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Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB vs Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB

For running models locally, priced in the UK. At 32k context the first runs 30 models fully in memory, the second 34.

In short

The Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB has more memory for models: 64 GB against 48 GB. At 32k context the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB runs 34 of the models we track fully in memory and the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB 30; only the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB holds Qwen 3.5 122B-A10B. On the models both run fully in memory, the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB is about 2.0× as fast as the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB (estimated, median across models). In the UK the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB costs £3,000 at eBay and the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB £3,399 at eBay: the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB is £399 cheaper.

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

Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB

£3,000

eBay

Add to build
Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB

£3,399

eBay

Add to build

Specifications

SpecMac mini M4 Pro 48GBMac Studio M4 Max 64GB
ChipApple M4 Pro (20-core GPU)Apple M4 Max (40-core GPU)
Memory bus256-bit512-bit
Memory bandwidth273 GB/s546 GB/s
FP16 compute8.08 TFLOPS16.16 TFLOPS
SoftwareMetalMetal
Unified memory48 GB64 GB
GPU can use by default36 GB48 GB
GPU can use, tuned40 GB56 GB
Operating systemmacosmacos
ProcessorM4 Pro 14-coreM4 Max 16-core
Storage512 GB1000 GB

What each runs

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

ModelMac mini M4 Pro 48GBMac Studio M4 Max 64GB
Qwen 3.8 27B6tok/sQ8_011tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 122B-A10Bwon't run50tok/sUD-Q2_K_XL
Qwen 3.6 27B6tok/sQ8_012tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 31B5tok/sQ8_010tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 Coder Nextwon't run66tok/sQ4_K_M
Mistral Small 4 119Bwon't run68tok/sUD-Q2_K_XL
Qwen 3.6 35B-A3B28tok/sQ8_056tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 27B6tok/sQ8_012tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 26B-A4B21tok/sQ8_042tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B28tok/sQ8_056tok/sQ8_0
GLM 4.7 Flash15tok/sQ8_030tok/sQ8_0
Devstral Small 2 24B6tok/sQ8_012tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 Next 80B-A3Bwon't run80tok/sQ4_K_M
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B30tok/sUD-Q6_K_XL60tok/sUD-Q6_K_XL
Kimi Linear 48B-A3B44tok/sQ5_K_M77tok/sQ6_K
gpt-oss 20B33tok/sMXFP466tok/sMXFP4
Qwen3 Coder 30B-A3B17tok/sQ8_033tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 32B5tok/sQ6_K8tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 12B13tok/sQ8_026tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 9B17tok/sQ8_033tok/sQ8_0
Mistral Small 3.2 24B6tok/sQ8_012tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 3 27B6tok/sQ8_011tok/sQ8_0
DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B5tok/sQ6_K8tok/sQ8_0
Ministral 3 14B9tok/sQ8_018tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 14B8tok/sQ8_017tok/sQ8_0
DeepSeek R1 0528 Qwen3 8B13tok/sQ8_026tok/sQ8_0
Qwen3 8B13tok/sQ8_026tok/sQ8_0
Phi-4 14B8tok/sQ8_016tok/sQ8_0
Qwen 3.5 4B32tok/sQ8_063tok/sQ8_0
Ministral 3 8B13tok/sQ8_026tok/sQ8_0
Granite 4.2 8B12tok/sQ8_024tok/sQ8_0
Gemma 4 E4B19tok/sQ8_039tok/sQ8_0
LFM2.5 8B-A1B40tok/sQ8_080tok/sQ8_0
Llama 3.1 8B16tok/sQ6_K33tok/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
Nemotron 3 Super 120B-A12Bwon't runwon't run
gpt-oss 120Bwon't runwon't run
GLM 4.5 Airwon't runwon't run
Llama 3.3 70Bwon't runwon't run

Questions

Which is better for local AI, the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB or the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB?
Choose the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB to run bigger models. Choose the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB for speed. Choose the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB to spend less.
Which can run bigger models, the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB or the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB?
At 32k context the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB runs 34 of the models we track fully in memory and the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB 30; only the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB holds Qwen 3.5 122B-A10B.
Which is faster for local AI, the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB or the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB?
On the models both run fully in memory, the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB is about 2.0× as fast as the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB (estimated, median across models).
What is the price difference between the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB and the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB?
In the UK the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB costs £3,000 at eBay and the Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB £3,399 at eBay: the Mac mini M4 Pro 48GB is £399 cheaper.

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