Can I Run Llama 4 on Apple M3 Ultra?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated July 12, 2026

Yes, comfortably — you'll have ~270.5 GB of headroom running Llama 4 Maverick 17B at Q4_K_M (241.5 GB, ~36 tok/s (est.)) with room for up to 1M context.

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Apple Mac Studio M3 Ultra
Launch MSRP: $3,999
2026 prices are volatile — check the current listing.
Check price on Amazon

Apple M3 Ultra Specs

VRAM512 GB unified memory
Memory Bandwidth819 GB/s

Llama 4 Maverick 17B on the Apple M3 Ultra: VRAM by quantization

QuantVRAM neededFits 512 GB?Max context
F16801.6 GB✗ No
Q8_0426.6 GB✓ Yes256K
Q6_K329.6 GB✓ Yes512K
Q5_K_M285.1 GB✓ Yes1M
Q4_K_M243.1 GB✓ Yes1M
Q3_K_M172.1 GB✓ Yes1M
Q2_K133.1 GB✓ Yes1M

VRAM needed assumes a 4K-token context with an f16 KV cache; “Max context” is the largest window that still fits in 512 GB of unified memory. Figures are estimates from parameter count, quantization and memory bandwidth — the analyzer lets you tune KV-cache quant and context.

Llama 4 Sizes That Fit the Apple M3 Ultra

Llama 4 Maverick 17BQ4_K_M · 241.5 GB · ~36 tok/s (est.)
Llama 4 Scout 17BQ4_K_M · 65.80875 GB · ~36 tok/s (est.)
Buy vs. rent Llama 4
Buy the GPU
~$3,999
Apple M3 Ultra · MSRP
Rent by the hour
from $23.12/hr
8× H100 (640 GB) class

At 2 hrs/day, buying (~$3,999) beats renting at $23.12/hr after about 3 months.

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RunPod $23.12/hr
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Cloud rates verified 2026-07 — estimates, and marketplace prices vary. Buying price is GPU MSRP only, not a full PC.

FAQ

Does the Apple M3 Ultra have enough VRAM for Llama 4?

Yes, comfortably — you'll have ~270.5 GB of headroom running Llama 4 Maverick 17B at Q4_K_M (241.5 GB, ~36 tok/s (est.)) with room for up to 1M context.

Which quantization of Llama 4 should I use on the Apple M3 Ultra?

Llama 4 Maverick 17B at Q4_K_M quantization (241.5 GB), estimated ~36 tokens/sec, up to 1M context.

Llama 4 on Other GPUs

Popular Models on the Apple M3 Ultra

VRAM Tier

Troubleshooting

Buying Guide

← Can I Run It? | Llama 4 Model Page | Apple M3 Ultra GPU Page | Check Your Hardware