Apple · M4 · Mini PC

Best AI Models for Mac Mini M4 (24 GB)

Runs 27–31B models at 5 tok/s; 9B and 14B fit but are slow (13 and 9 tok/s), and 70B doesn't fit in 20.5 GB.

24 GB unified20.5 GB for models120 GB/s9 TFLOPS FP162024

Memory

Same chip in

Mac MiniMacBook Air 13"$1,399 MacBook Air 15"MacBook Pro 14"iMac 24"iPad Pro 13"

What LLMs can the Mac Mini M4 run?

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
2	Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB	13.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
3	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	28.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
4	Qwen3 8BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB	15.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB
5	Ling 3.0 TinyInclusion AI Q4_K_M · 5.5 GB	62.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 5.5 GB

#	Model	Speed	Coding Score	Quant · Memory
1	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	25.8 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
2	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	28.1 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
3	Llama 3.1 8B InstructMeta Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB	15.8 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB
4	Qwen3 8BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB	15.2 tok/s	overall	Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB
5	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB	25.8 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
2	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	28.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
3	Qwen3 8BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB	15.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB
4	Llama 3.1 8B InstructMeta Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB	15.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB
5	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	GPT OSS 20BOpenAIHow to run → Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	28.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
2	Llama 3.1 8B InstructMeta Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB	15.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB
3	Llama 3.2 1B InstructMeta Q4_K_M · 2.3 GB	102 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 2.3 GB
4	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
5	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB

#	Model	Speed ↓	Quant · Memory
1	GPT OSS 20BOpenAIHow to run → Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	28.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
2	Ling 3.0 TinyInclusion AI Q4_K_M · 5.5 GB	62.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 5.5 GB
3	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
4	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
5	Qwen3 8BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB	15.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
2	Gemma 3 4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB	29.6 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 5.0 GB
3	Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB	13.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
4	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB	25.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
5	Cosmos Reason2 2BNVIDIA Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB	52.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.5 GB

See all 293 models on the Mac Mini M4 →Bars = traction for models without a Score yet
Task rankings use that task's benchmarks, topped up from Overall when short; bars mark well-known models with no Score yet.

About the Mac Mini M4 (24 GB)

The Mac Mini M4 is a 24 GB mini PC with more memory than speed: it runs 27–31B models at 5 tok/s. Among 24 GB machines, only the M5 Pro, M4 Pro and M5 write faster. macOS keeps about 3.5 GB, leaving 20.5 GB for models. Prompt reading is its weak spot: a 4K-token prompt waits 21 s before the first word on Gemma 4 26B A4B IT. M4 generation, released 2024; the newer M5 writes 28% faster with 1.9× the compute.

Speed in 24 GB#4120 GB/s

Prompt reading#49 TFLOPS

For models20.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GB

ChipM4released 2024

Mac Mini M4 strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Runs 35B MoE models: Qwen3.6 35B A3B at 25.7 tok/s in 19.8 GB

Weaknesses

70B models don't fit: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 51.3 GB at Q4 vs 20.5 GB usable here
Slow on large dense models: Qwen3.8 27B at 4.8 tok/s
Slow prompt reading: A 32K-token prompt on Gemma 4 26B A4B IT waits 2.8 min for the first token
No CUDA: vLLM, AWQ, GPTQ and FP8 builds don't run; use GGUF or MLX

Memory for models

20.5 GB of 24 GB

9B6.6 GB14B11.9 GB27–31B17.9 GB35B MoE19.8 GB

9B6.6 GB14B11.9 GB35B MoE19.8 GB

For models 20.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GBModel size at Q4

70B models need 51.3 GB at Q4, more than the 20.5 GB available. The 32 GB config fits Qwen3.8 27B →

Similar devices and alternatives

Other memory sizes of the same machine first, then machines and GPUs people weigh against it, each with the one reason it is worth a look. Speeds on Qwen3.5 9B.

Same chip, 8 GB less memoryMac Mini M4 (16 GB)Apple · 12.5 GB for models · M4

same speed▼ 8 GB$799

Same family Same chip, 8 GB more memoryMac Mini M4 (32 GB)Apple · 28.5 GB for models · M4

same speed▲ 8 GB$999

Same family 127% faster, same memoryMac Mini M4 Pro (24 GB)Apple · 20.5 GB for models · M4 Pro

▲ 127% speedsame memory$1,599

28% faster, 3.5 GB more memoryMacBook Pro 14 M5Apple · 24 GB for models · M5

▲ 28% speed▲ 3.5 GB$1,839

242% faster, 12 GB more memoryMac Studio M4 Max (36 GB)Apple · 32.5 GB for models · M4 Max

▲ 242% speed▲ 12 GB$2,499

Reads prompts 4× faster, 48 GB for modelsMacBook Pro 14 M5 ProApple · 48 GB for models · M5 Pro

▲ 4× prompts▲ 156% speed▲ 27.5 GB$2,299

Mac Mini M4 tokens per second by model size

Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (120 GB/s). Grey rows need more than the 20.5 GB available.

9BQwen3.5 9B · Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
13.2tok/s
14BQwen3 14B · Q4_K_M · 11.9 GB slow
8.8tok/s
27–31BQwen3.8 27B · Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB slow
4.8tok/s
35B MoEQwen3.6 35B A3B · IQ4_XS · 19.8 GB tight · IQ4_XS
25.7tok/s
70BLlama 3.3 70B Instruct · does not fit
needs 51.3 GB
120B MoEGPT OSS 120B · does not fit
needs 70.8 GB

Estimated speeds: Q4_K_M, 4K context, one user. How we estimate

Chip generations: writing vs compute

M1 → M5

Writing speed (tok/s)Compute (TFLOPS FP16)

Writing speed follows memory bandwidth and barely moved: 7.5 to 16.9 tok/s since the M1. Compute, which sets how fast prompts are read, grew 3.1×. Indexed to the M1; speeds on Qwen3.5 9B, same 16 GB.

All 1068 models on the Mac Mini M4

Featured only

Best quant that fits in 20.5 GB, ordered by llmrun Score. Fit grades how well it runs here, S best. How ranking works

LLM models compatible with Mac Mini M4 (24 GB) — ranked by Score, recency and Fit
Model	Quant	VRAM	Speed	Context	Fit
Deepseek Vl2 Tiny3.4BVision 3.4B·BF16·24.8 t/s	BF16	9.4 GB46%	24.8 t/s	—	A65, Runs well
CPH Community 7B7BChat 7B·Q4_K_M·18.2 t/s	Q4_K_M	7.1 GB35%	18.2 t/s	—	B58, Decent
Hunyuan 0.5B Pretrain539MChat 539M·Q4_K_M·116.7 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	1.4 GB7%	116.7 t/s	262K	S94, Runs great
Tiny Gemma2ForCausalLM2MChat 2M·Q4_K_M·280.0 t/s·8K ctx	Q4_K_M	0.4 GB2%	280.0 t/s	8K	S100, Runs great
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B32.8BChatReasoningFunctions 32.8B·IQ3_M·5.4 t/s·131K ctx	IQ3_M	19.3 GB94%	5.4 t/s	131K	D21, Barely runs
Qwen3.5 4B Claude 4.6 Opus Reasoning Distilled4.7BChatReasoning 4.7B·Q4_K_M·25.8 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	3.4 GB17%	25.8 t/s	262K	A66, Runs well
Granite Switch 4.1 3B Preview4.1BChat 4.1B·BF16·9.6 t/s·131K ctx	BF16	10.0 GB49%	9.6 t/s	131K	B47, Decent
Tiny LlamaForCausalLM 32MChat 2M·Q4_K_M·280.0 t/s·8K ctx	Q4_K_M	0.4 GB2%	280.0 t/s	8K	S100, Runs great
Tiny GemmaForCausalLM2MChat 2M·Q4_K_M·280.0 t/s·8K ctx	Q4_K_M	0.4 GB2%	280.0 t/s	8K	S100, Runs great
Qwen3 30B A3B Instruct 250730.5BChatFunctions 30.5B·Q4_K_M·29.3 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	19.4 GB95%	29.3 t/s	262K	B47, Decent
Carbon 8B8.3BChat 8.3B·Q4_K_M·15.2 t/s·33K ctx	Q4_K_M	7.4 GB36%	15.2 t/s	33K	B55, Decent
Olmo 3 32B Think32.2BChat 32.2B·Q4_K_S·4.4 t/s·66K ctx	Q4_K_S	20.3 GB99%	4.4 t/s	66K	F11, Won't fit
Tiny GPTNeoXForCausalLM806624Chat 806624·Q4_K_M·280.0 t/s·2K ctx	Q4_K_M	0.3 GB1%	280.0 t/s	2K	S100, Runs great
Vllm Translategemma 12B IT13.2BChatTranslation 13.2B·Q4_K_M·9.4 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	9.8 GB48%	9.4 t/s	131K	B47, Decent
GPT OSS 20B Heretic20.9BChat 20.9B·Q4_K_M·28.1 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	13.1 GB64%	28.1 t/s	131K	A69, Runs well

Mac Mini M4 specs

Specs

Chip: M4
CPU cores: 10
GPU cores: 10
Unified memory: 24 GB
For models: 20.5 GB (macOS keeps 3.5 GB)
Memory bandwidth: 120 GB/s
FP16 (dense): 8.6 TFLOPS
Neural Engine: 38 TOPS
Released: 2024-11-08

Mac Mini M4 FAQ

How much memory is available for AI on the Mac Mini M4 (24 GB)?

About 20.5 GB of the 24 GB. macOS keeps roughly 3.5 GB for itself and other apps.

What is the largest model the Mac Mini M4 (24 GB) can run?

Qwen3.6 35B A3B (36.0B) at IQ4_XS uses 19.8 GB, 97% of the available memory, and runs at about 25.7 tok/s.

Can the Mac Mini M4 (24 GB) run Gemma 4 26B A4B IT?

Yes. Gemma 4 26B A4B IT fits at Q4_K_M, using 16.5 GB of the 20.5 GB available, and it is the best model that runs well on this machine.

Can the Mac Mini M4 (24 GB) run 70B models?

No. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 51.3 GB at Q4, more than the 20.5 GB available.

How long does the Mac Mini M4 (24 GB) take to read a long prompt?

On Gemma 4 26B A4B IT, about 21 s for a 4K-token prompt and 2.8 min for a 32K-token document before the first word appears.

Is renting a GPU cheaper than buying the Mac Mini M4?

An RTX 3090 (24 GB) rents from $0.17/hr.

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