M1 Pro → M2 Pro → M3 Pro → M4 Pro
Four generations of MacBook Pro "Pro" tier chips compared on LLM inference throughput. M4 Pro is ~60% faster than M1 Pro on 8B models.
The Pro chip tier covers the entry MacBook Pro 14" and 16" — starting at 24 GB RAM, with up to 64 GB on M4 Pro. These are the chips most developers buy for local LLM work without going to Max territory. Each generation brought meaningful improvements, but the gains were not uniform: M2 Pro made a solid jump, M3 Pro was near-flat, and M4 Pro delivered the largest single-generation gain of the four.
Llama 3.1 8B Instruct — all four Pro generations
Best published result per chip generation using top GPU config. Q4_K Medium. Higher tok/s is better.
Relative throughput on Llama 3.1 8B Instruct (Q4_K_M):
| Generation | Config (best) | Llama 3.1 8B (tok/s) | vs M1 Pro |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 Pro | 16-core GPU, 16 GB | 21.9 tok/s | — |
| M2 Pro | 19-core GPU, 32 GB | 26.3 tok/s | +20% |
| M3 Pro | 18-core GPU, 36 GB | 22.1 tok/s | +1% |
| M4 Pro | 20-core GPU, 24 GB | 32.9 tok/s | +50% |
M3 Pro anomaly: the M3 Pro shows lower throughput than M2 Pro despite being a newer chip. This reflects the M3 Pro's lower memory bandwidth (150 GB/s vs M2 Pro's 200 GB/s) — Apple reduced bandwidth in M3 Pro to cut costs, and LLM inference is bandwidth-bound.
All three benchmark models — generation comparison
Top config per generation on shared models. Q4_K Medium.
| Chip | Llama 3.2 1B | Llama 3.1 8B | Qwen 2.5 14B |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 Pro (16-core, 16 GB) | 78.2 tok/s | 21.9 tok/s | 11.9 tok/s |
| M2 Pro (19-core, 32 GB) | 100.3 tok/s | 26.3 tok/s | 14.1 tok/s |
| M3 Pro (18-core, 36 GB) | 89.8 tok/s | 22.1 tok/s | 12.0 tok/s |
| M4 Pro (20-core, 24 GB) | 119.2 tok/s | 32.5 tok/s | 18.0 tok/s |
Data source: benchmarks.json. All rows measured, not estimated.
Generation-over-generation gains
| Upgrade path | Llama 3.1 8B gain | Key reason |
|---|---|---|
| M1 Pro → M2 Pro | +20% | Higher memory bandwidth (200 vs 200 GB/s, more efficient) |
| M2 Pro → M3 Pro | −16% | M3 Pro cut memory bandwidth to 150 GB/s (cost reduction) |
| M3 Pro → M4 Pro | +49% | 3nm-class TSMC process, restored and improved memory bandwidth |
| M1 Pro → M4 Pro (3 gens) | +50% | Net cumulative gain over three years |
RAM ceiling by generation
| Chip | Max RAM | Largest model at Q4_K_M | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| M1 Pro | 32 GB | ~20B | 14B fits comfortably |
| M2 Pro | 32 GB | ~20B | Same ceiling as M1 Pro |
| M3 Pro | 36 GB | ~22B | Slight increase, not meaningful |
| M4 Pro | 64 GB | ~40B | First Pro to support 32B+ models |
The M4 Pro's 64 GB RAM option is a significant capability unlock. It's the first Pro-tier chip that can comfortably run 32B models at Q4_K_M (~19 GB) and load two 14B models simultaneously. For M1/M2/M3 Pro owners: the RAM ceiling was a persistent bottleneck that M4 Pro finally removes.
Verdict: who should upgrade?
The M4 Pro at 32+ tok/s on 8B models is the best reason to upgrade from any prior Pro generation — the speed difference vs M3 Pro is nearly 50%. The 64 GB RAM option is an equally compelling reason: if you've been constrained to 14B models on an M2/M3 Pro 32–36 GB machine, M4 Pro 64 GB lets you run 32B models comfortably. M2 Pro owners face a mild irony: their chip outperforms M3 Pro, so a M3 Pro upgrade was never worth it. Skip directly to M4 Pro.
Want to understand where Pro fits vs Max? M4 Max vs M4 Pro comparison →
Related comparisons
Data
benchmarks.json — full dataset · chips.json — chip summaries · benchmarks.csv — CSV export