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

Apple M3 vs M1 Pro

Apple M3
VS
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 (5)

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
Generic CPU rating

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
  • Supports quad-channel memory
  • Around 102.4 GB/s (100%) higher theoretical memory bandwidth
  • Has 2 more physical cores
  • Supports up to 32 GB LPDDR5-6400 RAM
  • More powerful Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core) integrated graphics: 5.3 vs 4.1 TFLOPS

Test in Benchmarks

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

Cinebench R23

Reputable cross-platform benchmark for high-performance processors
Cinebench R23 (Single-Core)
Apple M3 +25%
1920
M1 Pro
1536
Cinebench R23 (Multi-Core)
Apple M3
10519
M1 Pro +15%
12122
Cinebench R23 Scores (193rd and 165th place)
Submit your Cinebench result

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]

PassMark

Synthetic test that focuses on raw computational performance for low-level functions
Passmark CPU (Single-Core)
Apple M3 +27%
4847
M1 Pro
3807
Passmark CPU (Multi-Core)
Apple M3
19628
M1 Pro +11%
21832
Integer math 42.8 GOps/sec 46.2 GOps/sec
Floating point math 49.9 GOps/sec 64.5 GOps/sec
Find prime numbers 244M Primes/sec 274M Primes/sec
Random string sorting 28.4M Strings/sec 32.7M Strings/sec
Data encryption 11.8 GBytes/sec 12.3 GBytes/sec
Data compression 235.5 MBytes/sec 274.5 MBytes/sec
Physics 1937 Frames/sec 2692 Frames/sec
Extended instructions 10.1B Matrices/sec 11.6B Matrices/sec
Sources: PassMark [3], [4]
Promotion

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)
Laptop processors ranking (18th and 60th place)

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 100°C -

iGPU

Integrated Graphics Apple M3 GPU Apple M1 Pro GPU (16-core)
GPU Base Clock 500 MHz 450 MHz
GPU Boost Clock 1600 MHz 1296 MHz
Shading Units 1280 2048
TMUs 80 128
ROPs 40 64
Execution Units 160 256
TGP - 30 W
Max. Resolution - 6016x3384 - 60 Hz
iGPU FLOPS
Apple M3
4.1 TFLOPS
M1 Pro +29%
5.3 TFLOPS

Memory Support

Memory types - LPDDR5-6400 - LPDDR5-6400
Memory Size 24 GB 32 GB
Max. Memory Channels 2 4
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
338 (22.9%)
1139 (77.1%)
Total votes: 1477

Сompetitors

1. Apple M3 vs Apple M2 Pro
2. Apple M3 vs Apple M4
3. Apple M3 vs Apple M2
4. Apple M3 vs Apple M1 Max
5. Apple M3 vs Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
6. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M4
7. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M3 Pro
8. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M2
9. Apple M1 Pro vs Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
10. Apple M1 Pro vs Apple M2 Max
Compare other CPUs (540+)

Comments

So which CPU will you choose: Apple M1 Pro or Apple M3?
Avatar
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?
+51 Reply
Avatar
8GB vs 16GB April 22, 2024 at 04:42 PM
16GB! Never more 8GB of RAM in 2024 and beyond.
+20 Reply
Avatar
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).
+46 Reply
Avatar
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.
+80 Reply
Avatar
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.
+198 Reply
Avatar
mirko November 22, 2023 at 10:49 PM
M1 pro because it can output more displays, enough said.
+74 Reply
Avatar
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
Avatar
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.
+22 Reply
Avatar
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.
+13 Reply
Avatar
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.
+42 Reply
EnglishРусский