Best Local LLMs for the Apple M1
Autor: Jakub Rusinowski · Ostatnia aktualizacja: 12 lipca 2026
Best all-round pick: Qwen 3 8B
The Apple M1 has 16 GB of unified memory, of which about 12 GB is available to a model. The largest model it can hold is 1-bit Bonsai 27B (27B, 4.6 GB at Q4_K_M).
Best models overall on the Apple M1
| Model | Score | Memory at Q4_K_M | Context | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen 3 8B | 94.5 | 5.8 GB | 125K | Apache 2.0 |
| Qwen 3.5 14B | 94.4 | 9.3 GB | 125K | Apache 2.0 |
| Gemma 3 12B Instruct | 93.6 | 8 GB | 128K | Gemma |
| Qwen 3.5 14B | 93.5 | 9.3 GB | 125K | Apache 2.0 |
| Gemma 4 12B | 93.1 | 8 GB | 125K | Gemma License (commercial OK) |
| GLM-6 9B | 92.2 | 6.2 GB | 125K | MIT |
Best model by what you are doing
| Workload | Recommended on this GPU |
|---|---|
| Coding | Qwen 3 14B (95.9) Qwen3-Coder 8B (94.9) DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B (94.2) |
| General assistant | Qwen 3 8B (94.5) Qwen 3.5 14B (94.4) Gemma 3 12B Instruct (93.6) |
| Reasoning | Qwen 3 14B (96) DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 14B (94.4) Qwen 3.5 14B (94) |
| RAG | Ternary Bonsai 27B (89.7) Ternary Bonsai 2 27B (85.7) Qwen 3 14B (84.4) |
| Agents | Ternary Bonsai 27B (93.5) Ternary Bonsai 2 27B (88.4) GLM-6 9B (86) |
| Vision | Qwen 3.5 14B (95.7) Ternary Bonsai 27B (93.3) Gemma 4 12B (92.3) |
What the Apple M1 cannot run
These models are strong picks generally but exceed the 12 GB this card makes available.
| Model | Needs at Q4_K_M | Short by |
|---|---|---|
| Gemma 4 27B ⭐ | 17.2 GB | ~5.2 GB |
| Mistral Small 3.1 24B | 15.1 GB | ~3.1 GB |
| Qwen3.8 27B | 17.6 GB | ~5.6 GB |
| Qwen 3.7 35B-A3B | 22 GB | ~10 GB |
How these numbers are calculated
- Usable memory is 12 GB of the card's 16 GB, after the share macOS reserves for the system.
- Fit is measured at Q4_K_M — quantized weights plus KV cache plus 0.8 GB runtime overhead.
- Within this card's budget, models are ranked on how well they use the memory available, not on being small — so the recommendation scales with the hardware.
FAQ
What is the best LLM for the Apple M1?
Qwen 3 8B is the strongest all-round pick that fits its 12 GB.
What is the largest model the Apple M1 can run?
1-bit Bonsai 27B — 27B parameters, needing 4.6 GB at Q4_K_M.
How much of the Apple M1's memory can a model actually use?
About 12 GB of its 16 GB, because macOS reserves a share of unified memory for the system.
Compatibility Checks for the Apple M1
- Can I run DeepSeek R1 on the Apple M1?
- Can I run Llama 3.3 on the Apple M1?
- Can I run Command R Family on the Apple M1?
- Can I run Phi-4 Family on the Apple M1?
- Can I run Qwen 2.5 Family on the Apple M1?
Similar GPUs
By Workload
- Best local LLMs for coding
- Best local LLMs for general assistant
- Best local LLMs for reasoning
- Best local LLMs for rag