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Mac mini vs Mac Studio in Australia

Prices checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:07 am AEST · how we check

Today the Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB is A$2,999 at Apple AU (in stock) and the Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB is A$4,299 at Apple AU (in stock). The Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB costs A$1,300 less (30%). For local AI, the Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB gives models 18 GB at 307 GB/s and the Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB 27 GB at 460 GB/s, so the Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB generates text about 1.4× faster on models both can hold (partly estimated). The Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB runs 8 models we track that the Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB can't at 4-bit.

Mac mini: we compare the Mac mini M5 Pro (20-core GPU) 24GB, the top Mac mini. Every config is listed further down. Mac Studio: we compare the Mac Studio M5 Max (32-core GPU) 36GB, the entry Mac Studio. Every config is listed further down.

Side by side

Lowest AU price today
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBA$2,999
Apple AU · in stock
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBA$4,299
Apple AU · in stock
Memory for models
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB18 GB
of 24 GB unified
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB27 GB
of 36 GB unified
Memory bandwidth
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB307 GB/s
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB460 GB/s
Speed (Llama 2 7B Q4_0)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB66 tok/s measured
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB90 tok/s estimate
Speed per A$1,000
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB22.1 tok/s
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB20.9 tok/s
Models that fit (4-bit, 8k)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB12 of 32
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB20 of 32
Biggest model that fits
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBGemma 4 26B-A4B (MoE)
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBQwen3.6 35B-A3B (MoE)

Which new models each one runs

The newest open models we track that at least one of them can hold, at the usual 4-bit quant with an 8k context. Speeds are bandwidth-based estimates. 6 of the 10 newest models are too big for both.

Hy Memory 30B A3B (MoE) new (Q4_K_M, needs 20 GB)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBdoesn't fit
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBfits ~187 tok/s
LFM2.5 24B-A2B (MoE) new (Q4_K_M, needs 16 GB)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBfits ~207 tok/s
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBfits ~281 tok/s
MiniCPM V 4.7 35B A3B (MoE) new (Q4_K_M, needs 23 GB)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBdoesn't fit
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBfits ~187 tok/s
MiniCPM V 4.7 1B new (Q4_K_M, needs 2 GB)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBfits ~268 tok/s
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBfits ~363 tok/s
Qwen3.8 27B (Q4_K_M, needs 18 GB)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBdoesn't fit
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBfits ~20 tok/s
Nemotron 3.5 Lightning 30B-A3B (MoE) (Q4_K_M, needs 20 GB)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBdoesn't fit
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBfits ~187 tok/s
Gemma 4 12B (Q4_K_M, needs 9 GB)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBfits ~35 tok/s
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBfits ~47 tok/s
Qwen3.6 35B-A3B (MoE) (Q4_K_M, needs 23 GB)
Mac mini M5 Pro 24GBdoesn't fit
Mac Studio M5 Max 36GBfits ~187 tok/s

Every Mac mini config we price

Mac mini M6 (12-core GPU) 16GB

A$1,449Apple AU · in stock

16 GB unified (12 GB usable) · 153 GB/s · 30 tok/s estimate · 20.6 tok/s per A$1k · checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:44 am AEST
Biggest model that fits: Gemma 4 12B

View at Apple AU

Mac mini M4 (10-core GPU) 16GB / 512GB

A$1,597Mwave · in stock

16 GB unified (12 GB usable) · 120 GB/s · 24 tok/s measured · 15.1 tok/s per A$1k · checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:44 am AEST
Biggest model that fits: Gemma 4 12B

View at Mwave

Mac mini M5 Pro (16-core GPU) 24GB

A$2,699Apple AU · in stock

24 GB unified (18 GB usable) · 307 GB/s · 68 tok/s measured · 25.0 tok/s per A$1k · checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:44 am AEST
Biggest model that fits: Gemma 4 26B-A4B (MoE)

View at Apple AU

Mac mini M5 Pro (20-core GPU) 24GB

A$2,999Apple AU · in stock

24 GB unified (18 GB usable) · 307 GB/s · 66 tok/s measured · 22.1 tok/s per A$1k · checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:44 am AEST
Biggest model that fits: Gemma 4 26B-A4B (MoE)

View at Apple AU

Every Mac Studio config we price

Mac Studio M5 Max (32-core GPU) 36GB

A$4,299Apple AU · in stock

36 GB unified (27 GB usable) · 460 GB/s · 90 tok/s estimate · 20.9 tok/s per A$1k · checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:44 am AEST
Biggest model that fits: Qwen3.6 35B-A3B (MoE)

View at Apple AU

Mac Studio M5 Ultra (64-core GPU) 96GB

A$9,499Apple AU · in stock

96 GB unified (72 GB usable) · 1,200 GB/s · 234 tok/s estimate · 24.7 tok/s per A$1k · checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:44 am AEST
Biggest model that fits: gpt-oss 120B (MoE)

View at Apple AU

Mac Studio M5 Ultra (80-core GPU) 256GB

A$11,449Apple AU · in stock

256 GB unified (192 GB usable) · 1,200 GB/s · 179 tok/s measured · 15.6 tok/s per A$1k · checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:44 am AEST
Biggest model that fits: Qwen3.8 Flash-Next (MoE)

View at Apple AU

Mac Studio M5 Max (40-core GPU) 48GB+

No AU retailer listing right now

48 GB unified (36 GB usable) · 614 GB/s · 120 tok/s measured
Biggest model that fits: Qwen3.6 35B-A3B (MoE)

FAQ

Which is cheaper in Australia, the Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB or the Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB?

The Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB: A$2,999 at Apple AU against A$4,299 for the Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB (Apple AU), checked 21 Oct 2026, 10:07 am AEST. We re-check both every day.

Is the Mac mini M5 Pro 24GB faster than the Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB for local AI?

No. On models that fit in both, text generation speed mostly follows memory bandwidth: 307 GB/s vs 460 GB/s. Our reference test gives 66 vs 90 tok/s (measured / estimate).

Which runs bigger AI models?

The Mac Studio M5 Max 36GB, with 27 GB usable vs 18 GB. Models only it can hold at 4-bit include Hy Memory 30B A3B (MoE), MiniCPM V 4.7 35B A3B (MoE), Qwen3.8 27B.

Stores change prices during the day, so check the listing before you pay. How we check

Related

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