# Can I run SmolLM3 3B on Apple M5 Pro (48GB)?

> **Yes, it runs.** Runs at Q4_K_M using ~3 GB of ~32 GB usable. You have room for FP16 for higher quality.

Last validated: 2026-06-15.

## Memory math
- SmolLM3 3B: 3B; Q4_K_M weighs 1.78 GB on disk.
- At Q4_K_M with a 4k context it needs ~3 GB (weights + KV cache + ~0.8 GB runtime overhead, ±15% with context length).
- Apple M5 Pro (48GB): 48 GB unified, ~32 GB usable for model weights.
- Headroom: ~29 GB; it also fits FP16 for higher quality.

## How to run
Recommended quant: Q4_K_M. Best tool on macOS: LM Studio.

## Run SmolLM3 3B on other devices
- [Apple M1 (8GB)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/apple-m1-8gb)
- [8GB RAM Laptop (CPU/iGPU only)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/laptop-8gb)
- [iPhone 15 Pro](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/iphone-15-pro)
- [iPhone 16](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/iphone-16)
- [iPhone 16 Pro](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/iphone-16-pro)
- [Generic Android Phone (8GB RAM)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/android-generic-8gb)

## Other models that run on Apple M5 Pro (48GB)
- [Mixtral 8x7B (46.7B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/mixtral-8x7b/apple-m5-pro-48gb)
- [Command R 35B (35B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/command-r-35b/apple-m5-pro-48gb)
- [Yi 1.5 34B (34B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/yi-1.5-34b/apple-m5-pro-48gb)
- [Qwen2.5 32B (32B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/qwen2.5-32b/apple-m5-pro-48gb)
- [Qwen3 32B (32B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/qwen3-32b/apple-m5-pro-48gb)
- [DeepSeek-R1-Distill-Qwen 32B (32B)](https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/deepseek-r1-distill-qwen-32b/apple-m5-pro-48gb)

Estimate, not a guarantee. Sources: https://huggingface.co/unsloth/SmolLM3-3B-GGUF, https://huggingface.co/HuggingFaceTB/SmolLM3-3B.
More: https://localmodel.run/can-i-run/smollm3-3b/apple-m5-pro-48gb