Can I Run Gemma 4 on Apple M5?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 12, 2026

Yes, comfortably — you'll have ~13.3 GB of headroom running Gemma 4 31B at Q4_K_M (18.71625 GB, ~4 tok/s (est.)) with room for up to 32K context.

Buy This HardwareApple MacBook Pro M5 — 32 GB VRAM · 23 W board powerDeploy in the Cloud NowRTX 4090 on RunPod — from $0.34/hr · rate checked 2026-07

or compare on Vast.ai from $0.35/hr (typical low · varies)

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Apple MacBook Pro M5
32 GB VRAM · 23 W board power
2026 prices are volatile — check the current listing.
Check price on Amazon

Apple M5 Specs

VRAM32 GB unified memory
Memory Bandwidth153 GB/s

Gemma 4 31B on the Apple M5: VRAM by quantization

QuantVRAM neededFits 32 GB?Max context
F1663.7 GB✗ No
Q8_034.6 GB✗ No
Q6_K27.1 GB✓ Yes16K
Q5_K_M23.7 GB✓ Yes32K
Q4_K_M20.4 GB✓ Yes32K
Q3_K_M14.9 GB✓ Yes64K
Q2_K11.9 GB✓ Yes64K

VRAM needed assumes a 4K-token context with an f16 KV cache; “Max context” is the largest window that still fits in 32 GB of unified memory. Figures are estimates from parameter count, quantization and memory bandwidth — the analyzer lets you tune KV-cache quant and context.

Gemma 4 Sizes That Fit the Apple M5

Gemma 4 31BQ4_K_M · 18.71625 GB · ~4 tok/s (est.)
Gemma 4 26B-A4BQ4_K_M · 15.6975 GB · ~24 tok/s (est.)
Gemma 4 12B (Unified)Q4_K_M · 7.245 GB · ~10 tok/s (est.)
Gemma 4 E4BQ4 (QAT) · 4.5 GB · ~16 tok/s (est.)
Gemma 4 E2BQ4 (QAT) · 2.86875 GB · ~23 tok/s (est.)
Buy vs. rent Gemma 4
Buy the GPU
~$1,599
Apple M5 · MSRP
Rent by the hour
from $0.34/hr
RTX 4090 (24 GB) class

At 2 hrs/day, buying (~$1,599) beats renting at $0.34/hr after about 6.5 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.

FAQ

Is the Apple M5 enough to run Gemma 4 locally?

Yes, comfortably — you'll have ~13.3 GB of headroom running Gemma 4 31B at Q4_K_M (18.71625 GB, ~4 tok/s (est.)) with room for up to 32K context.

What's the best Gemma 4 size for the Apple M5?

Gemma 4 31B at Q4_K_M quantization (18.71625 GB), estimated ~4 tokens/sec, up to 32K context.

Gemma 4 on Other GPUs

Popular Models on the Apple M5

VRAM Tier

Troubleshooting

Buying Guide

← Can I Run It? | Gemma 4 Model Page | Apple M5 GPU Page | Check Your Hardware