Apple · M2 Pro · Laptop

Best AI Models for MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro (32 GB)

Runs 9B and 35B MoE models well; 14B and 27–31B fit but are slow (15 and 8 tok/s), and 70B doesn't fit in 28.5 GB.

32 GB unified28.5 GB for models200 GB/s14 TFLOPS FP162023

Memory

Same chip in

MacBook Pro 14"Mac MiniMacBook Pro 16"

Top models by task

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.6 35B A3BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB	34.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
2	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	39.0 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
3	Qwen3 30B A3B Thinking 2507Alibaba Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB	41.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB
4	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	42.9 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	48.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.6 35B A3BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB	34.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
2	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	39.0 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
3	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	42.9 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
4	Llama 3.1 8B InstructMeta Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB	26.4 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	48.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.6 35B A3BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB	34.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
2	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	39.0 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
3	Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB	22.0 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
4	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	42.9 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	48.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	39.0 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
2	Qwen3 30B A3B Thinking 2507Alibaba Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB	41.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB
3	Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB	22.0 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
4	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	42.9 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	48.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed ↓	Quant · Memory
1	GPT OSS 20BOpenAIHow to run → Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	42.9 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
2	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	48.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB
3	Qwen3 30B A3B Thinking 2507Alibaba Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB	41.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB
4	Qwen3 30B A3B Instruct 2507Alibaba Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB	41.2 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB
5	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	39.0 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB

See all 311 models on the MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro →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 MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro (32 GB)

The MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro is a mid-range 32 GB laptop: it runs 9B and 35B MoE models well. Among 32 GB machines, only the M1 Max, M2 Max and Orin write faster. macOS keeps about 3.5 GB, leaving 28.5 GB for models. Prompt reading is its weak spot: a 4K-token prompt waits 14 s before the first word on Qwen3.6 35B A3B. M2 Pro generation, released 2023; the newer M3 Pro writes -25% faster with 1.0× the compute.

Speed in 32 GB#4200 GB/s

Prompt reading#614 TFLOPS

For models28.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GB

ChipM2 Proreleased 2023

MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Runs 35B MoE models: Qwen3.6 35B A3B at 34.8 tok/s in 22 GB

Weaknesses

70B models don't fit: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 51.3 GB at Q4 vs 28.5 GB usable here
Slow on large dense models: Qwen3.8 27B at 8.0 tok/s
Slow prompt reading: A 32K-token prompt on Qwen3.6 35B A3B waits 1.9 min for the first token
No CUDA: vLLM, AWQ, GPTQ and FP8 builds don't run; use GGUF or MLX

Memory for models

28.5 GB of 32 GB

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

9B6.6 GB14B11.9 GB35B MoE22 GB

For models 28.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GBModel size at Q4

70B models need 51.3 GB at Q4, more than the 28.5 GB available.

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, 16 GB less memoryMacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro (16 GB)Apple · 12.5 GB for models · M2 Pro

same speed▼ 16 GBno price

Same family Newer machine, 40% slowerMac Mini M4 (32 GB)Apple · 28.5 GB for models · M4

▼ 40% speedsame memory$999

105% faster, 4 GB more memoryMac Studio M4 Max (36 GB)Apple · 32.5 GB for models · M4 Max

▲ 105% speed▲ 4 GB$2,499

Newer laptop, 23% slowerMacBook Pro 14 M5Apple · 24 GB for models · M5

▼ 23% speed▼ 4.5 GB$1,839

Reads prompts 27× faster, 24 GB for modelsRTX 4090NVIDIA · 24 GB VRAM · GPU

▲ 27× prompts▲ 368% speed▼ 4.5 GB$1,599rent $0.34/hr

Reads prompts 35× faster, 32 GB for modelsRTX 5090NVIDIA · 32 GB VRAM · GPU

▲ 35× prompts▲ 732% speed▲ 3.5 GB$5,376rent $0.69/hr

MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro tokens per second by model size

Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (200 GB/s). Grey rows need more than the 28.5 GB available.

9BQwen3.5 9B · Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
22.0tok/s
14BQwen3 14B · Q4_K_M · 11.9 GB
14.7tok/s
27–31BQwen3.8 27B · Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB slow
8.0tok/s
35B MoEQwen3.6 35B A3B · Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
34.8tok/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

Pro generations: writing vs compute

M1 Pro → M5 Pro

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

Writing speed follows memory bandwidth and barely moved: 22.0 to 33.8 tok/s since the M1 Pro. Compute, which sets how fast prompts are read, grew 2.5×. Indexed to the M1 Pro; speeds on Qwen3.5 9B, same 32 GB.

All 311 models on the MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro

Featured only

Best quant that fits in 28.5 GB, ordered by llmrun Score. Fit grades how well it runs here, S best. How ranking works

LLM models compatible with MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro (32 GB) — ranked by Score, recency and Fit
Model	Quant	VRAM	Speed	Context	Fit
Qwen3.8 27B27.8BVisionFunctions 27.8B·Q4_K_M·8.0 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	17.9 GB63%	8.0 t/s	262K	B45, Decent
Qwen3.6 35B A3B36.0BVisionFunctions 36.0B·Q4_K_M·34.8 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	22.0 GB77%	34.8 t/s	262K	A73, Runs well
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT25.8BVisionFunctions 25.8B·Q4_K_M·39.0 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	16.5 GB58%	39.0 t/s	262K	A75, Runs well
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF1631.6BChatFunctions 31.6B·Q4_K_M·48.2 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	19.3 GB68%	48.2 t/s	262K	A79, Runs well
Muse Glimmer 30B29.8BVision 29.8B·Q4_K_M·7.6 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	19.6 GB69%	7.6 t/s	131K	B45, Decent
GLM 4.7 Flash31.2BChatFunctions 31.2B·Q4_K_M·33.0 t/s·203K ctx	Q4_K_M	19.9 GB70%	33.0 t/s	203K	A72, Runs well
Gemma 4 31B IT31.3BVisionFunctions 31.3B·Q4_K_M·6.9 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	21.7 GB76%	6.9 t/s	262K	C44, Usable
JEV 27B VL27.8BVisionFunctions 27.8B·Q4_K_M·8.0 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	17.9 GB63%	8.0 t/s	262K	B45, Decent
GPT OSS 20B20.9BChatFunctions 20.9B·Q4_K_M·42.9 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	13.1 GB46%	42.9 t/s	131K	A77, Runs well
Ornith 1.5 35B A3B36.0BChatFunctions 36.0B·Q4_K_M·34.8 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	22.0 GB77%	34.8 t/s	262K	A73, Runs well
Ling 3.0 Tiny7.9BChatFunctions 7.9B·Q4_K_M·87.1 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	5.5 GB19%	87.1 t/s	131K	S89, Runs great
MiniCPM5 2B2.5BChatFunctions 2.5B·Q4_K_M·73.7 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	2.5 GB9%	73.7 t/s	131K	S86, Runs great
Ornith 1.0 35B35.1BChatFunctions 35.1B·Q4_K_M·40.0 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	21.5 GB76%	40.0 t/s	262K	A75, Runs well
Qwen3.5 9B9.7BVisionFunctions 9.7B·Q4_K_M·22.0 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	6.6 GB23%	22.0 t/s	262K	B62, Decent
Qwen3.6 27B27.8BVisionFunctions 27.8B·Q4_K_M·8.0 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	17.9 GB63%	8.0 t/s	262K	B45, Decent

MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro specs

Specs

Chip: M2 Pro
CPU cores: 12
GPU cores: 19
Unified memory: 32 GB
For models: 28.5 GB (macOS keeps 3.5 GB)
Memory bandwidth: 200 GB/s
FP16 (dense): 13.6 TFLOPS
Neural Engine: 16 TOPS
Released: 2023-01-24

MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro FAQ

How much memory is available for AI on the MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro (32 GB)?

About 28.5 GB of the 32 GB. macOS keeps roughly 3.5 GB for itself and other apps.

What is the largest model the MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro (32 GB) can run?

Qwen3.6 35B A3B (36.0B) at Q4_K_M uses 22.0 GB, 77% of the available memory, and runs at about 34.8 tok/s.

Can the MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro (32 GB) run 70B models?

No. Llama 3.3 70B Instruct needs 51.3 GB at Q4, more than the 28.5 GB available.

How long does the MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro (32 GB) take to read a long prompt?

On Qwen3.6 35B A3B, about 14 s for a 4K-token prompt and 1.9 min for a 32K-token document before the first word appears.

Is renting a GPU cheaper than buying the MacBook Pro 14" M2 Pro?

An RTX PRO 4500 Blackwell (32 GB) rents from $0.34/hr.

24 GB GPUs All Macs Laptops Mac Studio M1 Max Mac Studio M2 Max MacBook Pro 14" M1 Max MacBook Pro 14" M2 Max MacBook Pro 16" M1 Max MacBook Pro 16" M2 Max MacBook Pro 14" M3 Max MacBook Pro 16" M4 Max Best coding LLMs All hardware