB at $899 (2026-11-12). It has about 12 GB usable and runs 350 of our 656 tracked models at Q4.
- Can a Mac run a 70B model?
- Yes. Llama 3.3 70B needs about 50.2 GB at Q4. That is more than the 48 GB usable on a 64 GB Mac, so among the Macs we track it takes a 128 GB one. The cheapest current one we track is the MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB at $6,699.
- Mac or GPU for local LLMs?
- A Mac can offer far more memory in one quiet box than any single consumer GPU, so it fits bigger models. A desktop GPU has more bandwidth per GB, so models that fit run faster. See our GPU vs GPU and build comparison pages to weigh specific pairs.
- How fast are these speed estimates?
- They are rough decode-speed ranges: memory bandwidth divided by the model's Q4 weight size, times an efficiency band calibrated on public llama.cpp Apple Silicon results. MoE models show an upper bound only. Real speed depends on the app, context length and settings.
Buying guides · Best GPU by budget · NVIDIA vs AMD vs Mac · Tokens per second · GPU vs GPU