Can I Run DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B on Apple M3 Pro?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated August 15, 2026

Yes. DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B needs 8.5 GB at Q4_K_M and the Apple M3 Pro has 36 GB, leaving about 27.5 GB of headroom, at roughly 9 tok/s (estimated) with room for up to 128K of context.

The numbers

ModelDeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B
Parameters14B
QuantizationQ4_K_M
VRAM needed8.5 GB
Apple M3 Pro VRAM36 GB
VerdictRuns
Max context128K
Estimated speed~9 tok/s

What to do next

Nothing to change — run it at Q4_K_M. If you want more capability, check whether the next size up also fits.

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Running DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B on this card:

Apple MacBook Pro M3 Pro
36 GB VRAM · 30 W board power
2026 prices are volatile — check the current listing.
Check price on Amazon

Buy vs. rent DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B
Buy the GPU
~$1,999
Apple M3 Pro · MSRP
Rent by the hour
from $0.34/hr
RTX 4090 (24 GB) class

At 2 hrs/day, buying (~$1,999) beats renting at $0.34/hr after about 8.2 years.

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RunPod $0.34/hr
Rent on RunPod →
Vast.ai $0.35/hr · typical low · varies
Rent on Vast.ai →

Cloud rates verified 2026-07 — estimates, and marketplace prices vary. Buying price is GPU MSRP only, not a full PC.

Other DeepSeek R1 sizes on the Apple M3 Pro

DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B on nearby hardware

All DeepSeek R1 sizes on the Apple M3 Pro | VRAM calculator for DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B | Apple M3 Pro GPU page | Check your hardware