Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB vs 48GB for local AI
The Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB holds 34 of the 50 current models here, and the Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB holds 33. The Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB costs $600 less. On Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, the Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB is about 1.3× faster: 25 tok/s against 19, both estimated from memory bandwidth. The Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB pays for itself sooner, in 149 years against 174 years at 500k tokens a day.
| Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB | Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $2,499 | $3,099 |
| Memory | 36 GB | 48 GB |
| Usable by the GPU | 27 GB | 36 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 460 GB/s | 614 GB/s |
| Power under load | 145 Wstand-in | 145 Wstand-in |
| Models that fit | 33 | 34 |
| Best model it runs | Qwen3.8 27B | Qwen3.8 27B |
| Speed on that model | 19 tok/s estimated | 25 tok/s estimated |
| Pay-back on that model | Pays back in 149 years | Pays back in 174 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 Studio M5 Max, 36GB · or the Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB
Jump to: The step up is a different chip, not just more memory · How much use it takes to pay back · What the extra memory buys · The assumptions behind both columns
The step up is a different chip, not just more memory
Mac Studio M5 Max is one name for two machines. The data lists the 36GB as 18-core CPU / 32-core GPU and the 48GB as 18-core CPU / 40-core GPU. The step adds 8 GPU cores to the graphics part, 40 against 32. That is why this pair is not one of the site's memory-size comparisons: those hold the silicon equal so the memory is the whole of the difference, and Apple cut both to reach the $2,499.
The dearer chip has the wider path to memory as well, 614 GB/s against 460. Writing a token means reading the whole model out of memory, so that is the figure the speeds in the table follow, and it is the part of this step you can see in them. The 48GB box holds 34 of the 50 models the calculator counts against 33 on the 36GB. Price the Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB on its own before paying for the step: here the step buys room and speed together, and the years move with both.
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 Qwen3.8 27B, the strongest model both hold, at the five levels of use the calculator names. The Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB 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 Studio M5 Max, 36GB | Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB |
|---|---|---|
| 50ka few chats a day | 1,494 years | 1,742 years |
| 200klight assistant use | 373 years | 436 years |
| 1Ma moderate coding-assistant day | 75 years | 87 years |
| 4Mheavy coding with an agent | 19 years | 22 years |
| 20Magents running most of the day | 3.7 years | 4.4 years |
Run the Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB at 20M tokens a day · or the Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB
What the extra memory buys
The Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB holds 1 model the Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB cannot at 32k of context. That is what the difference in memory actually buys.
| Model | Weights | Needs at 32k | On the Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nanbeige4.3 33Bnot yet placed | 21 GB | 28 GB | 17 tok/s estimated |
The extra memory buys context as well. Of the 33 current models both machines hold at 32k, 12 run to a longer window on the Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB: the weights are a fixed size and the KV cache is not, so what the weights leave spare is what a longer context grows into. Flint 40B-A2.5B reaches 256k there against 64k on the Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB, each the longest window the calculator offers that the machine still holds it at.
The Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB is also head to head with another computer: Mac mini M5 Pro, 64GB · MacBook Pro M5 (14-inch), 32GB. With the machine it replaced: Mac Studio M4 Max, 36GB.
The Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB is also head to head with another computer: MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch), 24GB. With the same machine at another memory size: 64GB · 128GB. With the machine it replaced: Mac Studio M4 Max, 48GB.
Each size has a page of its own, listing every machine here sold at it and the models that fit: what 36 GB runs · what 48 GB runs. The 4 machines here still sold at 48 GB start with the Mac mini M5 Pro, 48GB at $2,299, $800 below the Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB. It reads memory at 307 GB/s against that machine's 614.
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. Change any of it in the calculator.
More head to head: everything the Mac Studio M5 Max, 36GB runs · everything the Mac Studio M5 Max, 48GB runs · every other match-up · the quickest pay-back at each level of use · every model against the frontier