GPU comparison
MacBook Air/Pro / Mac mini M4 (16GB) vs Mac Studio M5 Ultra (256GB) for local LLMs
How the two stack up for running open-source LLMs locally — memory, bandwidth, price, and how many of the 64 tracked models each one can run.
| MacBook Air/Pro / Mac mini M4 (16GB) | Mac Studio M5 Ultra (256GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 16.0 GB | 256.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 120 GB/s | 1228 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $1,199 | $9,499 |
| LLMs it runs | 27 of 64 | 60 of 64 |
| Best model it runs | Devstral Small 2 24B · 8–12 tok/s | GLM-5.3 Flash (MoE) · 61–91 tok/s |
The Mac Studio M5 Ultra (256GB) runs 33 more of the tracked models (60 vs 27), thanks to its 256.0 GB of memory. The Mac Studio M5 Ultra (256GB) has more memory bandwidth (1228 GB/s), so it generates tokens faster at the same model and quant.