Canonical Rankings

Best Macs for this model

Qwen 3 30B-A3B ranked across the Mac lineup at the best practical quantization, using the best available runtime evidence. Historical baseline selected; model picker is focused on current-market choices.

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29 ranked MacsUse the strongest current runtime evidence for each row.27 other historical models hiddenBaselinesStatic paths cover only canonical model pages; sort and quantization stay as query state.

Historical baseline selected: Qwen 3 30B-A3B. Default model choices remain current-market; other historical models stay hidden.

Rank	Mac	Score	Quant	Tok/s	Runtime	Fits	Headroom	Context	Evidence	Price	Why it ranks here
1	Mac Studio M3 Ultra 256GB	540	8bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	226.3 GB	131k	Estimated	$7,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 226.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
2	Mac Pro M2 Ultra 192GB	476	8bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	162.3 GB	131k	Estimated	$6,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 162.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
3	Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB	445	8bit	70.2 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 70.2 tok/s · LM Studio · Estimated	LM Studio	Fits	98.3 GB	131k	Estimated	$4,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 70.2 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 98.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
4	MacBook Pro M4 Max 128GB 16-inch	445	8bit	70.2 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 70.2 tok/s · LM Studio · Estimated	LM Studio	Fits	98.3 GB	131k	Estimated	$5,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 70.2 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 98.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
5	Mac Studio M4 Max 64GB	440	8bit	84.9 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q4 · 92.1 tok/s · MLX · Trusted reference	MLX	Fits	34.3 GB	131k	Estimated	$2,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 84.9 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 34.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
6	MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB 16-inch	440	8bit	84.9 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q4 · 92.1 tok/s · MLX · Trusted reference	MLX	Fits	34.3 GB	131k	Estimated	$4,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 84.9 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 34.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
7	MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch	412	8bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	98.3 GB	131k	Estimated	$5,399	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 98.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
8	Mac Studio M3 Ultra 96GB	380	8bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	66.3 GB	131k	Estimated	$3,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 66.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
9	Mac Studio M4 Max 36GB	320	8bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	6.3 GB	18k	Estimated	$1,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 6.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
10	MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 14-inch	320	8bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	6.3 GB	18k	Estimated	$2,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 6.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
11	MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 16-inch	320	8bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	6.3 GB	18k	Estimated	$3,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 6.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
12	Mac Mini M4 32GB	315	Q6_K	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q6_K · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	7.4 GB	37k	Estimated	$799	Q6_K is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 7.4 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
13	MacBook Air M4 32GB 13-inch	315	Q6_K	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q6_K · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	7.4 GB	37k	Estimated	$1,499	Q6_K is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 7.4 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
14	MacBook Air M4 32GB 15-inch	315	Q6_K	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: Q6_K · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	7.4 GB	37k	Estimated	$1,699	Q6_K is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 7.4 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
15	Mac Mini M4 Pro 48GB	312	8bit	55.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 55.0 tok/s · MLX · Community row	MLX	Fits	18.3 GB	130k	Community row	$1,599	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 55.0 tok/s is backed by direct benchmark coverage. 18.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
16	MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 14-inch	312	8bit	55.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 55.0 tok/s · MLX · Community row	MLX	Fits	18.3 GB	130k	Community row	$2,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 55.0 tok/s is backed by direct benchmark coverage. 18.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
17	MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB 16-inch	312	8bit	55.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 55.0 tok/s · MLX · Community row	MLX	Fits	18.3 GB	130k	Community row	$2,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 55.0 tok/s is backed by direct benchmark coverage. 18.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
18	Mac Mini M4 16GB	276	3bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 3bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	4.1 GB	27k	Estimated	$499	3bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 4.1 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
19	MacBook Air M4 16GB 13-inch	276	3bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 3bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	4.1 GB	27k	Estimated	$1,099	3bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 4.1 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
20	MacBook Air M4 16GB 15-inch	276	3bit	62.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 3bit · 62.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	4.1 GB	27k	Estimated	$1,299	3bit is the current best practical quantization. 62.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 4.1 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
21	Mac Studio M4 Max 48GB	252	8bit	42.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 42.0 tok/s · Ollama · Estimated	Ollama	Fits	18.3 GB	130k	Estimated	$2,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 42.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 18.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
22	MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 14-inch	252	8bit	42.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 42.0 tok/s · Ollama · Estimated	Ollama	Fits	18.3 GB	130k	Estimated	$3,499	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 42.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 18.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
23	MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 16-inch	252	8bit	42.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 8bit · 42.0 tok/s · Ollama · Estimated	Ollama	Fits	18.3 GB	130k	Estimated	$3,999	8bit is the current best practical quantization. 42.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 18.3 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
24	Mac Mini M4 24GB	199	5bit	35.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 35.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	5.0 GB	23k	Estimated	$599	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 35.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.0 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
25	MacBook Air M4 24GB 13-inch	199	5bit	35.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 35.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	5.0 GB	23k	Estimated	$1,299	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 35.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.0 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
26	Mac Mini M4 Pro 24GB	199	5bit	35.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 35.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	5.0 GB	23k	Estimated	$1,399	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 35.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.0 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
27	MacBook Air M4 24GB 15-inch	199	5bit	35.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 35.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	5.0 GB	23k	Estimated	$1,499	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 35.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.0 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
28	MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB 14-inch	199	5bit	35.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 35.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	5.0 GB	23k	Estimated	$1,999	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 35.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.0 GB headroom remains at this quantization.
29	MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB 16-inch	199	5bit	35.0 tok/s Fastest evidence path: 5bit · 35.0 tok/s · MLX · Estimated	MLX	Fits	5.0 GB	23k	Estimated	$2,499	5bit is the current best practical quantization. 35.0 tok/s is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage. 5.0 GB headroom remains at this quantization.

Qwen 3 30B-A3B — ranking first, raw rows below

Start with the ranked Mac table above. Use the rest of this page to inspect raw Apple Silicon coverage and model metadata.

Quantizations observed: Q4, Q5, Q6, Q4_K - Medium, 8bit, Q8

10Benchmark rows

7Chip tiers covered

92.1Fastest avg tok/s (M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB))

16.12 GBMinimum RAM observed

Quick take

Fastest published result is 92.1 tok/s on M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB) at Q4. Smallest published fit is 16.1 GB on M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB). Longest published context on this page is 10k. Published runtimes include LM Studio, MLX, Ollama. Start with Rankings for the decision, then use the raw rows below to audit the evidence.

Based on 10 external benchmarks; no lab runs yet.

Published runtimes: LM Studio, MLX, Ollama.

Need the best Mac for this model? Use Buy Need a setup-first answer? Use Run Checking whether it fits? Use Fit Browse Macs by exact hardware Need the full audit trail? Use Bench Comparing against rented GPUs? Use AI Datacenter Index

Catalog record

30.5BTotal params

3.3BActive params

131,072Context window

2025-04-29Release date

This is a reference-only model record. It remains useful for historical benchmarks, migration checks, and audit context, but it is excluded from current frontier packs.

What this model is, and what Apple Silicon users are actually seeing

Official model cards tell you what the model is for and which software stacks it targets. Field reality below shows how much Apple Silicon evidence we have so far.

Official brief

Uniquely support of seamless switching between thinking mode (for complex logical reasoning, math, and coding) and non-thinking mode (for efficient, general-purpose dialogue) within single model, ensuring optimal performance across various scenarios.

Official source · Raw model card

agentscoding

Runtime support mentioned

MLXllama.cppOllamavLLMSGLangTransformersKTransformers

Official specs

Type: Causal Language Models.
Scale: 30.5B in total and 3.3B activated.
Context: 32,768 natively and 131,072 tokens with YaRN.
Total parameters: 30.5B in total and 3.3B activated.
Max input: 32,768 natively and 131,072 tokens with YaRN.

Official takeaways

Sampling Parameters: - For thinking mode (enable_thinking=True), use Temperature=0.6, TopP=0.95, TopK=20, and MinP=0. DO NOT use greedy decoding, as it can lead to performance degradation and endless repetitions.
Adequate Output Length: We recommend using an output length of 32,768 tokens for most queries.
Standardize Output Format: We recommend using prompts to standardize model outputs when benchmarking.
Multiple-Choice Questions: Add the following JSON structure to the prompt to standardize responses: "Please show your choice in the answer field with only the choice letter, e.g., "answer": "C"."

Official model cards describe intent, capabilities, and supported stacks. They do not prove Apple Silicon speed by themselves.

Field reality on Apple Silicon

Qwen 3 30B-A3B: 2 Apple Silicon field reports; best reported generation ~55 tok/s; seen on MacBook Pro M4 PRO 48GB, MacBook M1 16GB; via MLX.

10Benchmark rows

2Field reports

3Practitioner signals

Sparse BenchmarksEvidence status

What practitioners keep saying

For a Qwen 3 30B-A3B ops-agent workload, the post reports about 41.7 effective tok/s in LM Studio GGUF, 41.4 in raw llama.cpp, 38.0 in oMLX, and only 26.0 in Ollama.
The same retest says generation speed alone was basically tied between GGUF and MLX on this model, so prefill and wrapper behavior are what swing the real user experience.
Practitioners report using Qwen 3 30B-A3B 8-bit MLX at roughly 55 tok/s on a 48GB M4 Pro MacBook Pro.

Apple Silicon field sources

r/LocalLLaMA
2026-03-26 · M1 Max 64GB · LM Studio, oMLX, Ollama, llama.cpp
A five-runtime retest on M1 Max 64GB says wrapper overhead matters more than slogans: LM Studio and raw llama.cpp stay close, oMLX helps MLX caching, and Ollama lags badly.
r/LocalLLaMA
2025-07-23 · MacBook Pro M4 Pro 48GB · MLX
Qwen 3 30B-A3B is already a real daily-driver coding model on M4 Pro 48GB Macs, not just a benchmark-friendly curiosity.
r/LocalLLaMA
2025-04-30 · M1 16GB MacBook · Ollama or MLX
Qwen 3 30B-A3B is not a free lunch on small Apple Silicon machines; 16GB-class Macs fall into swap and feel too slow.

Runtime mentions in the field

llama.cppLM StudioMLXOllamaoMLX

Hardware mentioned in reports

16GB48GB64GBM1 MaxM4M4 ProMacBookMacBook Pro

What would improve confidence

Reproduce Field Performance Signal
Upgrade To First Party Measurement

Current published coverage

Published chip coverage includes M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB), M4 Max (128 GB), M5 Max (64 GB), M4 Pro (48 GB), M4 Max (48 GB) plus 2 more chip tiers. Fastest published row is 92.1 tok/s on M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB) at Q4. Lowest published RAM requirement is 16.1 GB on M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB). Catalog context window is 10k.

M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB)M4 Max (128 GB)M5 Max (64 GB)M4 Pro (48 GB)M4 Max (48 GB)M4 Pro (24 GB)M3 Max (36 GB)

Related Qwen 3 models with published pages: Qwen 3 32B · Qwen 3 4B · Qwen 3 235B-A22B · Qwen 3 8B · Qwen 3 14B · Qwen 3 0.6B

Workflow runtime comparisons for Qwen 3 30B-A3B

These are same-model runtime comparisons on Apple Silicon that capture effective throughput and prefill-heavy behavior. They help explain runtime choice, but they do not replace canonical decode-speed benchmark rows.

Ops agent (8 turns)

MacBook Pro M1 Max 64GB · Effective tok/s · Interactive

Best runtime observed: LM Studio (41.7)

Spread to next result: 0.3 tok/s

Runtime results

LM Studio — 41.7 tok/s · Best reported wrapper in this scenario.
llama.cpp — 41.4 tok/s · Compiled from source; effectively tied with LM Studio.
oMLX — 38.0 tok/s · MLX runtime result reported in the same article.
Ollama — 26.0 tok/s · Reported as substantially slower due to wrapper overhead.

Famstack runtime benchmark writeup · 2026-03-20

These are effective throughput figures on a multi-turn ops-agent scenario. They include prefill and wrapper behavior, so they should teach runtime choice, not replace decode-speed benchmark rows.

Prefill stress (8K context)

MacBook Pro M1 Max 64GB · Effective tok/s · 8,000 ctx

Best runtime observed: MLX fp16 (8.6)

Spread to next result: 1.0 tok/s

Runtime results

MLX fp16 — 8.6 tok/s · Best reported prefill result in the article.
GGUF — 7.6 tok/s
MLX bf16 — 6.0 tok/s · Shows the M1 bf16 penalty before conversion.

Famstack runtime benchmark writeup · 2026-03-20

This compares wrappers and backends on an 8K prefill-stress scenario. It is useful for long-context teaching, but it is not a canonical decode-speed row.

Raw benchmark rows for Qwen 3 30B-A3B

Rows stay below the ranking because this page is answer-first. Use them to inspect exact chips, quantizations, runtimes, and sources.

Chip	Quant	RAM req.	Context	Avg tok/s	Prompt tok/s	Runtime	Source
M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB)	Q4	16.1 GB	2k	92.1 tok/s	822.6 tok/s	MLX	ref
M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB)	Q5	18.1 GB	2k	84.9 tok/s	819.8 tok/s	MLX	ref
M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB)	Q6	21.9 GB	2k	76.7 tok/s	817.6 tok/s	MLX	ref
M4 Max (128 GB)	Q4_K - Medium	—	10k	70.2 tok/s	—	LM Studio	ref
M5 Max (64 GB)	Q4_K - Medium	—	—	62.0 tok/s	—	Ollama	ref
M4 Pro (48 GB)	8bit	—	—	55.0 tok/s	—	MLX	ref
M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB)	Q8	29.8 GB	2k	52.6 tok/s	772.6 tok/s	MLX	ref
M4 Max (48 GB)	Q4_K - Medium	—	—	42.0 tok/s	—	Ollama	ref
M4 Pro (24 GB)	Q4_K - Medium	—	—	35.0 tok/s	—	MLX	ref
M3 Max (36 GB)	Q4_K - Medium	—	—	28.0 tok/s	—	Ollama	ref

Best Macs for Qwen 3 30B-A3B

Ordered by fastest published tok/s on the chip family in each Mac. Click through for the full machine page.

MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 14-inch — 70.2 tok/s MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 14-inch — 70.2 tok/s MacBook Pro M4 Max 36GB 16-inch — 70.2 tok/s MacBook Pro M4 Max 48GB 16-inch — 70.2 tok/s MacBook Pro M4 Max 64GB 16-inch — 70.2 tok/s MacBook Pro M4 Max 128GB 16-inch — 70.2 tok/s

Chips with published results for Qwen 3 30B-A3B

M4 Max (40-core GPU, 64 GB)M4 Max (128 GB)M5 Max (64 GB)M4 Pro (48 GB)M4 Max (48 GB)M4 Pro (24 GB)M3 Max (36 GB)

Data

benchmarks.json — full dataset · models.json — model summaries · benchmarks.csv — CSV export

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