# Qwen2.5 3B: RAM and VRAM requirements

> Qwen2.5 3B is a 3.09B Qwen2.5 model. At Q4_K_M it needs about **3.3 GB** to run and fits **39 of 39** tracked devices. Minimum to run: Apple M1 (8GB).

Last validated: 2026-06-15. Sources: Ollama, HuggingFace GGUF repos, vendor specs.

## Memory by quantization
| Quant | On disk | To run (4k context) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Q4_K_M | 2.1 GB | ~3.3 GB |
| Q8_0 | 3.62 GB | ~4.8 GB |

Memory = weights + KV cache + ~0.8 GB runtime overhead, and varies ±15% with context length.

## Will it run on my device?
- **Apple M1 (8GB)** (8 GB): Yes, it runs — room for Q8_0
- **Generic Android Phone (8GB RAM)** (8 GB): Yes, it runs
- **iPhone 17 Pro** (12 GB): Yes, it runs — room for FP16
- **Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 (16GB)** (16 GB): Yes, it runs — room for FP16
- **Google Pixel 10 Pro** (16 GB): Yes, it runs — room for FP16
- **Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 (24GB)** (24 GB): Yes, it runs — room for FP16
- **Apple M4 Pro (48GB)** (48 GB): Yes, it runs — room for FP16
- **Apple M3 Ultra (256GB)** (256 GB): Yes, it runs — room for FP16

Full table of all 39 devices: https://localmodel.run/model/qwen2.5-3b

## How to run
Quickest path: `ollama run qwen2.5:3b`. On Mac, LM Studio (ships MLX) is fastest; on Linux, Ollama for chat or vLLM to serve; on Windows, LM Studio or Ollama.

## Details
- Parameters: 3.09B
- Default context: 128k tokens
- License: Qwen Research License (commercial use: no)
- Released: 2024-09-19
- HuggingFace: 9,056,144 downloads/mo, 499 likes

## FAQ
### How much VRAM or RAM does Qwen2.5 3B need?
About 3.3 GB at Q4_K_M (weights 2.1 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. Budget ~4.8 GB for Q8_0.
### Can Qwen2.5 3B run on a laptop?
Yes. Qwen2.5 3B fits on a 16 GB laptop or Mac at Q4_K_M, and runs on Apple Silicon or a 12 GB+ GPU comfortably.
### Can I use Qwen2.5 3B commercially?
No: Qwen Research License: non-commercial use only..

Sources: https://ollama.com/library/qwen2.5:3b, https://huggingface.co/Qwen/Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct-GGUF, https://qwenlm.github.io/blog/qwen2.5/
More: https://localmodel.run/model/qwen2.5-3b