Mac mini M5 Pro: 24GB vs 64GB for local AI
The Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB holds 27 of the 39 open models here, and the Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB holds 13. The Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB costs $1,000 less. On Gemma 4 12B, the strongest model both hold, they run at much the same speed: 29 and 29 tok/s, both estimated from memory bandwidth. The Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB pays for itself sooner, in 35 years against 135 years at 500k tokens a day, though that is each machine on its own strongest model rather than on the same one.
| Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB | Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $1,699 | $2,699 |
| Memory | 24 GB | 64 GB |
| Usable by the GPU | 16 GB | 48 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 307 GB/s | 307 GB/s |
| Power under load | 140 Wstand-in | 140 Wstand-in |
| Models that fit | 13 | 27 |
| Best model it runs | Gemma 4 12B | Qwen3.8 27B |
| Speed on that model | 29 tok/s estimatedGemma 4 12B | 12 tok/s estimatedQwen3.8 27B |
| Pay-back on that model | Pays back in 135 years | Pays back in 35 years |
Neither power figure above is measured on the machine beside it. Both are stand-ins borrowed from the nearest hardware the data does have, so what the row shows is one borrowed figure printed twice. Each machine's page names the figure it borrows and why. Every pay-back figure on this page prices its electricity from these numbers.
Run the numbers on the Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB · or the Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB
Side by side on Gemma 4 12B
The table above gives each machine the strongest model it can hold, and those are not the same model, so the two speeds in it are not a race. Gemma 4 12B is the strongest model both machines hold, so this is the pair running the same work.
| Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB | Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Speed | 29 tok/s estimated | 29 tok/s estimated |
| Pay-back | Pays back in 135 years | Pays back in 215 years |
Run Gemma 4 12B on the Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB · or on the Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB
How much use it takes to pay back
Everything above is at 500k tokens a day. Pay-back moves with how much you actually run, so here are both machines on the same model, at the five levels of use the calculator names. The Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB pays back sooner at every level of use, so this is not a choice that turns on how hard you work it.
| A day's use | Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB | Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB |
|---|---|---|
| 50ka few chats a day | 1,353 years | 2,149 years |
| 200klight assistant use | 338 years | 537 years |
| 1Ma moderate coding-assistant day | 68 years | 107 years |
| 4Mheavy coding with an agent | 17 years | 27 years |
| 20Magents running most of the day | 3.4 years | 5.4 years |
Run the Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB at 20M tokens a day · or the Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB
What the extra memory buys
The Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB holds 14 models the Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB cannot at 32k of context. The strongest of them are what the difference in memory actually buys.
| Model | Weights | Needs at 32k | On the Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qwen3.8 27BSonnet-class | 16 GB | 19 GB | 12 tok/s estimated |
| Qwen3.6 27BHaiku-class | 17 GB | 19 GB | 12 tok/s estimated |
| Qwen3.6 35B-A3BHaiku-class | 22 GB | 23 GB | 37 tok/s estimated |
| Muse Glimmer 30BHaiku-class | 17 GB | 18 GB | 13 tok/s estimated |
| Gemma 4 26B-A4BHaiku-class | 17 GB | 18 GB | 27 tok/s estimated |
| Gemma 4 31B itHaiku-class | 20 GB | 26 GB | 8.9 tok/s estimated |
8 more, on the Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB page.
The assumptions behind both columns
Both columns use the same usage: 500k tokens a day at 15:1 input to output, 32k of context, $0.17 per kWh, and today's API prices held flat. Speeds marked estimated are worked out from memory bandwidth rather than measured, and pay-back scales with them. Graphics cards are priced as the card alone, so add the PC around one before comparing it with a complete computer. Change any of it in the calculator.
More head to head: everything the Mac mini M5 Pro, 24GB runs · everything the Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB runs · every other match-up · the quickest pay-back at each level of use · every model against the frontier