Compatibility route: WorthCompatibility route

Which models are practical on MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch?

Current lens: Coding. Rank models by lowest local cost, while keeping throughput, fit, local cost, and evidence on the same sheet.

This route presets the rankings around local-cost reading rather than splitting worth into its own product.

Snapshot

Top model: Llama 3.2 1B

50 viable rows · 21 benchmark-backed · 229.0 tok/s at Q8_0.

Rows: 432
Models: 55
Macs: 29
Benchmark-backed: 21

Catalog current through April 22, 2026. Benchmark evidence through April 27, 2026.

Raw data Models Chips

Query setup

Audit evidence

Choose a Mac first, then narrow by lens, quant target, runtime, and ranking preference.

Mac

Capability

Quant target

Runtime

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Results

Model matches for MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch

Sorted by lowest local cost · 50 viable rows · 21 benchmark-backed

Viable rows: 50
Benchmark-backed rows: 21

ModelOutputPromptQuantRuntimeHeadroomContextCost readDetail

#1EstimatedLow confidence

Llama 3.2 1B

MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch · 128GB · $5,399 · Portable

Output229.0 tok/s

Prompt3620.7 tok/s

QuantQ8_0

RuntimeLlamafile

Headroom124.8 GB

Context131k

Local cost$2.50

Detail Open

Capability

1.24B dense · general-purpose

Evidence

Estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, not a direct match Speed is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage rather than this exact machine-and-quant match. Best runtime hint: Llamafile.

Coverage

No direct benchmark rows yet

Speed is estimated, so this cost read is provisional.

Quant ladder and fit detail

QuantQualityHeadroomContextSpeedRuntimeEvidence

Q8_0 Reference quality124.8 GB131k229.0 tok/sLlamafileEstimated

Q6_K High quality125.0 GB131k229.0 tok/sLlamafileEstimated

Q5_K_M High quality125.1 GB131k229.0 tok/sLlamafileEstimated

Q4_K_M Balanced quality125.3 GB131k229.0 tok/sLlamafileEstimated

#2EstimatedLow confidence

Qwen 3 0.6B

MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch · 128GB · $5,399 · Portable

Output184.4 tok/s

Prompt—

QuantQ8_0

RuntimeLM Studio

Headroom125.4 GB

Context10k

Local cost$3.10

Detail Open

Capability

0.6B dense · general-purpose

Evidence

Estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, not a direct match Speed is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage rather than this exact machine-and-quant match. Best runtime hint: LM Studio.

Coverage

No direct benchmark rows yet

Speed is estimated, so this cost read is provisional.

Quant ladder and fit detail

QuantQualityHeadroomContextSpeedRuntimeEvidence

Q8_0 Reference quality125.4 GB33k184.4 tok/sLM StudioEstimated

Q6_K High quality125.5 GB33k370.0 tok/sLM StudioEstimated

Q5_K_M High quality125.6 GB33k370.0 tok/sLM StudioEstimated

Q4_K_M Balanced quality125.7 GB33k370.0 tok/sLM StudioEstimated

#3Trusted referenceLow confidence

Gemma 4 E2B

MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch · 128GB · $5,399 · Portable

Output158.0 tok/s

Prompt—

QuantQ8_0

RuntimeMLX

Headroom120.9 GB

Context131k

Local cost$3.62

Detail Open

Capability

5.1B dense · tuned for coding

Evidence

Direct trusted-reference benchmark coverage on this hardware class Speed is backed by trusted-reference benchmark coverage. Most common runtime in the evidence is MLX.

Coverage

1 direct benchmark row

Default 10% utilization napkin math.

Quant ladder and fit detail

QuantQualityHeadroomContextSpeedRuntimeEvidence

Q8_0 Reference quality120.9 GB131k158.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q6_K High quality121.8 GB131k158.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q5_K_M High quality122.4 GB131k158.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q4_K_M Balanced quality123.1 GB131k158.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

#4EstimatedLow confidence

Qwen3.5-4B

MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch · 128GB · $5,399 · Portable

Output148.0 tok/s

Prompt—

QuantQ8_0

RuntimeMLX

Headroom122.0 GB

Context262k

Local cost$3.87

Detail Open

Capability

4B dense · tuned for coding

Evidence

Estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, not a direct match Speed is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage rather than this exact machine-and-quant match. Best runtime hint: MLX.

Coverage

No direct benchmark rows yet

Speed is estimated, so this cost read is provisional.

Quant ladder and fit detail

QuantQualityHeadroomContextSpeedRuntimeEvidence

Q8_0 Reference quality122.0 GB262k148.0 tok/sMLXEstimated

Q6_K High quality122.7 GB262k148.0 tok/sMLXEstimated

Q5_K_M High quality123.2 GB262k148.0 tok/sMLXEstimated

Q4_K_M Balanced quality123.7 GB262k148.0 tok/sMLXEstimated

#5Trusted referenceLow confidence

Llama 3.1 8B

MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch · 128GB · $5,399 · Portable

Output138.0 tok/s

Prompt—

QuantQ8_0

RuntimeMLX

Headroom118.0 GB

Context131k

Local cost$4.15

Detail Open

Capability

8.03B dense · general-purpose

Evidence

Direct trusted-reference benchmark coverage on this hardware class Speed is backed by trusted-reference benchmark coverage. Most common runtime in the evidence is MLX.

Coverage

1 direct benchmark row

Default 10% utilization napkin math.

Quant ladder and fit detail

QuantQualityHeadroomContextSpeedRuntimeEvidence

Q8_0 Reference quality118.0 GB131k138.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q6_K High quality119.4 GB131k138.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q5_K_M High quality120.3 GB131k138.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q4_K_M Balanced quality121.4 GB131k138.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

#6EstimatedLow confidence

Qwen 3 4B

MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch · 128GB · $5,399 · Portable

Output135.0 tok/s

Prompt—

QuantQ8_0

RuntimeOllama

Headroom122.0 GB

Context33k

Local cost$4.24

Detail Open

Capability

4.02B dense · general-purpose

Evidence

Estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, not a direct match Speed is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage rather than this exact machine-and-quant match. Best runtime hint: Ollama.

Coverage

No direct benchmark rows yet

Speed is estimated, so this cost read is provisional.

Quant ladder and fit detail

QuantQualityHeadroomContextSpeedRuntimeEvidence

Q8_0 Reference quality122.0 GB33k135.0 tok/sOllamaEstimated

Q6_K High quality122.7 GB33k135.0 tok/sOllamaEstimated

Q5_K_M High quality123.1 GB33k135.0 tok/sOllamaEstimated

Q4_K_M Balanced quality123.7 GB33k135.0 tok/sOllamaEstimated

#7EstimatedLow confidence

Gemma 3 4B

MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch · 128GB · $5,399 · Portable

Output132.0 tok/s

Prompt—

QuantQ8_0

RuntimeOllama

Headroom121.7 GB

Context131k

Local cost$4.34

Detail Open

Capability

4.3B dense · adjacent fit for coding

Evidence

Estimated from nearby benchmark coverage, not a direct match Speed is estimated from nearby benchmark coverage rather than this exact machine-and-quant match. Best runtime hint: Ollama.

Coverage

No direct benchmark rows yet

Speed is estimated, so this cost read is provisional.

Quant ladder and fit detail

QuantQualityHeadroomContextSpeedRuntimeEvidence

Q8_0 Reference quality121.7 GB131k132.0 tok/sOllamaEstimated

Q6_K High quality122.5 GB131k132.0 tok/sOllamaEstimated

Q5_K_M High quality122.9 GB131k132.0 tok/sOllamaEstimated

Q4_K_M Balanced quality123.5 GB131k132.0 tok/sOllamaEstimated

#8Trusted referenceLow confidence

Gemma 4 E4B

MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch · 128GB · $5,399 · Portable

Output128.0 tok/s

Prompt—

QuantQ8_0

RuntimeMLX

Headroom118.0 GB

Context131k

Local cost$4.47

Detail Open

Capability

8B dense · tuned for coding

Evidence

Direct trusted-reference benchmark coverage on this hardware class Speed is backed by trusted-reference benchmark coverage. Most common runtime in the evidence is MLX.

Coverage

1 direct benchmark row

Default 10% utilization napkin math.

Quant ladder and fit detail

QuantQualityHeadroomContextSpeedRuntimeEvidence

Q8_0 Reference quality118.0 GB131k128.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q6_K High quality119.4 GB131k128.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q5_K_M High quality120.3 GB131k128.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Q4_K_M Balanced quality121.4 GB131k128.0 tok/sMLXTrusted reference

Current query

Mac: MacBook Pro M5 Max 128GB 16-inch
RAM: 128GB unified memory
Lens: Coding
Runtime: Best available
Sort: Lowest local cost

Evidence read

Silicon Score Lab

Direct Silicon Score Lab coverage is available on this hardware class.

Trusted reference

Direct external benchmark coverage is available and stays labeled until first-party reproduction lands.

Community row

Direct community benchmark coverage is available, but confidence depends on source detail and reproduction.

Benchmark-backed

Direct benchmark coverage is available on this hardware class; inspect Bench for provenance before treating it as first-party evidence.

Estimated

Anchored by nearby benchmark coverage, but not a direct machine-and-quant match.

Directional

Useful for frontier movement, but not settled by direct benchmark coverage yet.

Fit-first

Sizing math is usable now, but throughput still needs direct speed coverage.

Audit Bench Download raw data

FAQ

Frequently asked questions about Worth

These answers stay tied to the live workspace defaults for this compatibility route, so the copy explains the same sort order and query framing the table is using.

What does the Worth route optimize for?: Worth defaults to lowest local cost for the selected Mac. It helps you compare which models deliver the most practical local inference for the machine cost you already carry.
Does Worth replace API cost modeling?: No. Worth is a local-cost reading, not a full finance model. It is best used to shortlist practical local options before you compare them against your cloud usage and break-even assumptions.
Why can a slower model rank above a faster one on Worth?: Worth favors local cost efficiency first. A slower model can still rank higher if it gives you a materially cheaper or lighter-weight local option on the same Mac.