Apple · M6 · Laptop

Best AI Models for MacBook Pro 14" M6 (24 GB)

Runs 9B models well and fits 35B MoE; 14B and 27–31B fit but are slow (13 and 7 tok/s), and 70B doesn't fit in 20.5 GB.

24 GB unified20.5 GB for models170 GB/s19 TFLOPS FP162026

Buy$2,199

Memory

16 GB$1,999 24 GB$2,199 32 GB$2,399

Same chip in

MacBook Pro 14"$2,199 Mac Mini$1,099 iMac 24"$1,699

What LLMs can the MacBook Pro 14" M6 run?

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 34.4 t/s	34.4 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
2	Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 18.7 t/s	18.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
3	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 36.5 t/s	36.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
4	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 37.6 t/s	37.6 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
5	LFM2.5 24B A2BLiquid AI Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB · 48.1 t/s	48.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB

#	Model	Speed	Coding Score	Quant · Memory
1	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 34.4 t/s	34.4 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
2	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 37.6 t/s	37.6 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
3	Llama 3.1 8B InstructMeta Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB · 22.5 t/s	22.5 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB
4	Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 18.7 t/s	18.7 tok/s	overall	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
5	LFM2.5 24B A2BLiquid AI Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB · 48.1 t/s	48.1 tok/s		Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogleHow to run → Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 34.4 t/s	34.4 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
2	Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 18.7 t/s	18.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
3	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 37.6 t/s	37.6 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
4	Qwen3 8BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB · 21.6 t/s	21.6 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 7.6 GB
5	LFM2.5 24B A2BLiquid AI Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB · 48.1 t/s	48.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB

#	Model	Speed	Quant · Memory
1	Qwen3.5 9BAlibabaHow to run → Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 18.7 t/s	18.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
2	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 36.5 t/s	36.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
3	GPT OSS 20BOpenAI Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 37.6 t/s	37.6 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
4	Llama 3.1 8B InstructMeta Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB · 22.5 t/s	22.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 7.9 GB
5	LFM2.5 24B A2BLiquid AI Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB · 48.1 t/s	48.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB

#	Model	Speed ↓	Quant · Memory
1	GPT OSS 20BOpenAIHow to run → Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB · 37.6 t/s	37.6 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 13.1 GB
2	LFM2.5 24B A2BLiquid AI Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB · 48.1 t/s	48.1 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 15.0 GB
3	Qwen3.5 4BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB · 36.5 t/s	36.5 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 3.4 GB
4	Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB · 34.4 t/s	34.4 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
5	Qwen3.5 9BAlibaba Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB · 18.7 t/s	18.7 tok/s	Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB

See all 322 models on the MacBook Pro 14" M6 →Bars = traction for models without a Score yet

About the MacBook Pro 14" M6 (24 GB)

The MacBook Pro 14" M6 is a mid-range 24 GB laptop: it runs 9B models well and fits 35B MoE. Among 24 GB machines, only the M5 Pro and M4 Pro write faster. macOS keeps about 3.5 GB, leaving 20.5 GB for models. With 19 TFLOPS it reads long prompts faster than most 24 GB machines: a 4K-token prompt takes 9.4 s. At its $2,199 MSRP it gives 8.5 tok/s per $1,000, 6th of the 8 machines compared here.

Speed in 24 GB#3170 GB/s

Prompt reading#219 TFLOPS

For models20.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GB

ChipM6released 2026

MacBook Pro 14" M6 strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

Runs 35B MoE models: Qwen3.6 35B A3B at 33.5 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 6.8 tok/s
Slow prompt reading: A 32K-token prompt on Gemma 4 26B A4B IT waits 1.3 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 →Or rent an A100 (80 GB) from $1.07/hr →

Speed per dollar and per watt

NewUsed

On Qwen3.5 9B (9B params) 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 MacBook Pro 14" M6 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
Mac Mini M4 Pro24 GB	about $1,599	30.0	18.8	21.4
Mac Mini M624 GB	about $1,099	18.7	17.0	–
MacBook Pro 14" M4 Pro24 GB	about $1,999	30.0	15.0	–
MacBook Pro 16" M4 Pro24 GB	about $2,499	30.0	12.0	–
iMac 24" M624 GB	about $1,699	18.7	11.0	–
MacBook Pro 14" M624 GB	about $2,199	18.7	8.5	–
MacBook Pro 14" M616 GB	about $1,999	16.9	8.5	–
MacBook Pro 14" M632 GB	about $2,399	18.7	7.8	–

Machine	Used price	tok/s	tok/s per $1,000	tok/s per 100 W
RTX 409024 GBBest used value	about $3,000	103	34.3	22.9
RTX 509032 GB	about $7,000	183	26.2	31.8
Mac Studio M4 Max36 GB	about $2,000	45.1	22.6	31.1

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 memory for $200 lessMacBook Pro 14" M6 (16 GB)Apple · 12.5 GB for models · M6

▼ 10% speed▼ $200 less▼ 8 GB$1,999

Same family Same chip, 8 GB more memory for $200 moreMacBook Pro 14" M6 (32 GB)Apple · 28.5 GB for models · M6

same speed▲ $200 more▲ 8 GB$2,399

Same family 60% faster, same memoryMac Mini M4 Pro (24 GB)Apple · 20.5 GB for models · M4 Pro

▲ 60% speedsame memory$1,599

141% faster, 12 GB more memoryMac Studio M4 Max (36 GB)Apple · 32.5 GB for models · M4 Max

▲ 141% speed▲ 12 GB$2,499

Reads prompts 19× faster, 24 GB for modelsRTX 4090NVIDIA · 24 GB VRAM · GPU

▲ 19× prompts▲ 451% speed▲ 3.5 GB$1,599rent $0.34/hr

Reads prompts 25× faster, 32 GB for modelsRTX 5090NVIDIA · 32 GB VRAM · GPU

▲ 25× prompts▲ 879% speed▲ 11.5 GB$5,502rent $0.50/hr

MacBook Pro 14" M6 tokens per second by model size

Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (170 GB/s). Grey rows need more than the 20.5 GB available.

9BQwen3.5 9B · Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
18.7tok/s
14BQwen3 14B · Q4_K_M · 11.9 GB
12.5tok/s
27–31BQwen3.8 27B · Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB slow
6.8tok/s
35B MoEQwen3.6 35B A3B · IQ4_XS · 19.8 GB tight · IQ4_XS
33.5tok/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

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 1142 models on the MacBook Pro 14" M6

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 MacBook Pro 14" M6 (24 GB) — ranked by Score, recency and Fit
Model	Quant	VRAM	Speed	Context	Fit
Medgemma 1.5 4B IT4.3BVision Q4_K_M·41.9 t/s	Q4_K_M	5 GB24%	41.9 t/s	—	A76, Runs well
Thinkless 1.5B RL DeepScaleR1.8BChat Q4_K_M·83.8 t/s	Q4_K_M	1.8 GB9%	83.8 t/s	33K	S88, Runs great
Qwen3 4B4.0BChatFunctions Q4_K_M·41.0 t/s	Q4_K_M	4.2 GB21%	41.0 t/s	41K	A75, Runs well
Tiny Random Llama 34MChat Q4_K_M·396.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	0.3 GB1%	396.7 t/s	131K	S100, Runs great
A.X 4.0 Light7.3BChatFunctions Q4_K_M·24.9 t/s	Q4_K_M	5.6 GB27%	24.9 t/s	16K	A66, Runs well
Gpt2 Mini39MChat Q4_K_M·3966.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	0.0 GB0%	3966.7 t/s	1K	S100, Runs great
Qwopus3.5 9B V3.59.7BChatReasoningFunctions Q4_K_M·18.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	6.6 GB32%	18.7 t/s	262K	B58, Decent
NVIDIA Nemotron 3 Nano 30B A3B BF1631.6BChatFunctions Q4_K_M·34.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	19.3 GB94%	34.7 t/s	262K	B52, Decent
Ethereal Stardust 12B12.2BChatRoleplay Q4_K_M·14.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	11.0 GB54%	14.7 t/s	131K	B54, Decent
Qwen3.6 27B AEON Ultimate Uncensored BF1627.4BChatFunctionsReasoningVision Q4_K_M·6.9 t/s	Q4_K_M	17.6 GB86%	6.9 t/s	262K	C36, Usable
Dolphin Mistral 24B Venice Edition24.0BChat Q4_K_M·7.9 t/s	Q4_K_M	18.1 GB88%	7.9 t/s	131K	C35, Usable
Hermes 4 14B14.8BChatReasoningRoleplayFunctions Q4_K_M·12.5 t/s	Q4_K_M	11.8 GB58%	12.5 t/s	41K	B51, Decent
Styx 12B12.2BChat Q4_K_M·14.7 t/s	Q4_K_M	11.0 GB54%	14.7 t/s	131K	B54, Decent
Llama 3.2 1B Instruct1.2BChatFunctions Q4_K_M·145.1 t/s	Q4_K_M	2.3 GB11%	145.1 t/s	131K	S97, Runs great
H2o Danube3 500M Chat514MChat Q4_K_M·167.6 t/s	Q4_K_M	1.0 GB5%	167.6 t/s	8K	S98, Runs great

MacBook Pro 14" M6 specs

Specs

Chip: M6
CPU cores: 12
GPU cores: 12
Unified memory: 24 GB
For models: 20.5 GB (macOS keeps 3.5 GB)
Memory bandwidth: 170 GB/s
FP16 (dense): 19.2 TFLOPS
Neural Engine: 76 TOPS
Released: 2026-11-06
MSRP: $2,199

MacBook Pro 14" M6 FAQ

Is the MacBook Pro 14" M6 (24 GB) worth it for local LLMs in 2026?

At its $2,199 MSRP it gives 8.5 tok/s per $1,000 on Qwen3.5 9B, 6th of the 8 machines compared here. It runs 9B models well and fits 35B MoE; 14B and 27–31B fit but are slow (13 and 7 tok/s), and 70B doesn't fit in 20.5 GB.

How much memory is available for AI on the MacBook Pro 14" M6 (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 MacBook Pro 14" M6 (24 GB) can run?

Qwen3.6 35B A3B (36.0B) is the largest at 4-bit or better: at IQ4_XS it uses 19.8 GB, 97% of the available memory, and runs at about 33.5 tok/s.

Can the MacBook Pro 14" M6 (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 MacBook Pro 14" M6 (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 MacBook Pro 14" M6 (24 GB) take to read a long prompt?

On Gemma 4 26B A4B IT, about 9.4 s for a 4K-token prompt and 75 s for a 32K-token document before the first word appears.

Is renting a GPU cheaper than buying the MacBook Pro 14" M6?

An RTX 5090 (32 GB) rents from $0.46/hr. Renting costs as much as buying after ≈4,700 hours (≈3.3 years at 4 h a day).

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