Apple M4 8-Core vs Apple M5 Pro 18-Core
Aggregate performance score
M5 Pro 18-Core outperforms M4 8-Core by a whopping 176% based on our aggregate benchmark results.
Contents
Primary details
Comparing processor market type (desktop or notebook), architecture, sales start time and price.
| Place in the ranking | 174 | 815 |
| Place by popularity | not in top-100 | not in top-100 |
| Market segment | Laptop | Desktop processor |
| Designer | Apple | Apple |
| Release date | 3 March 2026 (less than a year ago) | 28 October 2024 (1 year ago) |
Detailed specifications
Basic parameters of M5 Pro 18-Core and M4 8-Core: number of cores, number of threads, base frequency and turbo boost clock, lithography, cache size and multiplier lock state. These parameters indirectly say of CPU speed, though for more precise assessment you have to consider their test results.
| Physical cores | 18 (Octadeca-Core) | 8 (Octa-Core) |
| Threads | 18 | 8 |
| Base clock speed | 3.048 GHz | 2.9 GHz |
| Boost clock speed | 4.61 GHz | 4 GHz |
| L2 cache | 32 MB | 4 MB |
| L3 cache | 24 MB | no data |
| Chip lithography | 3 nm | 3 nm |
| 64 bit support | + | + |
Memory specs
Types, maximum amount and channel quantity of RAM supported by M5 Pro 18-Core and M4 8-Core. Depending on the motherboard, higher memory frequencies may be supported.
| Supported memory types | no data | DDR5 |
Graphics specifications
General parameters of integrated GPUs, if any.
| Integrated graphics card | no data | Apple M4 8-core GPU |
Synthetic benchmarks
Various benchmark results of the processors in comparison. Overall score is measured in points in 0-100 range, higher is better.
Combined synthetic benchmark score
This is our combined benchmark performance rating.
Passmark
Passmark CPU Mark is a widespread benchmark, consisting of 8 different types of workload, including integer and floating point math, extended instructions, compression, encryption and physics calculation. There is also one separate single-threaded scenario measuring single-core performance. Other than that, Passmark measures multi-core performance.
Pros & cons summary
| Performance score | 33.51 | 12.16 |
| Recency | 3 March 2026 | 28 October 2024 |
| Physical cores | 18 | 8 |
| Threads | 18 | 8 |
Apple M5 Pro 18-Core has a 176% higher aggregate performance score, an age advantage of 1 year, and 125% more physical cores and 125% more threads.
The Apple M5 Pro 18-Core is our recommended choice as it beats the Apple M4 8-Core in performance tests.
Be aware that Apple M5 Pro 18-Core is a notebook processor while Apple M4 8-Core is a desktop one.
Other comparisons
We've compiled a selection of CPU comparisons, ranging from closely matched processors to other comparisons that may be of interest.
