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

Apple M3 vs M1 Pro

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

We compared two laptop CPUs: the 4.05 GHz Apple M3 with 8-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 (16)

Review

General overview and comparison of the processors
Single-Core Performance
Performance in single-threaded apps and benchmarks
Multi-Core Performance
Measure performance when all cores are involved
Power Efficiency
The efficiency score of power consumption
Integrated Graphics
iGPU capabilities for gaming and 3D-intensive tasks
NanoReview Final Score
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 M3
Advantages of Apple M3
  • Newer - released 2 years and 1 month later
  • More modern manufacturing process – 3 versus 5 nanometers
  • 29% faster in a single-core Geekbench v6 test - 3009 vs 2328 points
Advantages of Apple M1 Pro
  • Around 102.4 GB/s (100%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • More powerful Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) integrated graphics: 5.3 vs 3.5 TFLOPS
  • Has 2 more physical cores
  • Supports up to 32 GB LPDDR5-6400 RAM

Test in Benchmarks

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

Cinebench

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench 2024 (Single)
Apple M3 +28%
140
M1 Pro
109
Cinebench 2024 (Multi)
Apple M3
712
M1 Pro +12%
796
Cinebench 2026 (Single) - 444
Cinebench 2026 (Multi) 2341 3334
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)
Apple M3 +29%
3009
M1 Pro
2328
Geekbench 6 (Multi-Core)
Apple M3 +15%
11815
M1 Pro
10305
File compression 1260 MB/sec 1230 MB/sec
Clang compilation 94.7 Klines/sec 82.4 Klines/sec
HTML 5 Browser 264.5 pages/sec 249.1 pages/sec
PDF Renderer 313.9 Mpixels/sec 271.3 Mpixels/sec
Text processing 297 pages/sec 246.4 pages/sec
Background blur 50.2 images/sec 36.9 images/sec
Photo processing 114.8 images/sec 102.5 images/sec
Ray tracing 12.9 Mpixels/sec 10.7 Mpixels/sec
Sources: GeekBench [1], [2] – 438 & 593 samples

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Apple M3 +24%
4707
M1 Pro
3795
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Apple M3
19065
M1 Pro +15%
21934
Integer math 42.6 GOps/sec 45.6 GOps/sec
Floating point math 48.3 GOps/sec 64 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 231M Primes/sec 272M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 27.3M Strings/sec 32.5M Strings/sec
Data encryption 11.5 GBytes/sec 12.2 GBytes/sec
Data compression 225 MBytes/sec 272.2 MBytes/sec
Physics 1867 Frames/sec 2696 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 10B Matrices/sec 12.6B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4] – 1563 & 2437 samples

Blender

3D rendering test that measures CPU performance in 3D modeling tasks (uses all cores)
Blender CPU
Apple M3
160.35
M1 Pro +17%
186.87

Performance Per Watt

Shows the score you get per each watt of PL1 TDP
Cinebench 2024 / Watt 35.6 PPW 26.5 PPW
Geekbench 6 Multi / Watt 590.8 PPW 343.5 PPW
Passmark CPU Mark / Watt 953.3 PPW 731.1 PPW
Blender / Watt 8.02 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
DateBenchmarkResult
πŸ“˜ 2026-08-22 (doannguyenmfs)Geekbench 6 CPU2991 / 11735
πŸ“˜ 2026-06-16 (darkknightSup)Geekbench 6 CPU2990 / 11498
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 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 GPU Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core)
Successor - Apple M5 (10-Core) - Apple M5 Pro (18-Core)

CPU

Performance Cores
P-Cores 4 8
P-Threads 4 8
Base Frequency (P) 4.05 GHz 3.2 GHz
Efficient Cores
E-Cores 4 2
E-Threads 4 2
Base Frequency (E) 2.75 GHz 2.1 GHz
Total
Total Cores 8 10
Total Threads 8 10
Multiplier 40x -
L1 Cache 192K (per core) 192K (per core)
L2 Cache 16MB (shared) 24MB (shared)
Unlocked Multiplier No No

Package

Transistors 25 billions 33.7 billions
Fabrication Process 3 nm 5 nm
TDP (PL1) 20 W 30 W
Socket Apple M-Socket Apple M-Socket
Peak Temperature 100Β°C -
Laptop processors ranking (69th and 124th place)

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M3 GPU Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core)
GPU Base Clock 500 MHz 450 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1380 MHz 1296 MHz
Shading Units 1280 2048
TMUs 80 128
ROPs 40 64
Execution Units 160 256
TGP 15 W 30 W
iGPU FLOPS
Apple M3
3.5 TFLOPS
M1 Pro +51%
5.3 TFLOPS
More info: Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) compared to M3 GPU (10-core)

Memory Support

Memory Types - LPDDR5-6400 - LPDDR5-6400
Max. Memory Size 24 GB 32 GB
Memory Channels 8 2
Max. Memory Bandwidth 102.4 GB/s 204.8 GB/s
ECC Support No No

Misc

PCI Express Version 4.0 -

Cast your vote

Choose between two processors
578 (24.3%)
1803 (75.7%)
Total votes: 2381

Competitors

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

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M1 Pro or Apple M3?
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0110111001101001101001 March 13, 2026 at 05:45 AM
Me siting here 2 years later with an M5 Pro Macbook Pro. Absolute beast andonly 40W Pl1
0 Reply
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David August 4, 2024 at 12:21 AM
i need a new macbook for studiying. I use adobe photoshop Premiere Pro and After Effects. I dont know which i should get; a M3 Macbook air with 16Gb RAM (with the education discount and free airpods) or a M1 Pro Macbook Pro with 16GB RAM (without Airpods). i know the pro has a card reader but i already have the adapters Which should i buy because prices should be round about the same
+94 Reply
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Apple August 5, 2024 at 05:28 PM
Greetings David, We highly recommend a M3 Macbook Air! Best of luck with your studies. Regards, John
+75 Reply
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Apple July 18, 2025 at 08:58 PM
definitely m1pro, worth it way more for harder work overall
+11 Reply
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What to chose if April 9, 2024 at 03:24 PM
I want to use a software that controls audio, video and lightings (for live shows), called QLab. Need to - send audio (multitracks) through USB - one video out (HDMI) - MIDI command controls through USB - controlling lightings through USB Currently using an older MacBook pro (i5, 16Gb RAM) and it's fine with a lower version of the software (audio through 1/8 out and no lightings for now). Should I get a M3 or M1 Pro for what I need?? I guess my main question is about the RAM memory, 8Gb vs 16Gb, should I get the 16Gb or the M3 with be more than enough with its 8Gb?
+94 Reply
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8GB vs 16GB April 22, 2024 at 04:42 PM
16GB! Never more 8GB of RAM in 2024 and beyond.
+74 Reply
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Joel March 18, 2024 at 04:36 AM
Reckon base M3 is as big a jump from base M1 as M1 Pro was from base M1. But the M1 Pro has more transistors overall, as well as better hardware (speakers, 120 XDR display, drives 2 display, SSD speed, memory bandwidth).
+91 Reply
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Marcelo November 22, 2024 at 12:37 PM
Really that the M3 has lower display and sound quality? I thought it was the same since they have same specs, except processor, memory and some other stuff.
+6 Reply
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Malte December 30, 2023 at 08:37 PM
The M1 Pro has a significantly larger SSD capacity and a much brighter screen display, making it easier to see the screen while sitting outside.
+92 Reply
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Louis December 22, 2023 at 09:46 PM
I'm having trouble picking one which is best. I need to use one of these devices for at least 4-5 years.
+249 Reply
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Thun January 14, 2026 at 12:46 PM
I think M1 pro from the one who still use msi for almost 5yr
0 Reply
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mirko November 22, 2023 at 10:49 PM
M1 pro because it can output more displays, enough said.
+81 Reply
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Sandor December 3, 2023 at 09:24 AM
Yes, but M3 in a 24' iMac gives a Fantastic 5K display. I am jus wondering to add one next to my M1 Pro Macbook Pro.
+38 Reply
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Steven January 28, 2024 at 03:32 AM
Very few people utilize more than one display. The M3 is faster in everything, except for heavy rendering.
+28 Reply
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Joakim February 14, 2024 at 06:45 PM
Steven, Heavy rendering requires significant processing power. However, for everyday use, both chips are overkill and ultra-fast.
+14 Reply
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ComputerNerd March 17, 2024 at 11:10 PM
M3 has better single core performance, but other than that the M1 Pro still rules. - Multi-core performance - Higher screen refresh rate (120 vs 60) - Better GPU performance - More multi-monitor support - More ports when compared to the M3 Air.
+104 Reply
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