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Text model · Qwen3

Qwen3 4B: RAM and VRAM requirements

Qwen3 4B needs about 3.8 GB to run at Q4_K_M (the Q4_K_M GGUF file is ~2.5 GB to download; KV cache and overhead add the rest), or about 5.6 GB at Q8_0. The lightest hardware that runs it is Apple M1 (8GB).

Qwen3 family · 4B params · released 2025-04-29 · 23M Ollama pulls.

Shopping for hardware? See what runs Qwen3 4B →

License Apache-2.0 · Commercial OK ↓ 4.5M/mo ♥ 668 on HuggingFace
Q4_K_M GGUF
2.5 GB
Q8_0 GGUF
4.28 GB
Memory @ Q4 (4k)
~3.8 GB
Context
32 k

Q4_K_M and Q8_0 are GGUF download (file) sizes. Memory @ Q4 includes the KV cache and overhead, so it runs larger than the file on disk.

Will it run on your device?

Qwen3 4B runs on 40 of 40 tracked devices at Q4_K_M.

35 run well 5 tight fit 0 too small
Fit check Q4_K_M
Yes, it runs fast
needs 3.8 GB usable 10.5 GB
See the full breakdown
$ollama run qwen3:4b

Memory breakdown

Weights (Q4_K_M)2.5 GB
+
KV cache (4k)0.5 GB
+
Overhead0.8 GB
=
Total3.8 GB

How context length changes it

4k context ~3.8 GB 32k context ~7.1 GB 128k context ~18.7 GB

Qwen3 4B is small enough that the context window is the thing to size for: 128k needs ~18.7 GB versus ~3.8 GB at 4k, so pick the window you actually use.

Speed drops too: every token re-reads the KV cache, so at 128k context Qwen3 4B generates at roughly ~14% of its short-context speed. How this is estimated.

Quantization sizes

GGUF quantson disk
Quantization Size on disk
Q2_K 1.7 GB est
Q3_K_M 2 GB est
Q4_K_M (default) 2.5 GB
Q5_K_M 2.9 GB est
Q6_K 3.3 GB est
Q8_0 4.28 GB
FP16 8 GB est

Lower quant = smaller and faster, slightly lower quality. Q4_K_M is the common default.

Run it

Ollama
$ ollama run qwen3:4b
llama.cpp
$ llama-cli -hf Qwen/Qwen3-4B-GGUF:Q4_K_M
LM Studio
$ lms get Qwen/Qwen3-4B-GGUF

Which devices can run Qwen3 4B?

Apple Silicon Macs

RAM-only laptops

iPhone & iPad

Android

NVIDIA GPUs

AMD GPUs

Same job, different size

Pick by what fits your memory: step down to free up VRAM, or step up if you have headroom.

Next size down Phi-3.5-mini 3.8B 3.82B Next size up Gemma 4 E2B 5.1B

Similar models

Head-to-head

FAQ

How much VRAM or RAM does Qwen3 4B need?

At Q4_K_M, Qwen3 4B needs about 3.8 GB (weights ~2.5 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. At Q8_0 budget ~5.6 GB.

What is the Q4_K_M GGUF file size of Qwen3 4B?

The Q4_K_M GGUF file is about 2.5 GB to download, and the Q8_0 GGUF is about 4.28 GB. That is the weights file on disk; to run it you also need room for the KV cache and overhead, so budget ~3.8 GB of memory at Q4_K_M.

Can Qwen3 4B run on a laptop?

Yes, Qwen3 4B fits on a 16 GB machine at Q4_K_M and runs on Apple Silicon or a 12 GB+ GPU comfortably.

Can I use Qwen3 4B commercially?

Yes. Qwen3 4B is licensed Apache-2.0, which permits commercial use.

Understand the numbers

Short guides to the ideas behind Qwen3 4B's memory and quant figures.

Claimed to rival Qwen2.5-72B-Instruct on several benchmarks. 32K native context (YaRN to 128K). Dual thinking/non-thinking mode. Excellent laptop-class edge model.

Sources

Last validated 2026-08-03. Memory figures are estimates. See methodology.