Can an Apple M4 16GB run Qwen3 30B A3B?
Yes, with a setting
It needs 11.93 GB at IQ3_XXS and macOS allows 10.72 GB by default. Raise the limit and it runs at about 24.5 tokens per second.
In practice
It loads, and we would not call that running it. The only quantization that fits the Apple M4 16GB is IQ3_XXS, which compresses the weights far enough that Qwen3 30B A3B loses a visible amount of its ability, so we do not recommend it. At Q4_K_M it needs 18.23 GB against the 10.72 GB available.
A smaller model at a proper quantization is a better answer than a larger one squeezed in, and the next section lists the ones that fit.
The numbers
Qwen3 30B A3B has 30.53 billion parameters across 48 layers, of which 3.34 billion are read for each token. The Apple M4 16GB has 16 GB of unified memory at 120 GB/s, of which about 10.72 GB is left for a model once the operating system has taken its share.
| Quantization | Total needed | Fits | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q8_0 | 31.27 GB | no | n/a |
| Q6_K | 24.37 GB | no | n/a |
| Q5_K_M | 21.28 GB | no | n/a |
| Q4_K_M | 18.23 GB | no | n/a |
| IQ4_XS | 16.16 GB | no | n/a |
| Q3_K_M | 14.96 GB | no | n/a |
| IQ3_XXS degraded | 11.93 GB | with raised limit | 24.5 t/s |
| Q2_K degraded | 12.97 GB | with raised limit | 23.2 t/s |
| IQ2_XXS degraded | 8.38 GB | yes | 30.7 t/s |
1 of the 9 levels fit entirely. Levels marked degraded are listed for completeness, not as advice.
If you would rather not change the limit
A smaller model from the same family is the straightforward answer. These fit on an Apple M4 16GB at a quantization worth using:
- Qwen3 14B, 14.77B at IQ4_XS, 8.97 GB, about 10.0 tokens/s
- Qwen2.5 14B Instruct, 14.77B at Q3_K_M, 8.63 GB, about 10.4 tokens/s
- Qwen2.5 Coder 14B Instruct, 14.77B at Q3_K_M, 8.63 GB, about 10.4 tokens/s
What else an Apple M4 16GB runs well
For comparison, these are the other popular models that fit this device at a sound quantization, best pairings first.
| Model | Quantization | Memory | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.5 9B | Q6_K | 8.04 GB | 11.8 t/s |
| Gemma 4 12B Instruct | Q4_K_M | 8.41 GB | 10.2 t/s |
| Qwen3 8B | Q6_K | 7.76 GB | 11.8 t/s |
| Qwen3 14B | IQ4_XS | 8.97 GB | 10.0 t/s |
The same model on nearby hardware
Memory decides whether Qwen3 30B A3B loads and bandwidth decides how quickly it answers. Here is what a step down, a card with the same memory and a step up do with it.
| Device | Memory | Bandwidth | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| GeForce RTX 4070 | 12 GB | 504 GB/s | partial, 42.1 t/s |
| GeForce RTX 5080 | 16 GB | 960 GB/s | Q3_K_M, 182 t/s |
| GeForce RTX 4090 | 24 GB | 1008 GB/s | Q5_K_M, 146 t/s |
See how fast it feels
Apple M4 16GB running Qwen3 30B A3B at IQ3_XXS
YouWhy does my model use more memory when the conversation gets longer?
Reading your question
Simulated from our estimate at a 512-token question, not a recording. Assumes nothing else is competing for the GPU.
Questions people ask
How much VRAM does Qwen3 30B A3B need on Apple M4 16GB?
At Q4_K_M with an 8k context window it needs 18.23 GB in total: 17.17 GB of weights, 0.75 GB of KV cache and 0.31 GB of runtime overhead. The Apple M4 16GB makes about 10.72 GB available once the operating system has taken its share.
Can I run Qwen3 30B A3B on Apple M4 16GB anyway?
Yes, after raising the macOS GPU memory limit, which one sysctl command does. Without it the model needs 11.93 GB and the default limit allows 10.72 GB.
Keep going
Everything the Apple M4 16GB runs, the full breakdown for Qwen3 30B A3B, how the numbers are made in the methodology, or a different pairing in the calculator.