Can you run Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct locally?

Kimi Linear family · 2025 · 49.1B parameters (3B activated per token) · Hugging Face model card

How much VRAM does Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct need at each quantization?

Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct needs 33.4 GB of VRAM at Q4_K_M. The table below lists weights-only size and total VRAM including overhead for each common quantization level with 4k and 32k token contexts.

hybrid KDA linear attention on 20 layers, full attention on 7 (layers 4,8,12,16,20,24,27); MLA qk_nope=128 qk_rope=64 v=128

Method: weights = parameters × bits-per-weight (Q4_K_M ≈ 4.8, Q5_K_M ≈ 5.7, Q6_K ≈ 6.6, Q8_0 ≈ 8.5, FP16 = 16), plus 10% loading overhead, plus KV cache from the verified architecture config (27 layers, 32 KV heads, 72 head dim). Source: HF-verified 2026-10-06 via api (gated=false private=false params=49.12B safetensors.total=49122681728 ctx=1048576 license=mit repo=moonshotai/Kimi-Linear-48B-A3B-Instruct@e1df551a447157d4658b573f9a695d57658590e9 layers=27 hidden=2304 heads=32 kv_heads=32 experts=256 per_tok=8). active_params_b=3.0 (vendor card param table: 48B total / 3B active / 1M context). VRAM figures are documented calculations (Q4-class, 0.6 GB per B params), not measurements. No tok/s invented.

Which GPUs can run Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct locally?

At Q4_K_M with a 4k context, Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct needs 33.4 GB of VRAM. The lists below are computed live from our GPU database and grouped by how much headroom the card has. Disclosure: CompareAIHardware.com participates in the Amazon Associates program and earns from qualifying purchases through links on this page. Affiliate relationships do not influence our recommendations.

Runs Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct comfortably (25%+ VRAM headroom)

Minimum GPUs that fit Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct at Q4_K_M

These GPUs hold the model but leave little headroom — keep contexts short.

Needs 2+ GPUs to run Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct

One of these cards is too small on its own, but a pair (tensor or pipeline parallel, ~90% efficiency) covers the 33.4 GB requirement. See our multi-GPU guide for setup.

Can a Mac run Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct?

Yes — these Apple Silicon machines fit Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct at Q4_K_M, since macOS lets the GPU use about 75% of unified memory. Generation speed is bound by memory bandwidth, so the GB/s column matters as much as capacity.

Can Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct run on mini PCs, Jetson, or NPU devices?

These edge and NPU devices from our database have enough memory for Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct at Q4_K_M. Their memory bandwidth is far below discrete GPUs, so expect a fraction of desktop generation speed.

Which pre-built systems can run Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct?

These mini PCs and workstations from our database fit Kimi Linear 48B A3B Instruct at Q4_K_M. Usable-memory figures are conservative: Windows shares about half of system RAM with the GPU by default (Linux can expose more), macOS lets Apple Silicon GPUs use about 75% of unified memory, and Linux unified-memory systems such as GB10 expose roughly 90%. Generation speed is bound by memory bandwidth, so compare the GB/s column before buying.

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