readygpu

Mac mini M4 16GB vs Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB

For running models locally, priced in the UK. At 8k context the first runs 13 models fully in memory, the second 30.

In short

The Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB has more memory for models: 48 GB against 16 GB. At 8k context the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB runs 30 of the models we track fully in memory and the Mac mini M4 16GB 13; only the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB holds Qwen 3.8 27B. On the models both run fully in memory, the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB is about 2.3× as fast as the Mac mini M4 16GB (estimated, median across models). In the UK the Mac mini M4 16GB costs £1,000 at eBay and the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB £3,000 at eBay: the Mac mini M4 16GB is £2,000 cheaper.

Updated . Speeds are estimates; how they are worked out.

Mac mini M4 16GB

£1,000

eBay

Add to build
Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB

£3,000

eBay

Add to build

Specifications

SpecMac mini M4 16GBMac mini M4 Pro 48GB
ChipApple M4 (10-core GPU)Apple M4 Pro (20-core GPU)
Memory bus128-bit256-bit
Memory bandwidth120 GB/s273 GB/s
FP16 compute3.76 TFLOPS8.08 TFLOPS
SoftwareMetalMetal
Unified memory16 GB48 GB
GPU can use by default10.7 GB36 GB
GPU can use, tuned10.666666666666666 GB40 GB
Operating systemmacosmacos
ProcessorM4 10-coreM4 Pro 14-core
Storage256 GB512 GB

What each runs

Estimated decode speed with the most precise quant that fits each one est.

ModelMac mini M4 16GBMac mini M4 Pro 48GB
Qwen 3.8 27Bwon't run6tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.6 27Bwon't run6tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 31Bwon't run5tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 27Bwon't run6tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.6 35B-A3Bwon't run32tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 26B-A4Bwon't run23tok/sQ8_0
Devstral Small 2 24Bwon't run7tok/sQ8_0
GLM 4.7 Flashwon't run19tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 35B-A3Bwon't run32tok/sQ8_0
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3Bwon't run31tok/sUD-Q6_K_XL
Kimi Linear 48B-A3Bwon't run47tok/sQ5_K_M
Qwen3 Coder 30B-A3Bwon't run27tok/sQ8_0
gpt-oss 20Bwon't run40tok/sMXFP4
Qwen3 32Bwon't run5tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 12B8tok/sQ6_K14tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 9B8tok/sQ8_018tok/sQ8_0
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32Bwon't run5tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 3 27Bwon't run6tok/sQ8_0
Mistral Small 3.2 24Bwon't run7tok/sQ8_0
Ministral 3 14B8tok/sQ4_K_M11tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 14B8tok/sQ4_K_M10tok/sQ8_0
DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen3 8B8tok/sQ8_018tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 8B8tok/sQ8_018tok/sQ8_0
Phi-4 14B7tok/sQ4_K_M10tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 4B16tok/sQ8_037tok/sQ8_0
Ministral 3 8B8tok/sQ8_017tok/sQ8_0
Granite 4.2 8B7tok/sQ8_017tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 E4B9tok/sQ8_021tok/sQ8_0
LFM2.5 8B-A1B32tok/sQ8_073tok/sQ8_0
Llama 3.1 8B10tok/sQ6_K23tok/sQ6_K
DeepSeek V4 Flashwon't runwon't run
GLM 5.3 Flashwon't runwon't run
Qwen 3.8 Flash Nextwon't runwon't run
MiniMax M2.7won't runwon't run
Qwen 3.5 122B-A10Bwon't runwon't run
Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12Bwon't runwon't run
Qwen3 Coder Nextwon't runwon't run
gpt-oss 120Bwon't runwon't run
Mistral Small 4 119Bwon't runwon't run
GLM 4.5 Airwon't runwon't run
Qwen3 Next 80B-A3Bwon't runwon't run
Llama 3.3 70Bwon't runwon't run

Questions

Which is better for local AI, the Mac mini M4 16GB or the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB?
Choose the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB to run bigger models. Choose the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB for speed. Choose the Mac mini M4 16GB to spend less.
Which can run bigger models, the Mac mini M4 16GB or the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB?
At 8k context the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB runs 30 of the models we track fully in memory and the Mac mini M4 16GB 13; only the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB holds Qwen 3.8 27B.
Which is faster for local AI, the Mac mini M4 16GB or the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB?
On the models both run fully in memory, the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB is about 2.3× as fast as the Mac mini M4 16GB (estimated, median across models).
What is the price difference between the Mac mini M4 16GB and the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB?
In the UK the Mac mini M4 16GB costs £1,000 at eBay and the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB £3,000 at eBay: the Mac mini M4 16GB is £2,000 cheaper.

More comparisons