GPU comparison
MacBook Pro M4 Max (48GB) vs MacBook Air/Pro M5 (24GB) 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 Pro M4 Max (48GB) | MacBook Air/Pro M5 (24GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 48.0 GB | 24.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 546 GB/s | 153 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $3,199 | $1,299 |
| LLMs it runs | 49 of 64 | 45 of 64 |
| Best model it runs | Qwen3.8 27B · 14–21 tok/s | Qwen3.8 27B · 9–13 tok/s |
The MacBook Pro M4 Max (48GB) runs 4 more of the tracked models (49 vs 45), thanks to its 48.0 GB of memory. The MacBook Pro M4 Max (48GB) has more memory bandwidth (546 GB/s), so it generates tokens faster at the same model and quant.