Home > CPU Comparison > M3 Pro or M1 Pro: what's better?

Apple M3 Pro vs M1 Pro

73 out of 100
Apple M3 Pro
VS
58 out of 100
Apple M1 Pro
Apple M3 Pro
Apple M1 Pro

We compared two laptop CPUs: the 4.05 GHz Apple M3 Pro with 12-cores against the 3.2 GHz M1 Pro with 10-cores. On this page, you'll find out which processor has better performance in benchmarks, games and other useful information.

  1. Review
  2. Differences
  3. Performance
  4. Specs
  5. Comments (10)

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
M3 Pro
87
M1 Pro
68
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
M3 Pro
46
M1 Pro
35
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
M3 Pro
83
M1 Pro
72
Integrated Graphics
iGPU capabilities for gaming and 3D-intensive tasks
M3 Pro
99
M1 Pro
93
NanoReview Final Score
M3 Pro
73
M1 Pro
58
Choose your main usage scenario to recalculate the Final Score and see which CPU suits your needs.
πŸ”Œ Usage Scenario:

Key Differences

What are the key differences between Pro and Pro
Advantages of Apple M3 Pro
  • Newer - released 2 years and 1 month later
  • More modern manufacturing process – 3 versus 5 nanometers
  • 36% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 3163 vs 2328 points
  • Has 2 more physical cores
  • More powerful Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) integrated graphics: 6.4 vs 5.3 TFLOPS
  • Supports up to 36 GB LPDDR5-6400 RAM
Advantages of Apple M1 Pro
  • Around 51.2 GB/s (33%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth

Test in Benchmarks

Comparing the performance of CPUs across various tasks
CPU:
M3 Pro
vs
M1 Pro

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
M3 Pro +31%
143
M1 Pro
109
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
M3 Pro +33%
1059
M1 Pro
796
Cinebench 2026 (Single) - 444
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) - 3334
Cinebench Scores (#141st place)
Submit your benchmark results

GeekBench v6

The new version of this benchmark emulates common operations often used in real-world apps
Geekbench 6 (Single-Core)
M3 Pro +36%
3163
M1 Pro
2328
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
M3 Pro +51%
15512
M1 Pro
10305
File compression 1560 MB/sec 1230 MB/sec
Clang compilation 132.6 Klines/sec 82.4 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 382.9 pages/sec 249.1 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 393.2 Mpixels/sec 271.3 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 301 pages/sec 246.4 pages/sec
Background blur 61.4 images/sec 36.9 images/sec
Photo processing 144.1 images/sec 102.5 images/sec
Ray tracing 19.7 Mpixels/sec 10.7 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2] – 991 & 593 samples

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
M3 Pro +12%
4247
M1 Pro
3795
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
M3 Pro +10%
24046
M1 Pro
21934
Integer math 55.9 GOps/sec 45.6 GOps/sec
Floating point math 64.8 GOps/sec 64 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 240M Primes/sec 272M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 35.2M Strings/sec 32.5M Strings/sec
Data encryption 14.4 GBytes/sec 12.2 GBytes/sec
Data compression 288.5 MBytes/sec 272.2 MBytes/sec
Physics 2060 Frames/sec 2696 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 14.1B Matrices/sec 12.6B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] – 1204 & 2437 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU
M3 Pro +22%
228.7
M1 Pro
186.87

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 35.3 PPW 26.5 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 517.1 PPW 343.5 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 801.5 PPW 731.1 PPW
Blender / Watt 7.62 PPW 6.23 PPW
These are rough calculations, as most CPUs surpass PL1 TDP wattage even in multicore workloads.

Recent User Tests

The latest benchmark tests that have been submitted by users
Apple M3 Pro
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-01-25 (Kirich)Geekbench 6 CPU3198 / 14601
πŸ“˜ 2026-01-25 (Kirich)Cinebench 2024150 / 946
Add View all (2)
Apple M1 Pro
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-27 (bbffx)Geekbench 6 CPU2450 / 12944
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-27 (bbffx)Cinebench 2026444 / 3334
πŸ“˜ 2026-03-27 (bbffx)Cinebench 2024115 / 857
πŸ“˜ 2025-02-23 (anon121434)Cinebench 202499 / 682
πŸ“˜ 2025-02-19 (serhii)Cinebench 2024109 / 796
Add View all (7)

Specifications

Full technical specification of Apple M3 Pro and M1 Pro

General

Vendor Apple Apple
Released October 30, 2023 October 18, 2021
Type Laptop Laptop
Instruction Set ARMv8 ARMv8
Codename Apple M3 Apple M1
Integrated GPU Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core)
Successor - Apple M5 Pro (18-Core) - Apple M5 Pro (18-Core)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 6 8
P-Threads 6 8
Base Frequency (P) 4.05 GHz 3.2 GHz
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 6 2
E-Threads 6 2
Base Frequency (E) 2.75 GHz 2.1 GHz
Total
Total Cores 12 10
Total Threads 12 10
Multiplier 40x -
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 16MB (shared) 24MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No No

Package

Transistors 37 billions 33.7 billions
Fabrication Process 3 nm 5 nm
TDP (PL1) 30 W 30 W
Socket Apple M-Socket Apple M-Socket
Peak Temperature 100Β°C -
Laptop processors ranking (40th and 124th place)

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M3 Pro GPU (18-core) Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core)
GPU Base Clock 500 MHz 450 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1380 MHz 1296 MHz
Shading Units 2304 2048
TMUs 144 128
ROPs 72 64
Execution Units 288 256
TGP 30 W 30 W
iGPU FLOPS
M3 Pro +21%
6.4 TFLOPS
M1 Pro
5.3 TFLOPS
More info: Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) compared to M3 Pro GPU (18-core)

Memory Support

Memory Types - LPDDR5-6400 - LPDDR5-6400
Max. Memory Size 36 GB 32 GB
Memory Channels 12 2
Max. Memory Bandwidth 153.6 GB/s 204.8 GB/s
ECC Support No No

Misc

PCI Express Version 4.0 -

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
361 (33.3%)
722 (66.7%)
Total votes: 1083

Competitors

1. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M3 (16)
2. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M4 Pro (12-Core)
3. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M2 (1)
4. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M4 (10-Core) (7)
5. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M3 Max (1)
6. Apple M3 Pro vs Apple M4 (10-Core)
7. Apple M3 Pro vs Apple M4 Pro (14-Core)
8. Apple M3 Pro vs Apple M1 Max
9. Apple M3 Pro vs Apple M2 Max
10. Apple M3 Pro vs AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
Compare other CPUs (460+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M1 Pro or M3 Pro?
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Yuri April 22, 2024 at 06:42 PM
I also own a M1 pro with 16GB of RAM and I am very satisfied so far. It's fast and smooth. Might upgrade it only with an M4 series depending on the final announced specs, or might skip it to the M5 series as well.
+51 Reply
Avatar
Marsuppi March 7, 2024 at 08:03 PM
The M3 Pro is definitely more efficient, faster, and a marked improvement over the older M1 Pro chip. However, if you consider the price-to-performance ratio, it's not as beneficial. Therefore, there's certainly a reason to opt for the older, cheaper M1 Pro, which continues to be a powerhouse. If you're using an M1 Pro and you have extra capital, why not buy and upgrade to the M3 Pro? If, on the other hand, you reflect the circumstances of most folks, opt for the M1 Pro. Remember, you're buying from Apple for their software experience.
+16 Reply
Avatar
Petr February 23, 2024 at 02:58 PM
All models of the MacBook Pro are great. However, the M3 Pro is the best option, offering the fastest speeds and a five-year support period.
+20 Reply
Avatar
Beng February 5, 2024 at 07:18 PM
There are issues with sound crackling on M1 Pro processors. Therefore, any alternative would be better than the M1 Pro if one is even remotely interested in smooth music playback or production.
+11 Reply
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Quang January 9, 2024 at 11:43 AM
MacBook Pro M1 Pro is better
+59 Reply
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Bong January 23, 2024 at 09:28 AM
Why? According to a benchmark test, M3 Pro performs better.
+18 Reply
Avatar
Bing February 5, 2024 at 07:44 AM
Bong, In terms of value for money, the M1 Pro is the way to go.
+19 Reply
Avatar
Roman February 11, 2024 at 12:08 AM
Bong, Performance is better, but memory is constantly a bottleneck no matter the processor you choose. Unfortunately, Apple has reduced the memory bandwidth in the M3 Pro, but it is necessary for their future sales strategies. I currently have the M1 Pro and I plan to upgrade to at least an M5 generation MacBook for my next purchase. I'm not expecting anything new from the M4 generation.
+55 Reply
Avatar
Brou June 24, 2024 at 07:56 AM
As a new apple silicon user in 2024, I would prefer to choose M3 pro instead of M1 pro. Because it's worth for performance and more longer support.
+12 Reply
Avatar
Josh July 11, 2024 at 05:16 AM
Bong, They are barely different in terms of Moores law. CPU development used to average double transistor counts every two years. These chips are now 10-15% more. Some people will need 8 full on cores instead of 6 too. Which car would you drive for your job?. The one that goes 130mph top speed or the one that goes 150mph. The 130mph car has 0-60 in 5.2 seconds. The 150mph has it in 5.1 seconds. This is comparing the M1 Pro to the M3 pro. Some people are race card drivers and will need it(heavy video, 3d, coders, developers) while some will need to get up to 100mph somethings.
+15 Reply
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