llmrun

Apple · M5 Max · Laptop

Best AI Models for MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max (64 GB)

Runs 27–35B models well and fits 120B MoE; dense 70B fits but is slow at 9 tok/s.

64 GB unified60.5 GB for models614 GB/s68 TFLOPS FP162026
Memory
36 GB48 GB64 GB128 GBabout $5,399
Same chip in
MacBook Pro 16"Mac StudioMacBook Pro 14"

Top models by task

#ModelSpeedllmrun ScoreQuant · Memory
1
Qwen3.8 27BAlibabaHow to run →
Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
24.7 tok/sQ4_K_M · 17.9 GB
2
Qwen3.6 27BAlibaba
Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
24.7 tok/sQ4_K_M · 17.9 GB
3
Gemma 4 31B ITGoogle
Q4_K_M · 21.7 GB
21.1 tok/sQ4_K_M · 21.7 GB
4
Gemma 4 26B A4B ITGoogle
Q4_K_M · 16.5 GB
80.7 tok/sQ4_K_M · 16.5 GB
5
NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B A3B BF16NVIDIA
Q4_K_M · 19.3 GB
72.7 tok/sQ4_K_M · 19.3 GB
See all 338 models on the MacBook Pro 16" 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 16" M5 Max (64 GB)

The MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max is one of the fastest 64 GB machines: it runs 27–35B models well and fits 120B MoE. Among 64 GB machines, only the M1 Ultra and M2 Ultra write faster. macOS keeps about 3.5 GB, leaving 60.5 GB for models. With 68 TFLOPS it reads long prompts faster than most 64 GB machines: a 4K-token prompt takes 17 s. M5 Max generation, released 2026.

Speed in 64 GB#3614 GB/s
Prompt reading#168 TFLOPS
For models60.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GB
ChipM5 Maxreleased 2026

MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max strengths and weaknesses

Strengths

  • Runs 120B MoE models: GPT OSS 120B at 71.8 tok/s in 59.1 GB
  • Room for long context: Qwen3.8 27B at Q4 uses 17.9 GB, leaving 42.6 GB free

Weaknesses

  • Slow on large dense models: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct at 9.2 tok/s
  • 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

60.5 GB of 64 GB
9B6.6 GB14B11.9 GB35B MoE22 GB70B51.3 GB120B MoE59.1 GB
35B MoE22 GB120B MoE59.1 GB
For models 60.5 GBmacOS keeps 3.5 GBModel size at Q4

Everything on the size ladder fits. Two 27B-class models together use 35.7 GB and leave 24.8 GB free.

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, 16 GB less memoryMacBook Pro 16" M5 Max (48 GB)Apple · 44.5 GB for models · M5 Max
same speed▼ 16 GBno price
Same familySame chip, 2× the memoryMacBook Pro 16" M5 Max (128 GB)Apple · 124.5 GB for models · M5 Max
same speed▲ 64 GBabout $5,399
Same familyMachine, 5% slowerMac Studio M4 Max (64 GB)Apple · 60.5 GB for models · M4 Max
▼ 5% speedsame memoryabout $2,699
13% faster, 11.5 GB more memoryMac Studio M3 Ultra (96 GB)Apple · 72 GB for models · M3 Ultra
▲ 13% speed▲ 11.5 GBabout $3,999
2.2× faster if your models fit in 24 GBRTX 4090NVIDIA · 24 GB VRAM · GPU
▲ 123% speed▼ 36.5 GBabout $1,599rent $0.34/hr
3.1× faster if your models fit in 32 GBRTX 5090NVIDIA · 32 GB VRAM · GPU
▲ 215% speed▼ 28.5 GBabout $5,376rent $0.69/hr

MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max tokens per second by model size

Output speed depends on memory bandwidth (614 GB/s). Grey rows need more than the 60.5 GB available.

  1. 9BQwen3.5 9B · Q4_K_M · 6.6 GB
    67.6tok/s
  2. 14BQwen3 14B · Q4_K_M · 11.9 GB
    45.2tok/s
  3. 27–31BQwen3.8 27B · Q4_K_M · 17.9 GB
    24.7tok/s
  4. 35B MoEQwen3.6 35B A3B · Q4_K_M · 22.0 GB
    67.8tok/s
  5. 70BLlama 3.3 70B Instruct · Q4_K_M · 51.3 GB slow
    9.2tok/s
  6. 120B MoEGPT OSS 120B · Q4_0 · 59.1 GB tight · Q4_0
    71.8tok/s

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)
1×2×3×4×M1 Max2021M2 Max2023M3 Max2023M4 Max2024M5 Max2026M1 Max · 20.8 TFLOPS FP16M1 Max · 54.5 tok/s · 400 GB/sM2 Max · 27.2 TFLOPS FP16M2 Max · 54.5 tok/s · 400 GB/sM3 Max · 28.7 TFLOPS FP16M3 Max · 55.2 tok/s · 409.6 GB/sM4 Max · 34.4 TFLOPS FP16M4 Max · 64.2 tok/s · 546 GB/sM5 Max · 68 TFLOPS FP16M5 Max · 67.8 tok/s · 614 GB/sCompute 3.3×Writing +24%
1×2×3×4×M12021M22023M32023M42024M52026M1 Max · 20.8 TFLOPS FP16M1 Max · 54.5 tok/s · 400 GB/sM2 Max · 27.2 TFLOPS FP16M2 Max · 54.5 tok/s · 400 GB/sM3 Max · 28.7 TFLOPS FP16M3 Max · 55.2 tok/s · 409.6 GB/sM4 Max · 34.4 TFLOPS FP16M4 Max · 64.2 tok/s · 546 GB/sM5 Max · 68 TFLOPS FP16M5 Max · 67.8 tok/s · 614 GB/sCompute 3.3×Writing +24%

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 3.3×. Indexed to the M1 Max; speeds on Qwen3.6 35B A3B, same 64 GB.

All 1168 models on the MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max

Featured only

Best quant that fits in 60.5 GB, ordered by llmrun Score. Fit grades how well it runs here, S best. How ranking works

LLM models compatible with MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max (64 GB) — ranked by Score, recency and Fit
ModelVRAMScoreFit
LFM2 350M Extract
354M·Q4_K_M·741.0 t/s·128K ctx
0.8 GBS100, Runs great
Gemma 3n E4B IT Litert Lm
4B·Q4_K_M·162.8 t/s
4.8 GBS97, Runs great
Tiny Starcoder Py
164M·Q4_K_M·3907.3 t/s·8K ctx
0.5 GBS100, Runs great
Qwen3 8B Base
8.2B·Q4_K_M·77.9 t/s·33K ctx
7.6 GBS87, Runs great
Qwen2.5 Coder 0.5B Instruct
494M·Q4_K_M·693.2 t/s·33K ctx
0.8 GBS100, Runs great
Gemma 3 1B Pt
1000M·Q4_K_M·651.2 t/s
2.1 GBS100, Runs great
II Medical 8B
8.2B·Q4_K_M·77.9 t/s·41K ctx
7.6 GBS87, Runs great
Qwen2.5 Coder 1.5B Instruct
1.5B·Q4_K_M·335.8 t/s·33K ctx
1.7 GBS100, Runs great
Granite 3.0 2B Instruct
2.6B·Q4_K_M·209.7 t/s·4K ctx
2.2 GBS100, Runs great
WhiteRabbitNeo 13B V1
13B·Q4_K_M·43.9 t/s·16K ctx
21.5 GBA77, Runs well
Phi 3 Mini 4k Instruct
3.8B·Q4_K_M·126.4 t/s·4K ctx
4.2 GBS95, Runs great
Glm 4 9B Chat
9.4B·Q4_K_M·69.3 t/s·131K ctx
8.9 GBS86, Runs great
Phi 3 Small 8k Instruct
7.4B·BF16·28.0 t/s·8K ctx
16.2 GBA69, Runs well
Granite 4.0 Tiny Preview
6.7B·Q4_K_M·98.4 t/s·131K ctx
5.6 GBS91, Runs great
Opt 6.7B
6.7B·FP16·29.2 t/s·2K ctx
14.7 GBA70, Runs well

MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max specs

Specs

Chip
M5 Max
CPU cores
18
GPU cores
40
Unified memory
64 GB
For models
60.5 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 16" M5 Max FAQ

How much memory is available for AI on the MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max (64 GB)?

About 60.5 GB of the 64 GB. macOS keeps roughly 3.5 GB for itself and other apps.

What is the largest model the MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max (64 GB) can run?

GPT OSS 120B (116.8B) at Q4_0 uses 59.1 GB, 98% of the available memory, and runs at about 71.8 tok/s.

Can the MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max (64 GB) run 70B models?

Yes, but slowly: Llama 3.3 70B Instruct at Q4_K_M uses 51.3 GB and writes about 9.2 tok/s.

How long does the MacBook Pro 16" M5 Max (64 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 16" M5 Max?

An A100 (80 GB) rents from $1.07/hr.

48 GB GPUsAll MacsLaptopsMac Pro M2 UltraMac Studio M1 UltraMac Studio M2 UltraBest coding LLMsAll hardware