Apple - Mac - verified
Local LLMs that run on Mac mini M6 (up to 32 GB)
By this directory's rule of thumb, 30 of 63 open-weight models fit in the 32 GB of unified memory on the Mac mini (M6) in its largest configuration. The largest by total parameters is NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Bolt 74B-A9B (74.9B), whose smallest listed download is 22.0 GB, the 24GB (native 2-bit) GGUF build from nvidia/NVIDIA-Nemotron-3.5-Bolt-74B-A9B-24GB-GGUF.
- Models that fit
- 30 of 63
- Memory
- Up to 32 GB
- Memory type
- Unified memory
- Bandwidth
- 170 GB/s
Spec sheet
- Memory
- Up to 32 GB
- Configurations
- 16, 24 or 32 GB
- Memory type
- Unified memory
- Unified memory
- Yes, shared by CPU and GPU
- Bandwidth
- 170 GB/s
- Released
- 2026
Apple states 153GB/s for the 16GB configuration and 170GB/s for the 24GB and 32GB configurations, and the memory is shared between CPU and GPU.
Source: Apple spec page (apple.com)
30 models that fit in 32 GB
Total params, largest first| Model | Total params | Smallest download | Quant | Commercial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Bolt 74B-A9BNVIDIA | 74.9B9B active | 22.0 GB | 24GB (native 2-bit)GGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Qwen3.6-35B-A3BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen) | 36B3B active | 20.4 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Cohere Aya Expanse 32BCohere | 32.3B | 19.8 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: No |
| Ai2 Olmo 3.1 32B ThinkAi2 | 32.2B | 18.1 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3BNVIDIA | 31.6B3B active | 17.8 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Gemma 4 31BGoogle | 31.3B | 17.7 GB | Q4_0 (QAT)GGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| IBM Granite 4.2 30BIBM | 29.3B | 16.5 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Qwen3.8-27BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen) | 27.8B | 16.1 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Gemma 4 26B A4BGoogle | 25.8B3.8B active | 14.4 GB | Q4_0 (QAT)GGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Devstral Small 2 24B Instruct 2512Mistral AI | 24B | 14.3 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Liquid AI LFM2.5-24B-A2BLiquid AI | 24B2.5B active | 13.6 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Conditions |
| gpt-oss-20bOpenAI | 20.9B3.6B active | 11.2 GB | MXFP4-Q4MLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Phi-4Microsoft | 14.7B | 8.2 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Phi-4-reasoning-plusMicrosoft | 14.7B | 9.1 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Ministral 3 14B Instruct 2512Mistral AI | 13.9B | 8.2 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Gemma 4 12BGoogle | 12B | 6.7 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Qwen3.5-9BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen) | 9.7B | 5.7 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Ministral 3 8B Instruct 2512Mistral AI | 8.9B | 5.2 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| IBM Granite 4.2 8BIBM | 8.8B | 4.9 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Cohere Command R7B (12-2024)Cohere | 8B | 4.5 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: No |
| Gemma 4 E4BGoogle | 8B | 5.0 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Ai2 Olmo Hybrid Instruct DPO 7BAi2 | 7.4B | 14.9 GB | BF16Official weights | Commercial use: Yes |
| Gemma 4 E2BGoogle | 5.1B | 3.1 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Qwen3.5-4BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen) | 4.7B | 2.7 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Ministral 3 3B Instruct 2512Mistral AI | 3.8B | 2.1 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Phi-4-mini-instructMicrosoft | 3.8B | 2.2 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Phi-4-mini-reasoningMicrosoft | 3.8B | 2.2 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Yes |
| Liquid AI LFM2.5-2.6BLiquid AI | 2.7B | 1.6 GB | 4bitMLX | Commercial use: Conditions |
| Qwen3.5-2BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen) | 2.3B | 1.3 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
| Qwen3.5-0.8BAlibaba Cloud (Qwen) | 0.9B | 0.5 GB | Q4_K_MGGUF | Commercial use: Yes |
The rest of the 63 need more than 32 GB. Browse every local model.
By memory configuration
Apple sells the Mac mini (M6) with 16, 24 or 32 GB. The same rule applied to each configuration, and the models each step up adds.
| Configuration | Models that fit | Largest that fits | New at this size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 GB | 19 / 63 | Liquid AI LFM2.5-24B-A2B | Base configuration: 19 models |
| 24 GB | 28 / 63 | Cohere Aya Expanse 32B | Cohere Aya Expanse 32B, Ai2 Olmo 3.1 32B Think, NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B, Gemma 4 31B, IBM Granite 4.2 30B, Qwen3.8-27B, Gemma 4 26B A4B, Devstral Small 2 24B Instruct 2512, Ai2 Olmo Hybrid Instruct DPO 7B |
| 32 GB | 30 / 63 | NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Bolt 74B-A9B | NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Bolt 74B-A9B, Qwen3.6-35B-A3B |
Other devices with 32 GB
Same memory size. Each shows how many models fit under its own rule (Macs also count MLX builds), and the memory type and bandwidth differ.
Compare all 33 GPUs and Macs by memory, bandwidth and how many models fit.
FAQ
How many local LLMs can the Mac mini (M6) run?
30 of the 63 open-weight models in this directory fit in its largest configuration, 32 GB, by this site's rule of thumb that the smallest listed download is at most 85% of the memory. By configuration: 19 at 16 GB, 28 at 24 GB and 30 at 32 GB.
Can the Mac mini (M6) run NVIDIA Nemotron 3.5 Bolt 74B-A9B?
Yes, by this directory's rule of thumb: its smallest listed download, 22.0 GB, is at most 85% of 32 GB (27.2 GB), the 24GB (native 2-bit) GGUF build from nvidia/NVIDIA-Nemotron-3.5-Bolt-74B-A9B-24GB-GGUF. That leaves room for the context and the operating system. It is a memory check, not a speed estimate.
Can the Mac mini (M6) run Liquid AI LFM2.5-24B-A2B?
Yes, by this directory's rule of thumb: its smallest listed download, 13.6 GB, is at most 85% of 32 GB (27.2 GB), the 4bit MLX build from LiquidAI/LFM2.5-24B-A2B-MLX-4bit. That leaves room for the context and the operating system. It is a memory check, not a speed estimate.
Can the Mac mini (M6) run Phi-4-reasoning-vision-15B?
Not by this directory's rule of thumb: its smallest listed download, 30.2 GB, is more than 85% of 32 GB (27.2 GB). It needs the 48 GB tier or more: https://www.developersdigest.tech/local-models/fits/48.
Is the Mac mini (M6)'s memory shared with the operating system?
Yes. Apple lists unified memory shared by the CPU and GPU, so the operating system and your apps use the same pool as the model. The 15% headroom in this directory's rule is there for that and for the context.
What memory bandwidth does the Mac mini (M6) have?
Apple states 170 GB/s of memory bandwidth (Unified memory). From the spec notes: Apple states 153GB/s for the 16GB configuration and 170GB/s for the 24GB and 32GB configurations, and the memory is shared between CPU and GPU. This page does not turn bandwidth into a speed estimate.
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