GPU comparison
MacBook Air/Pro M4 (16GB) vs MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) for local LLMs
How the two stack up for running open-source LLMs locally — memory, bandwidth, price, and how many of the 48 tracked models each one can run.
| MacBook Air/Pro M4 (16GB) | MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 16.0 GB | 128.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 120 GB/s | 546 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $1,199 | $4,699 |
| LLMs it runs | 19 of 48 | 41 of 48 |
| Best model it runs | Devstral Small 2 24B · 8–12 tok/s | Gemma 4 31B · 13–19 tok/s |
The MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) runs 22 more of the tracked models (41 vs 19), thanks to its 128.0 GB of memory. The MacBook Pro M4 Max (128GB) has more memory bandwidth (546 GB/s), so it generates tokens faster at the same model and quant.