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URL: https://willitrunai.com/can-run/gemma-3-4b-on-m4-pro-24gb

⇱ Gemma 3 4B on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB? YES

Can Gemma 3 4B run on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB?

YES — Runs Great

A71Great
▲Estimated — low-sample bucket· few comparable runs

Gemma 3 4B needs ~8.0 GB VRAM. MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB has 17.3 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~56 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: LowStack: StandardBottleneck: Balanced
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Operating mode

Choose the run profile you care about

Interactive favors responsiveness, while light API and scale-out lean harder on serving readiness. The fit stays the same, but the recommendation lens changes.

Current mode

Balanced

Balanced for general local use. Keeps the ranking neutral across personal and serving workflows.

Capabilities:

Select quantization to explore

Q4_K_M (Medium quality) — 8.0 GB, 56.0 tok/s, Runs well
8.0 GB required17.3 GB available
46% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

56.0 tok/s

TTFT

3457 ms

Safe context

87K

Memory

8.0 GB / 17.3 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights2.4 GB
KV Cache2.1 GB
Runtime0.9 GB
Headroom2.6 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsGemma 3 4B on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Solve: If a train travels at 60 mph for 2.5 hours, how far does it go?
Let me work through this step by step. Given information: - Speed = 60 mph (miles per hour) - Time = 2.5 hours Formula: Distance = Speed x Time Calculation: Distance = 60 mph x 2.5 h = 150 miles The train travels 150 miles. Double-check: at 60 mph the train covers 60 miles each hour. In half an hour it covers 30 miles. So in 2.5 hours: 60 + 60 + 30 = 150 miles. Confirmed.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>What if the train stops for 20 minutes halfway?
The stop doesn't change the total distance covered while moving, but it affects total trip time. Breakdown: - First half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles - Stop: 20 minutes (no distance) - Second half: 1.25 hours at 60 mph = 75 miles Total distance: 150 miles (same) Total time: 2.5 h + 0.33 h = 2.83 hours Average speed: 150 / 2.83 = 53 mph The distance stays the same but average speed drops to 53 mph because of the stop.
Estimated: 56.0 tok/s decode · 3.5s TTFT (warm) · 140 tok/s prefill

What limits this setup

This setup is broadly balanced for this model.

Shared-memory contention still exists

The OS, browser, and inference runtime all compete for the same physical memory pool, so real-world headroom is less forgiving than raw capacity suggests.

Best improvement path

Performance by workload

WorkloadGradeFitDecodeTTFTContext
ChatARuns well56.0 tok/s1886 ms87K
CodingARuns well56.0 tok/s3457 ms87K
Agentic CodingARuns well56.0 tok/s5029 ms87K
ReasoningARuns well56.0 tok/s4086 ms87K
RAGARuns well56.0 tok/s6286 ms87K

Quantization options

How Gemma 3 4B (4B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB (17.3 GB usable).

QuantBitsVRAMQualityFit
Q2_K
2
1.6 GB
LowB67
Q3_K_S
3
2.0 GB
LowB67
NVFP4
4
2.2 GB
MediumB67
Q4_K_M
4
2.4 GB
MediumB67
Q5_K_M
5
2.9 GB
HighB68
Q6_K
6
3.3 GB
HighB68
Q8_0
8
4.3 GB
Very HighB69
F16Best for your GPU
16
8.2 GB
MaximumA72

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Gemma 3 4B on your machine.

Run

ollama run gemma3:4b

Your hardware

More models your MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GB can run

ModelParamsGradeDecodeCapabilities
👁 Alibaba
Qwen 3.5 9B		9BS37.9 tok/s
👁 Mistral
Magistral Small 2507		24BA17.8 tok/s
👁 Mistral
Devstral Small 2 24B Instruct		24BA17.8 tok/s
👁 Alibaba
Qwen 3 14B		14BS23.4 tok/s
👁 Alibaba
Qwen 3 8B		8BS42.6 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

See all results for MacBook Pro M4 Pro 24GBSee all hardware for Gemma 3 4B