GPU comparison
MacBook Air M4 (24GB) vs MacBook Pro M5 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 M4 (24GB) | MacBook Pro M5 Max (128GB) | |
|---|---|---|
| Memory | 24.0 GB | 128.0 GB |
| Bandwidth | 120 GB/s | 614 GB/s |
| Price (approx) | $1,399 | $5,099 |
| LLMs it runs | 29 of 48 | 41 of 48 |
| Best model it runs | Gemma 4 31B · 5–7 tok/s | Gemma 4 31B · 14–22 tok/s |
The MacBook Pro M5 Max (128GB) runs 12 more of the tracked models (41 vs 29), thanks to its 128.0 GB of memory. The MacBook Pro M5 Max (128GB) has more memory bandwidth (614 GB/s), so it generates tokens faster at the same model and quant.