Can Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B run on MacBook Air M1 16GB?

Q: Is unified memory on MacBook Air M1 16GB as fast as VRAM for Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B?

Not always. MacBook Air M1 16GB can often fit larger models thanks to unified memory, but a discrete GPU with dedicated high-bandwidth VRAM may still decode faster once the model fits. For this combination, the important distinction is capacity versus sustained throughput.

YES — Runs Great

A76Great

Estimated from fit model

Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B needs ~6.7 GB VRAM. MacBook Air M1 16GB has 11.5 GB. With Q4_K_M quantization, expect ~23 tok/s.

Runtime: llama.cppCapacity: RoomyBandwidth: Very lowStack: StandardBottleneck: Memory bandwidth

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) — 6.7 GB, 23.4 tok/s, Runs well

6.7 GB required11.5 GB available

58% VRAM used

Fit status

Runs well

Decode

23.4 tok/s

TTFT

8270 ms

Safe context

51K

Memory

6.7 GB / 11.5 GB

Memory breakdown

Weights1.8 GB

KV Cache2.2 GB

Runtime0.9 GB

Headroom1.7 GB

See how fast it feels

See how fast it feelsQwen 2.5 Coder 3B on MacBook Air M1 16GB
1st promptCold start — includes initialization
>Write a Python function to sort a list
Here's a Python function that sorts a list using quicksort:

def quicksort(arr):
    if len(arr) <= 1:
        return arr
    pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2]
    left   = [x for x in arr if x < pivot]
    middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot]
    right  = [x for x in arr if x > pivot]
    return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right)

# Example usage
numbers = [3, 6, 8, 10, 1, 2, 1]
print(quicksort(numbers))  # [1, 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 10]

The algorithm picks a pivot, partitions the list into smaller, equal, and larger elements, then recursively sorts each partition and concatenates the results.
2nd promptWarm — model ready, no init overhead
>Now add type hints and a docstring
def quicksort(arr: list[int]) -> list[int]:
    """Sort a list using the quicksort algorithm.

    Args:
        arr: List of integers to sort.

    Returns:
        A new sorted list.
    """
    if len(arr) <= 1:
        return arr
    pivot = arr[len(arr) // 2]
    left   = [x for x in arr if x < pivot]
    middle = [x for x in arr if x == pivot]
    right  = [x for x in arr if x > pivot]
    return quicksort(left) + middle + quicksort(right)

Added type hints for the input and return type, plus a Google-style docstring.
Estimated: 23.4 tok/s decode · 8.3s TTFT (warm) · 59 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

Workload	Grade	Fit	Decode	TTFT	Context
Chat	A	Runs well	23.4 tok/s	4511 ms	51K
Coding	A	Runs well	23.4 tok/s	8270 ms	51K
Agentic Coding	A	Runs well	23.4 tok/s	12029 ms	51K
Reasoning	A	Runs well	23.4 tok/s	9774 ms	51K
RAG	A	Runs well	23.4 tok/s	15036 ms	51K

Quantization options

How Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B (3B params) fits at each quantization level on MacBook Air M1 16GB (11.5 GB usable).

Quant	Bits	VRAM	Quality	Fit
Q2_K	2	1.2 GB	Low	A73
Q3_K_S	3	1.5 GB	Low	A74
NVFP4	4

Get started

Copy-paste commands to run Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B on your machine.

Run

ollama run qwen2.5-coder:3b

Your hardware

More models your MacBook Air M1 16GB can run

Model	Params	Grade	Decode	Capabilities
Qwen 3.5 9B	9B	S	8 tok/s
Qwen 3 14B	14B	B	4 tok/s

Frequently asked questions

Can MacBook Air M1 16GB run Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B?

Yes, MacBook Air M1 16GB can run Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B with a A grade (Runs well). Expected decode speed: 23.4 tok/s.

How much VRAM does Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B need?

Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B (3B parameters) requires approximately 6.7 GB of memory with Q4_K_M quantization.

What is the best quantization for Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B?

The recommended quantization for Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B is Q4_K_M, which balances quality and memory efficiency.

What speed will Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B run at on MacBook Air M1 16GB?

On MacBook Air M1 16GB, Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B achieves approximately 23.4 tokens per second decode speed with a time-to-first-token of 8270ms using Q4_K_M quantization.

Can MacBook Air M1 16GB run Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B for coding?

For coding workloads, Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B on MacBook Air M1 16GB receives a A grade with 23.4 tok/s and 51K context.

What context window can Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B use on MacBook Air M1 16GB?

On MacBook Air M1 16GB, Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B can safely use up to 51K tokens of context. The model's official context limit is 131K, but available memory constrains the safe maximum.

Is unified memory on MacBook Air M1 16GB as fast as VRAM for Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B?

See all results for MacBook Air M1 16GB See all hardware for Qwen 2.5 Coder 3B

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