Apple · M4 Max · Desktop

Best AI Models for Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB)

Runs 27–35B models well; 70B doesn't fit in 32.5 GB.

36 GB unified32.5 GB for models409.6 GB/s26 TFLOPS FP16145 W2025

Buy$2,499

Memory

36 GB$2,499 48 GB64 GB$2,699 128 GB$3,499

Same chip in

Mac Studio$2,499 MacBook Pro 16"MacBook Pro 14"$3,199

What LLMs can the Mac Studio M4 Max run?

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.8 27BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB · 16.5 t/s	16.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2	Qwen3.6 27BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB · 16.5 t/s	16.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
3	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 64.2 t/s	64.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
4	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 72.3 t/s	72.3 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB · 64.8 t/s	64.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.8 27BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB · 16.5 t/s	16.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2	Qwen3.6 35B A3BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB · 55.2 t/s	55.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
3	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 64.2 t/s	64.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
4	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 72.3 t/s	72.3 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB · 64.8 t/s	64.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.8 27BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB · 16.5 t/s	16.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2	Qwen3.5 27BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB · 16.5 t/s	16.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
3	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 64.2 t/s	64.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
4	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 72.3 t/s	72.3 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB · 64.8 t/s	64.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed	Math Score	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.8 27BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB · 16.5 t/s	16.5 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2	Qwen3.6 27BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB · 16.5 t/s	16.5 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
3	Qwen3.6 35B A3BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB · 55.2 t/s	55.2 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
4	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 64.2 t/s	64.2 tok/s	overall	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB · 64.8 t/s	64.8 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed ↓	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.5 4BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 88.0 t/s	88.0 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
2	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 72.3 t/s	72.3 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
3	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB · 64.8 t/s	64.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB
4	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 64.2 t/s	64.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
5	Qwen3 30B A3B Thinking 2507Alibaba Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB · 59.6 t/s	59.6 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB

See all 346 models on the Mac Studio M4 Max →Bars = traction for models without a Score yet

About the Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB)

The Mac Studio M4 Max is one of the fastest 36 GB machines: it runs 27–35B models well. Among 36 GB machines, only the M5 Max write faster. macOS keeps about 3.5 GB, leaving 32.5 GB for models. With 26 TFLOPS it reads long prompts faster than most 36 GB machines: a 4K-token prompt takes 44 s. At its $2,499 MSRP it gives 22.1 tok/s per $1,000, 4th of the 8 machines compared here. M4 Max generation, released 2025; the newer M5 Max writes 7% faster with 2.1× the compute.

Speed in 36 GB#2410 GB/s

Prompt reading#226 TFLOPS

For models32.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GB

ChipM4 Maxreleased 2025

Mac Studio M4 Max strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Runs 35B MoE models: Qwen3.6 35B A3B at 55.2 tok/s in 22 GB
Room for long context: Qwen3.8 27B at Q4 uses 17.9 GB, leaving 14.6 GB free
Low power draw: 145 W at full load for the whole machine

Weaknesses

70B models don't fit: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 51.3 GB at Q4 vs 32.5 GB usable here
Slow prompt reading: A 32K-token prompt on Qwen3.8 27B waits 5.9 min for the first token
No CUDA: vLLM, AWQ, GPTQ and FP8 builds don't run; use GGUF or MLX

Memory for models

32.5 GB of 36 GB

9B6.6 GB14B11.9 GB27–31B17.9 GB35B MoE22 GB

14B11.9 GB35B MoE22 GB

For models 32.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GBModel size at Q4

70B models need 51.3 GB at Q4, more than the 32.5 GB available. The 48 GB config fits Gemma 4 31B IT →Or rent an H100 (80 GB) from $2.20/hr →

Speed per dollar and per watt

NewUsed

On Qwen3.6 35B A3B (35B params, 3B active) at Q4_K_M. New means a shop price, either a street quote or the maker's own price; used is compared with used. The last two columns are the speed you get per $1,000 of price and per 100 W of power; higher is better. The Mac Studio M4 Max has no current new price, so it is shown at its MSRP.

Machine	New price	tok/s	tok/s per $1,000	tok/s per 100 W
RTX 509032 GB	about $5,376	213	39.7	37.1
Mac Studio M4 Max64 GB	about $2,699	64.2	23.8	44.3
Mac Mini M432 GB	about $999	23.5	23.5	36.2
Mac Studio M4 Max36 GB	about $2,499	55.2	22.1	38.1
Mac Mini M4 Pro48 GB	about $2,199	43.2	19.6	30.9
Mac Studio M4 Max128 GB	about $3,499	64.2	18.3	44.3
MacBook Pro 14" M4 Max36 GB	about $3,199	55.2	17.3	–
MacBook Pro 14 M532 GB	about $1,839	28.6	15.6	–

Machine	Used price	tok/s	tok/s per $1,000	tok/s per 100 W
RTX 509032 GBBest used value	about $6,400	213	33.3	37.1
Mac Studio M4 Max36 GB	about $2,000	55.2	27.6	38.1
Mac Studio M4 Max64 GB	about $3,400	64.2	18.9	44.3

Cost per token: the Mac Studio M4 Max against 32–128 GB machines and GPUs

On Qwen3.6 35B A3B (35B params, 3B active, Q4_K_M, 4K context). Speed, cost per token and power per token depend on the model.

24–36 GB48–64 GB96–128 GBthis desktopat MSRP

Cost per 1M output tokenson Qwen3.6 35B A3B · card over 3 years + power

$2.98

Machine, MSRP: $2.87
Power: $0.11

3-year cost of ownership$2,594

Or rent an RTX A6000 in the cloud$0.40/hr

Renting costs as much as buying after ≈6,200 hours (≈4.2 years at 4 h a day).

Include card price

Power$/kWhUseh/dayKeepyears

Each dot is a machine or GPU; hover or tap it for its numbers, click to open it. Machines without a price for the chosen basis are left out. Machines without a published power figure are left out of Per watt and costed without power. How we calculate cost per token

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 Qwen3.6 35B A3B.

Same chip, 12 GB more memoryMac Studio M4 Max (48 GB)Apple · 44.5 GB for models · M4 Max

▲ 16% speed▲ 12 GBno price

Same family Same chip, 28 GB more memory for $200 moreMac Studio M4 Max (64 GB)Apple · 60.5 GB for models · M4 Max

▲ 16% speed▲ $200 more▲ 28 GB$2,699

Same family Machine, 57% slowerMac Mini M4 (32 GB)Apple · 28.5 GB for models · M4

▼ 57% speed▼ 4 GB$999

Newer laptop, 48% slowerMacBook Pro 14 M5Apple · 28.5 GB for models · M5

▼ 48% speed▼ 4 GB$1,839

Machine, 22% slowerMac Mini M4 Pro (48 GB)Apple · 44.5 GB for models · M4 Pro

▼ 22% speed▲ 12 GB$2,199

Reads prompts 18× faster, 32 GB for modelsRTX 5090NVIDIA · 32 GB VRAM · GPU

▲ 18× prompts▲ 286% speedsame memory$5,376rent $0.50/hr

Mac Studio M4 Max tokens per second by model size

Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (410 GB/s). Grey rows need more than the 32.5 GB available.

9BQwen3.5 9B · Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
45.1tok/s
14BQwen3 14B · Q4_K_M · 11.9 GB
30.2tok/s
27–31BQwen3.8 27B · Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
16.5tok/s
35B MoEQwen3.6 35B A3B · Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
55.2tok/s
70BLlama 3.3 70B Instruct · not at 4-bit
needs 51.3 GB
120B MoEGPT OSS 120B · not at 4-bit
needs 70.8 GB

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

Max generations: writing vs compute

M1 Max → M5 Max

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

Writing speed follows memory bandwidth and barely moved: 54.5 to 58.8 tok/s since the M1 Max. Compute, which sets how fast prompts are read, grew 3.5×. Indexed to the M1 Max; speeds on Qwen3.6 35B A3B, same 32 GB.

All 1176 models on the Mac Studio M4 Max

Featured only

Best quant that fits in 32.5 GB, ordered by llmrun Score. Fit grades how well it runs here, S best. How ranking works

LLM models compatible with Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB) — ranked by Score, recency and Fit
Model	Quant	VRAM	Speed	Context	Fit
Zephyr 7B Beta7.2BChat Q4_K_M·58.4 t/s	Q4_K_M	6.8 GB21%	58.4 t/s	33K	A83, Runs well
CodeLlama 34B Instruct HF33.7BChatCode Q4_K_M·13.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	23.8 GB73%	13.7 t/s	16K	B53, Decent
Seed OSS 36B Base36.2BChat Q4_K_M·12.9 t/s	Q4_K_M	24.1 GB74%	12.9 t/s	524K	B52, Decent
Amber6.7BChat Q4_K_M·52.9 t/s	Q4_K_M	5.4 GB17%	52.9 t/s	2K	A81, Runs well
Llama3 OpenBioLLM 8B8BChat Q4_K_M·53.4 t/s	Q4_K_M	6.2 GB19%	53.4 t/s	8K	A81, Runs well
Vicuna 7B V1.57BChat Q4_K_M·51.5 t/s	Q4_K_M	6.6 GB20%	51.5 t/s	4K	A80, Runs well
LFM2 1.2B1.2BChatFunctions Q4_K_M·268.0 t/s	Q4_K_M	1.2 GB4%	268.0 t/s	128K	S100, Runs great
Nemotron Cascade 8B8BChatReasoning Q4_K_M·53.1 t/s	Q4_K_M	7.5 GB23%	53.1 t/s	33K	A81, Runs well
NVIDIA Nemotron Nano 9B v28.9BChatFunctions Q4_K_M·47.5 t/s	Q4_K_M	6.0 GB19%	47.5 t/s	131K	A79, Runs well
Smol Llama 101M GQA101MChat Q4_K_M·774.9 t/s	Q4_K_M	0.4 GB1%	774.9 t/s	1K	S100, Runs great
Mellum2 12B A2.5B Base12.1BChat BF16·43.7 t/s	BF16	24.8 GB76%	43.7 t/s	131K	A77, Runs well
Llama 3 Korean Bllossom 8B8.0BChat Q4_K_M·53.2 t/s	Q4_K_M	6.2 GB19%	53.2 t/s	8K	A81, Runs well
Olmo 3 7B Think7.3BChat Q4_K_M·49.9 t/s	Q4_K_M	8.4 GB26%	49.9 t/s	66K	A79, Runs well
MiMo 7B Base7.8BChat Q4_K_M·54.1 t/s	Q4_K_M	7.4 GB23%	54.1 t/s	33K	A81, Runs well
Open Llama 7B7BChat Q4_K_M·62.1 t/s	Q4_K_M	4.6 GB14%	62.1 t/s	2K	A84, Runs well

Mac Studio M4 Max specs and power

Specs

Chip: M4 Max
CPU cores: 14
GPU cores: 32
Unified memory: 36 GB
For models: 32.5 GB (macOS keeps 3.5 GB)
Memory bandwidth: 409.6 GB/s
FP16 (dense): 25.8 TFLOPS
Neural Engine: 38 TOPS
Power: 145 W max
Released: 2025-03-12
MSRP: $2,499

Mac Studio M4 Max FAQ

Is the Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB) worth it for local LLMs in 2026?

At its $2,499 MSRP it gives 22.1 tok/s per $1,000 on Qwen3.6 35B A3B, 4th of the 8 machines compared here. It runs 27–35B models well; 70B doesn't fit in 32.5 GB.

How much memory is available for AI on the Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB)?

About 32.5 GB of the 36 GB. macOS keeps roughly 3.5 GB for itself and other apps.

What is the largest model the Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB) can run?

Qwen3.6 35B A3B (36.0B) is the largest at 4-bit or better: at Q4_K_M it uses 22.0 GB, 68% of the available memory, and runs at about 55.2 tok/s.

Can the Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB) run Qwen3.8 27B?

Yes. Qwen3.8 27B fits at Q4_K_M, using 17.9 GB of the 32.5 GB available, and it is the best model that runs well on this machine.

Can the Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB) run 70B models?

No. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 51.3 GB at Q4, more than the 32.5 GB available.

How long does the Mac Studio M4 Max (36 GB) take to read a long prompt?

On Qwen3.8 27B, about 44 s for a 4K-token prompt and 5.9 min for a 32K-token document before the first word appears.

Is renting a GPU cheaper than buying the Mac Studio M4 Max?

An RTX A6000 (48 GB) rents from $0.40/hr. Renting costs as much as buying after ≈6,200 hours (≈4.2 years at 4 h a day).

24 GB GPUs All Macs Desktops & mini PCs Mac Studio M5 Max MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max MacBook Pro 14" M3 Max MacBook Pro 16" M4 Max Best coding LLMs All hardware