Best local LLMs for the Apple M3 Max (128 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. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Kolibri 1 (78B-A3.5B) Q6_K · 64.9 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Thinking Q6_K · 72.3 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.6 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 88Excellent quality (A+) · 88 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q4_K_M · 37.0 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great

Coding at 32K context

  1. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Kolibri 1 (78B-A3.5B) Q6_K · 64.9 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3 Coder Next (80B-A3B) Q6_K · 72.3 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Thinking Q6_K · 72.3 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiniCPM-V 4.7 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 88Excellent quality (A+) · 88 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q4_K_M · 37.0 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)

Reasoning at 32K context

  1. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Kolibri 1 (78B-A3.5B) Q6_K · 64.9 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Thinking Q6_K · 72.3 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiniCPM-V 4.7 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 88Excellent quality (A+) · 88 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q4_K_M · 37.0 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 97/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Flint (40B-A2.5B) Q8_0 · 64.9 tok/s · Runs great

Documents (RAG) at 32K context

  1. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Kolibri 1 (78B-A3.5B) Q6_K · 64.9 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.6 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3 Coder Next (80B-A3B) Q6_K · 72.3 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3-Next 80B-A3B Thinking Q6_K · 72.3 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great

Agents & tools at 64K context

  1. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 100/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Kolibri 1 (78B-A3.5B) Q6_K · 64.9 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3 Coder Next (80B-A3B) Q6_K · 72.3 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. MiniCPM-V 4.7 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 88Excellent quality (A+) · 88 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Ornith 1.5 122B-A10B Q4_K_M · 37.0 tok/s · Runs well (tight fit)
  5. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Flint (40B-A2.5B) Q8_0 · 64.9 tok/s · Runs great

Reverse engineering at 32K context

  1. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 98/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.5 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great
  2. 84Great quality (A) · 84 of 100: how capable the model is at MXFP4, whatever it runs on. Match score 97/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. gpt-oss 120B MXFP4 · 68.3 tok/s · Runs great
  3. 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 95/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Kolibri 1 (78B-A3.5B) Q6_K · 64.9 tok/s · Runs great
  4. 88Excellent quality (A+) · 88 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 94/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. GLM-4.7 Flash (30B-A3B) Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great
  5. 93Excellent quality (A+) · 93 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 93/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. Qwen3.6 35B-A3B Q8_0 · 56.4 tok/s · Runs great

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.

Was this page helpful?