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Run Gemma 4 31B on a Dedicated Mac

Gemma 4 31B needs about 21.3 GB of memory at 4-bit. It runs on our Mac Mini M6 32GB at about 4.2–6.1 tokens per second, from $169/mo.

Macs that run Gemma 4 31B

At 4-bit with a 32K-token context. Speeds are estimates; see real measurements on the calculator page.

  • Mac Mini M6 32GB Best value
    4.2–6.1 tokens/sec
    from $169/mo
    Order
  • Mac Mini M5 Pro 64GB
    7.5–11 tokens/sec
    from $299/mo
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  • Mac Studio M4 Max 128GB
    13–19 tokens/sec
    from $499/mo
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  • Mac Studio M5 Max 128GB
    15–21 tokens/sec
    from $569/mo Available Nov 10, 2026
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  • Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB
    28–39 tokens/sec
    from $1,199/mo Available Nov 16, 2026
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  • 2× Mac Studio M5 Ultra 256GB Cluster Cluster
    27–36 tokens/sec
    from $2,399/mo Available Nov 16, 2026
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  • Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB
    28–39 tokens/sec
    from $2,499/mo Available Dec 30, 2026
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  • 2× Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB Cluster Cluster
    27–36 tokens/sec
    from $4,999/mo Available Dec 30, 2026
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  • 4× Mac Studio M5 Ultra 512GB Cluster Cluster
    24–32 tokens/sec
    from $9,999/mo Available Dec 30, 2026
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Why it runs well on a Mac

Language models have to sit entirely in memory, and generating each word means reading through them again. Apple Silicon puts up to 512 GB of fast unified memory on one chip that the GPU can use directly, so a model like this fits on one quiet machine instead of a stack of graphics cards.

Gemma 4 31B is a dense model: all 30.7 billion parameters are used for every word, so memory bandwidth decides its speed. The M5 Ultra's 1,229 GB/s makes the biggest difference here.

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