Best local LLMs for the Apple M1 (16 GB)

Each list assumes the context that task needs, so a model that fits for chat may rank lower for long documents.

General chat at 8K context

  1. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 86/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 39.5 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 80Great quality (A) · 80 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 85/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Gemma 4 12B Q5_K_M · 5.0 tok/s · Slow (tight fit)
  3. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 83/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 16.0 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. K2 Horizon 7B Q3_K_M · 10.4 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Gemma 4 E4B Q4_K_M · 16.0 tok/s · Runs well

Coding at 32K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 86/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 26.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  2. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nanbeige4.2 3B Q4_K_M · 17.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  3. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. K2 Horizon 7B Q3_K_M · 10.4 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  4. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron Labs Dory 1.0 4B Q4_K_M · 18.1 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 39.5 tok/s · Runs great

Reasoning at 32K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 86/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 26.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  2. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nanbeige4.2 3B Q4_K_M · 17.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  3. 67Good quality (B) · 67 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. K2 Horizon 7B Q3_K_M · 10.4 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  4. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron Labs Dory 1.0 4B Q4_K_M · 18.1 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 39.5 tok/s · Runs great

Documents (RAG) at 32K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 84/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 16.0 tok/s · Runs well
  2. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 83/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Gemma 4 E4B Q4_K_M · 16.0 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 69Good quality (B) · 69 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Gemma 4 12B Q3_K_M · 7.8 tok/s · Slow (tight fit)
  4. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 39.5 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 26.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Agents & tools at 64K context

  1. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 86/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 26.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  2. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 84/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 16.0 tok/s · Runs well
  3. 49Fair quality (C) · 49 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 82/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. LFM2.5 8B-A1B Q4_K_M · 41.4 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 62Good quality (B) · 62 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Spark-X2.6 4B Q4_K_M · 17.6 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 39.5 tok/s · Runs great

Reverse engineering at 32K context

  1. 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) Q5_K_M · 39.5 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Mellum2.1 Thinking (12B-A2.5B) Q4_K_M · 26.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  3. 66Good quality (B) · 66 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 79/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B Q4_K_M · 16.0 tok/s · Runs well
  4. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 78/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Gemma 4 E4B Q4_K_M · 16.0 tok/s · Runs well
  5. 64Good quality (B) · 64 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 77/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Nanbeige4.2 3B Q4_K_M · 17.3 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Estimates come from published hardware specs and our open formulas, not from running the model on your machine. Real speed varies with runtime, drivers and settings. Numbers marked “Measured” come from a linked benchmark.

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