Can I Run Qwen 3.5 on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)?

Written by Jakub Rusinowski · Last updated February 24, 2026

Yes — comfortably

Yes, comfortably — Qwen 3.5 9B at Q8_0 needs about 11.6 GB of the 18 GB usable on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB), leaving ~6.4 GB spare and running at ~14.1 tok/s (estimated), with room for about 32,768 tokens of context.

Confidence: medium · Recommended quantization: Q8_0 · Estimated speed: ~14.1 tok/s

MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB) — what it gives a model

Usable memory for models	18 GB
Memory bandwidth	273 GB/s
Form factor	Laptop
Operating system	macOS
Memory upgradeable	No — soldered
Price	$1,999 (lib/data/laptops.ts (street price), checked 2026-07-06)

Qwen 3.5 on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB): memory by quantization

Quant	Memory needed	Fits 18 GB?	Max context	Est. speed	Download
F16	20 GB	✗ No	—	—	18 GB
Q8_0	11.6 GB	✓ Yes	32K	~14.1 tok/s	9.6 GB
Q6_K	9.4 GB	✓ Yes	64K	~17.7 tok/s	7.4 GB
Q5_K_M	8.4 GB	✓ Yes	64K	~20.1 tok/s	6.4 GB
Q4_K_M	7.4 GB	✓ Yes	64K	~23.1 tok/s	5.4 GB
Q3_K_M	5.8 GB	✓ Yes	64K	~30.6 tok/s	3.8 GB
Q2_K	5 GB	✓ Yes	64K	~37.3 tok/s	3 GB

Which Qwen 3.5 sizes fit

Variant	Needs at Q4_K_M	Fits?	Est. speed
Qwen 3.5 397B-A17B	244.7 GB	✗ Too large	—
Qwen 3.5 122B-A10B	77.3 GB	✗ Too large	—
Qwen 3.5 35B-A3B	23.8 GB	✗ Too large	—
Qwen 3.5 27B	18.8 GB	✗ Too large	—
Qwen 3.5 9B	7.4 GB	✓ Fits	~23.1 tok/s
Qwen 3.5 4B	4.1 GB	✓ Fits	~45.1 tok/s
Qwen 3.5 2B	2.7 GB	✓ Fits	~73.9 tok/s
Qwen 3.5 0.8B	1.8 GB	✓ Fits	~124.7 tok/s

What to watch out for

4 larger variants of Qwen 3.5 do not fit and would need CPU offload or different hardware.
This model does not publish its full attention configuration, so the KV-cache share of these figures is inferred from its parameter count rather than computed exactly.
Memory on this machine is not upgradeable, so the configuration you buy is the ceiling for every model you will ever run on it.

MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24 GB limitations

Unified memory is soldered and cannot be upgraded after purchase.
24 GB is the practical ceiling for a single mid-size model plus a long context.

Recommended setup

Ollama or LM Studio (Metal) — MLX for the fastest Apple-native throughput

How these numbers are calculated

Memory need = quantized weights + KV cache at 8,192 tokens (f16) + 0.8 GB runtime overhead.
24 GB unified memory at 273 GB/s, shared between CPU and GPU.
macOS reserves a share of unified memory for the system, so not all of it is available to a model.
Throughput is a memory-bandwidth roofline estimate, not a measurement. It is labelled "estimated" everywhere it appears.
KV cache is inferred from the parameter count because this model does not publish its full attention configuration.

FAQ

Can I run Qwen 3.5 on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)?

Which quantization of Qwen 3.5 should I use on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)?

Q8_0 — it needs about 11.6 GB of the 18 GB available, downloads as roughly 9.6 GB, and runs at an estimated 14.1 tokens/sec with up to 32K of context.

What limits Qwen 3.5 on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)?

Nothing binding — the model fits with headroom and generates at a usable speed on this hardware.

Can I Run Qwen 3.5 on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)?

MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB) — what it gives a model

Qwen 3.5 on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB): memory by quantization

Which Qwen 3.5 sizes fit

What to watch out for

MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24 GB limitations

Recommended setup

How these numbers are calculated

FAQ

Can I run Qwen 3.5 on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)?

Which quantization of Qwen 3.5 should I use on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)?

What limits Qwen 3.5 on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)?

Which runtime should I use?

Other Computers

Other Models on MacBook Pro 14" (M4 Pro, 24 GB)

Qwen 3.5 on GPUs

What This Model Is Good At

Model & Tools