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Text model · Qwen3

Qwen3 8B: RAM and VRAM requirements

Qwen3 8B needs about 6.5 GB to run at Q4_K_M (the Q4_K_M GGUF file is ~5.03 GB to download; KV cache and overhead add the rest), or about 10.2 GB at Q8_0. The lightest hardware that runs it is Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 (12GB).

Qwen3 family · 8B params · released Apr 2025 · 23M Ollama pulls.

Shopping for hardware? See what runs Qwen3 8B →

License Apache-2.0 · Commercial OK ↓ 15.9M/mo ♥ 1.3K on HuggingFace
Q4_K_M GGUF
5.03 GB
Q8_0 GGUF
8.71 GB
Memory @ Q4 (4k)
~6.5 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 8B runs on 33 of 40 tracked devices at Q4_K_M.

33 run well 0 tight fit 7 too small
Fit check Q4_K_M
Yes, it runs fast
needs 6.5 GB usable 10.5 GB
See the full breakdown
$ollama run qwen3:8b

Memory breakdown

Weights (Q4_K_M)5.03 GB
+
KV cache (4k)0.7 GB
+
Overhead0.8 GB
=
Total6.5 GB

How context length changes it

4k context ~6.5 GB 32k context ~11.2 GB 128k context ~27.5 GB

Longer context grows the KV cache quickly: Qwen3 8B needs ~6.5 GB at 4k but ~27.5 GB at 128k, which can push it past a device that fits it at a short context.

Speed drops too: every token re-reads the KV cache, so at 128k context Qwen3 8B generates at roughly ~19% of its short-context speed. How this is estimated.

Benchmark scores

BFCL · tool use

#4 of 19 ranked · Overall Acc on the Berkeley Function-Calling Leaderboard.

42.6%

Sourced third-party benchmarks for the full-precision Qwen3 8B, not a specific quant. See the full leaderboard.

Quantization sizes

GGUF quantson disk
Quantization Size on disk
Q2_K 3.4 GB est
Q3_K_M 3.9 GB est
Q4_K_M (default) 5.03 GB
Q5_K_M 5.7 GB est
Q6_K 6.6 GB est
Q8_0 8.71 GB
FP16 16 GB

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

Run it

Ollama
$ ollama run qwen3:8b
llama.cpp
$ llama-cli -hf Qwen/Qwen3-8B-GGUF:Q4_K_M
LM Studio
$ lms get Qwen/Qwen3-8B-GGUF

Which devices can run Qwen3 8B?

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 Qwen2.5 Coder 7B 7B Next size up DeepSeek-R1-0528-Qwen3-8B 8.19B

Similar models

Head-to-head

FAQ

How much VRAM or RAM does Qwen3 8B need?

At Q4_K_M, Qwen3 8B needs about 6.5 GB (weights ~5.03 GB + KV cache + overhead) at a 4k context. At Q8_0 budget ~10.2 GB.

What is the Q4_K_M GGUF file size of Qwen3 8B?

The Q4_K_M GGUF file is about 5.03 GB to download, and the Q8_0 GGUF is about 8.71 GB. That is the weights file on disk; to run it you also need room for the KV cache and overhead, so budget ~6.5 GB of memory at Q4_K_M.

Can Qwen3 8B run on a laptop?

Yes, Qwen3 8B 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 8B commercially?

Yes. Qwen3 8B is licensed Apache-2.0, which permits commercial use.

Understand the numbers

Short guides to the ideas behind Qwen3 8B's memory and quant figures.

Official Qwen/Qwen3-8B-GGUF HF repo lists Q4_K_M=5.03GB, Q8_0=8.71GB. Ollama library shows 5.2GB (rounded). Qwen3 released 2025-04-29. Context 32K native, extendable to 128K via YaRN.

Sources

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