Apple · M5 Max · Laptop

Best AI Models for MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max (48 GB)

Runs 27–35B models well; 70B only just fits in 44.5 GB, and 120B MoE doesn't fit.

48 GB unified44.5 GB for models614 GB/s68 TFLOPS FP162026

Memory

Same chip in

MacBook Pro 14"MacBook Pro 16"Mac Studio

Top models by task

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.8 27BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB	24.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2	Qwen3.6 27BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB	24.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
3	Gemma 4 31B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB	21.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB
4	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	80.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	72.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.8 27BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB	24.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2	Gemma 4 31B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB	21.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB
3	Qwen3.6 35B A3BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB	67.8 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
4	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	80.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	72.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.8 27BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB	24.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2	Qwen3.5 27BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB	24.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
3	Gemma 4 31B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB	21.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB
4	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	80.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	72.7 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	24.7 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2	Qwen3.6 27BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB	24.7 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
3	Qwen3.6 35B A3BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB	67.8 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
4	Gemma 4 31B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB	21.1 tok/s	overall	Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB
5	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	72.7 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB

#	Model	Speed ↓	Quant · Memory
1	GPT OSS 20BOpenAIHow to run → Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB	92.4 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
2	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB	80.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
3	NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB	72.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB
4	Qwen3 30B A3B Thinking 2507Alibaba Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB	69.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB
5	Qwen3 30B A3B Instruct 2507Alibaba Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB	69.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 19.4 GB

See all 335 models on the MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max →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" M5 Max (48 GB)

The MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max is the fastest 48 GB machine: it runs 27–35B models well. macOS keeps about 3.5 GB, leaving 44.5 GB for models. With 68 TFLOPS it reads long prompts faster than most 48 GB machines: a 4K-token prompt takes 17 s. M5 Max generation, released 2026.

Speed in 48 GB#1614 GB/s

Prompt reading#168 TFLOPS

For models44.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GB

ChipM5 Maxreleased 2026

MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Runs 35B MoE models: Qwen3.6 35B A3B at 67.8 tok/s in 22 GB
Room for long context: Qwen3.8 27B at Q4 uses 17.9 GB, leaving 26.6 GB free

Weaknesses

120B MoE models don't fit: GPT OSS 120B needs 70.8 GB at Q4 vs 44.5 GB usable here
Slow prompt reading: A 32K-token prompt on Qwen3.8 27B waits 2.2 min for the first token
No CUDA: vLLM, AWQ, GPTQ and FP8 builds don't run; use GGUF or MLX

Memory for models

44.5 GB of 48 GB

9B6.6 GB14B11.9 GB27–31B17.9 GB35B MoE22 GB70B44.5 GB

35B MoE22 GB70B44.5 GB

For models 44.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GBModel size at Q4

120B MoE models need 70.8 GB at Q4, more than the 44.5 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 Qwen3.6 35B A3B.

Same chip, 12 GB less memoryMacBook Pro 14" M5 Max (36 GB)Apple · 32.5 GB for models · M5 Max

▼ 13% speed▼ 12 GBno price

Same family Same chip, 16 GB more memoryMacBook Pro 14" M5 Max (64 GB)Apple · 60.5 GB for models · M5 Max

same speed▲ 16 GBno price

Same family Laptop, 5% slowerMacBook Pro 16" M4 Max (48 GB)Apple · 44.5 GB for models · M4 Max

▼ 5% speedsame memory$3,999

Machine, 36% slowerMac Mini M4 Pro (48 GB)Apple · 44.5 GB for models · M4 Pro

▼ 36% speedsame memory$2,199

Laptop, 31% slowerMacBook Pro 14 M5 ProApple · 48 GB for models · M5 Pro

▼ 31% speed▲ 3.5 GB$2,299

2.2× faster if your models fit in 24 GBRTX 4090NVIDIA · 24 GB VRAM · GPU

▲ 123% speed▼ 20.5 GB$1,599rent $0.34/hr

MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max tokens per second by model size

Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (614 GB/s). Grey rows need more than the 44.5 GB available.

9BQwen3.5 9B · Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
67.6tok/s
14BQwen3 14B · Q4_K_M · 11.9 GB
45.2tok/s
27–31BQwen3.8 27B · Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
24.7tok/s
35B MoEQwen3.6 35B A3B · Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
67.8tok/s
70BLlama 3.3 70B Instruct · Q3_K_L · 44.5 GB tight · Q3_K_L
10.8tok/s
120B MoEGPT OSS 120B · does not fit
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 67.8 tok/s since the M1 Max. Compute, which sets how fast prompts are read, grew 4.4×. Indexed to the M1 Max; speeds on Qwen3.6 35B A3B, same 32 GB.

All 335 models on the MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max

Featured only

Best quant that fits in 44.5 GB, ordered by llmrun Score. Fit grades how well it runs here, S best. How ranking works

LLM models compatible with MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max (48 GB) — ranked by Score, recency and Fit
Model	Quant	VRAM	Speed	Context	Fit
Qwen3.8 27B27.8BVisionFunctions 27.8B·Q4_K_M·24.7 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	17.9 GB40%	24.7 t/s	262K	A65, Runs well
Qwen3.6 35B A3B36.0BVisionFunctions 36.0B·Q4_K_M·67.8 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	22.0 GB50%	67.8 t/s	262K	S85, Runs great
Gemma 4 26B A4B IT25.8BVisionFunctions 25.8B·Q4_K_M·80.7 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	16.5 GB37%	80.7 t/s	262K	S88, Runs great
Muse Glimmer 30B29.8BVision 29.8B·Q4_K_M·23.4 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	19.6 GB44%	23.4 t/s	131K	B64, Decent
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF1631.6BChatFunctions 31.6B·Q4_K_M·72.7 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	19.3 GB43%	72.7 t/s	262K	S86, Runs great
Gemma 4 31B IT31.3BVisionFunctions 31.3B·Q4_K_M·21.1 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	21.7 GB49%	21.1 t/s	262K	B61, Decent
GLM 4.7 Flash31.2BChatFunctions 31.2B·Q4_K_M·61.7 t/s·203K ctx	Q4_K_M	19.9 GB45%	61.7 t/s	203K	A84, Runs well
JEV 27B VL27.8BVisionFunctions 27.8B·Q4_K_M·24.7 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	17.9 GB40%	24.7 t/s	262K	A65, Runs well
Qwen3.5 9B9.7BVisionFunctions 9.7B·Q4_K_M·67.6 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	6.6 GB15%	67.6 t/s	262K	S85, Runs great
MiniCPM5 2B2.5BChatFunctions 2.5B·Q4_K_M·226.2 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	2.5 GB6%	226.2 t/s	131K	S100, Runs great
Ornith 1.5 35B A3B36.0BChatFunctions 36.0B·Q4_K_M·67.8 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	22.0 GB50%	67.8 t/s	262K	S85, Runs great
MiMo V2.6 Distill Qwen 9B9.4BVisionCodeFunctions 9.4B·Q4_K_M·69.2 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	6.5 GB15%	69.2 t/s	262K	S86, Runs great
Ling 3.0 Tiny7.9BChatFunctions 7.9B·Q4_K_M·143.4 t/s·131K ctx	Q4_K_M	5.5 GB12%	143.4 t/s	131K	S96, Runs great
Qwen3.6 27B27.8BVisionFunctions 27.8B·Q4_K_M·24.7 t/s·262K ctx	Q4_K_M	17.9 GB40%	24.7 t/s	262K	A65, Runs well
Apertus V1.5 8B8.9BVision 8.9B·Q4_K_M·73.1 t/s	Q4_K_M	8.5 GB19%	73.1 t/s	—	S86, Runs great

MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max specs

Specs

Chip: M5 Max
CPU cores: 18
GPU cores: 40
Unified memory: 48 GB
For models: 44.5 GB (macOS keeps 3.5 GB)
Memory bandwidth: 614 GB/s
FP16 (dense): 68 TFLOPS
Neural Engine: 38 TOPS
Released: 2026-03-11

MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max FAQ

How much memory is available for AI on the MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max (48 GB)?

About 44.5 GB of the 48 GB. macOS keeps roughly 3.5 GB for itself and other apps.

What is the largest model the MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max (48 GB) can run?

Qwen3.6 35B A3B (36.0B) at Q4_K_M uses 22.0 GB, 50% of the available memory, and runs at about 67.8 tok/s.

Can the MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max (48 GB) run 120B MoE models?

No. GPT OSS 120B needs 70.8 GB at Q4, more than the 44.5 GB available.

How long does the MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max (48 GB) take to read a long prompt?

On Qwen3.8 27B, about 17 s for a 4K-token prompt and 2.2 min for a 32K-token document before the first word appears.

Is renting a GPU cheaper than buying the MacBook Pro 14" M5 Max?

An RTX A6000 (48 GB) rents from $0.40/hr.

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