Best field report: 76.8 tok/s. The ranking stays provisional until a first-party measurement is available.
Machine answer
Best local LLMs for MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch
Use this page when your real question is an exact Mac, not a generic best-Mac list. The ranking below is machine-specific, with benchmark-backed, sparse, and fit-limited evidence kept separate.
Current coding-biased answer for MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch: Devstral Small 2 24B. Treat this as the compact-model Apple Silicon tier and check Fit before trusting broader 27B-class claims.
14 benchmarks on this exact machine across 9 models. Last benchmark: April 17, 2026. Catalog current through April 22, 2026.
Exact Mac answers
- What is the best local LLM for MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch?
- Devstral Small 2 24B is the current coding-biased local LLM answer for MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch. The ranking is machine-specific, so use Fit and Bench before treating the same answer as valid for a different Mac or workload.
- How many MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch local LLM benchmarks are published?
- MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch currently has 14 direct benchmark rows across 9 tracked models, with the latest source dated April 17, 2026.
- Is MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch enough for local LLMs?
- MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch can run useful compact local LLMs, but 16GB is the constrained Apple Silicon tier. Check Fit before trusting 27B-class, high-quantization, or long-context workloads.
Best local LLMs for this Mac
MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch, ranked for coding with most capable favored and using the strongest available runtime evidence for each model. Older baseline models are hidden.
Evidence notes for recent modelsSee sources, gaps, and supporting ranking details.
Use the strongest current runtime evidence for each row.Largest fit: Devstral Small 2 24B at q4.1bit (24B parameters)Fastest read: Gemma 4 E2B at 95.0 tok/s on OllamaEvidence is still sparse for Gemma 4 E4B, Gemma 4 E2B; those rows remain provisional.
Best field report: 88.7 tok/s. The ranking stays provisional until a first-party measurement is available.
| Rank | Model | Score | Quant | Tok/s | Runtime | Evidence | Headroom | Context | Why it ranks here |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devstral Small 2 24B24B parameters | 219 | q4.1bit | 0.1 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q4_0 · 3.4 tok/s · llama.cpp · Community row | llama.cpp | EstimatedFirst-party M5 batch queued | 2.8 GB | 11k | Recent frontier candidate in the current catalog. q4.1bit is the highest practical quality here. 0.1 tok/s estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, with llama.cpp backend as the best runtime hint. 2.8 GB headroom is tight. |
| 2 | Gemma 4 E4B8B parameters | 213 | 8bit | 78.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 78.0 tok/s · Ollama · Estimated | Ollama | EstimatedFirst-party M5 batch queued | 7.4 GB | 71k | Recent model release in the current catalog. 8bit is the highest practical quality here. 78.0 tok/s estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, with Ollama wrapper on llama.cpp as the best runtime hint. 7.4 GB headroom leaves workable context margin. |
| 3 | Magistral Small24B parameters | 209 | q4.1bit | Measure it | Best available | Fit-firstFirst-party M5 batch queued | 2.8 GB | 11k | q4.1bit is the highest practical quality here. Speed still needs direct speed coverage. 2.8 GB headroom is tight. |
| 4 | Ministral 3 8B8B parameters | 206 | 8bit | 72.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 72.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated | MLX | EstimatedFirst-party M5 batch queued | 7.0 GB | 44k | Recent model release in the current catalog. 8bit is the highest practical quality here. 72.0 tok/s estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, with MLX backend as the best runtime hint. 7.0 GB headroom leaves workable context margin. |
| 5 | Ministral 3 14B14B parameters | 205 | Q6_K | 40.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q6_K · 40.0 tok/s · Ollama · Estimated | Ollama | EstimatedFirst-party M5 batch queued | 3.6 GB | 16k | Recent model release in the current catalog. Q6_K is the highest practical quality here. 40.0 tok/s estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, with Ollama wrapper on llama.cpp as the best runtime hint. 3.6 GB headroom is tight. |
| 6 | Qwen3.5-9B9B parameters | 194 | 8bit | 4.1 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q4_K_M · 72.0 tok/s · LM Studio · Trusted reference | llama.cpp | EstimatedFirst-party M5 batch queued | 6.1 GB | 39k | Recent model release in the current catalog. 8bit is the highest practical quality here. 4.1 tok/s estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, with llama.cpp backend as the best runtime hint. 6.1 GB headroom leaves workable context margin. |
| 7 | gpt-oss 20B3.6B active / 21B total | 184 | 5bit | Measure it | MLX | Fit-firstFirst-party M5 batch queued | 2.9 GB | 19k | 5bit is the highest practical quality here. Speed still needs direct speed coverage. 2.9 GB headroom is tight. |
| 8 | Gemma 4 E2B5.1B parameters | 157 | 8bit | 95.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 95.0 tok/s · Ollama · Estimated | Ollama | EstimatedFirst-party M5 batch queued | 10.5 GB | 131k | Recent model release in the current catalog. 8bit is the highest practical quality here. 95.0 tok/s estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, with Ollama wrapper on llama.cpp as the best runtime hint. 10.5 GB headroom leaves workable context margin. |
| 9 | Qwen3.5-4B4B parameters | 153 | 8bit | 92.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 92.0 tok/s · Ollama · Estimated | Ollama | EstimatedFirst-party M5 batch queued | 10.8 GB | 77k | Recent model release in the current catalog. 8bit is the highest practical quality here. 92.0 tok/s estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, with Ollama wrapper on llama.cpp as the best runtime hint. 10.8 GB headroom leaves workable context margin. |
Machine
Other Macs with the M4