Key takeaways

+83%single-core, M6 vs M1

The base M6 scores 4,004 in Geekbench 7 single-core. The M1 scored 2,191. No M5 beats it either. The best M5, the Max, scores 3,733. Cinebench 2026 shows the same jump, 824 vs 419, almost exactly double.

2.6×multi-core, M6 vs M1

In multi-core the base M6 reaches 21,868. That beats every M1 and M2 Pro and Max, plus the M3 Pro. The M3 Max, the M4 Pro and every Ultra are still faster.

51,848M5 Ultra, multi-core

The M5 Ultra is the fastest chip for multi-core and GPU work. Over the M3 Ultra it gains 32% in Geekbench multi-core, 39% in Metal (343,652) and 40% in Cinebench 2026 (16,971). There's no M4 Ultra, so that jump covers two generations.

~7%single-core spread inside a generation

Base, Pro, Max and Ultra share the same CPU core design, and some of the bigger chips clock a little higher. A Max gets you more cores and a bigger GPU. It doesn't get you faster cores.

Common comparisons

M6vsM5

Test	M6	M5	Diff
GB7 single	4,004	3,649	+10%
GB7 multi	21,868	17,951	+22%
GB7 Metal	89,357	72,805	+23%
CB2026 single	824	737	+12%
CB2026 multi	5,705	4,367	+31%

M6vsM1

Test	M6	M1	Diff
GB7 single	4,004	2,191	+83%
GB7 multi	21,868	8,551	2.6×
GB7 Metal	89,357	28,496	3.1×
CB2026 single	824	419	+97%
CB2026 multi	5,705	1,722	3.3×

M5vsM4

Test	M5	M4	Diff
GB7 single	3,649	3,278	+11%
GB7 multi	17,951	15,395	+17%
GB7 Metal	72,805	54,230	+34%
CB2026 single	737	653	+13%
CB2026 multi	4,367	3,908	+12%

M5 ProvsM4 Pro

Test	M5 Pro	M4 Pro	Diff
GB7 single	3,691	3,367	+10%
GB7 multi	33,554	24,835	+35%
GB7 Metal	137,290	115,619	+19%
CB2026 single	733	661	+11%
CB2026 multi	9,440	6,602	+43%

M5 MaxvsM4 Max

Test	M5 Max	M4 Max	Diff
GB7 single	3,733	3,497	+7%
GB7 multi	34,988	29,113	+20%
GB7 Metal	240,329	207,103	+16%
CB2026 single	736	692	+6%
CB2026 multi	9,278	7,830	+18%

M5 UltravsM3 Ultra

Test	M5 Ultra	M3 Ultra	Diff
GB7 single	3,727	2,920	+28%
GB7 multi	51,848	39,139	+32%
GB7 Metal	343,652	247,973	+39%
CB2026 single	752	573	+31%
CB2026 multi	16,971	12,082	+40%

All Apple M1 to M6 benchmark scores

Geekbench and Cinebench scores for Apple M1 to M6 chips, best configuration per chip
		Geekbench 7			Geekbench 6		Cinebench 2026		Cinebench 2024
Chip	Config	Single	Multi	Metal	Single	Multi	Single	Multi	Single	Multi
Apple M6	12 CPU / 12 GPU	4,004	21,868	89,357	4,654	20,989	824	5,705	220	1,470
Apple M5	10 CPU / 10 GPU	3,649	17,951	72,805	4,195	17,072	737	4,367	198	1,161
Apple M5 Pro	18 CPU / 20 GPU	3,691	33,554	137,290	4,302	28,898	733	9,440	199	2,135
Apple M5 Max	18 CPU / 40 GPU	3,733	34,988	240,329	4,322	29,256	736	9,278	199	2,377
Apple M5 Ultra	36 CPU / 80 GPU	3,727	51,848	343,652	4,330	38,697	752	16,971	204	4,630
Apple M4	10 CPU / 10 GPU	3,278	15,395	54,230	3,749	14,988	653	3,908	175	962
Apple M4 Pro	14 CPU / 20 GPU	3,367	24,835	115,619	3,882	22,527	661	6,602	176	1,742
Apple M4 Max	16 CPU / 40 GPU	3,497	29,113	207,103	4,004	25,760	692	7,830	177	2,072
Apple M3	8 CPU / 10 GPU	2,771	11,646	48,180	3,054	11,966	557	2,672	137	659
Apple M3 Pro	12 CPU / 18 GPU	2,816	16,944	77,083	3,138	15,480	535	4,100	142	1,059
Apple M3 Max	16 CPU / 40 GPU	2,823	24,703	167,187	3,127	21,254	560	6,740	141	1,607
Apple M3 Ultra	32 CPU / 80 GPU	2,920	39,139	247,973	3,240	28,170	573	12,082	142	2,520
Apple M2	8 CPU / 10 GPU	2,402	9,743	43,540	2,599	10,089	470	2,316	120	555
Apple M2 Pro	12 CPU / 19 GPU	2,423	16,556	82,826	2,668	14,568	478	4,120	122	1,025
Apple M2 Max	12 CPU / 38 GPU	2,553	17,316	145,172	2,692	14,863	480	4,150	121	1,025
Apple M2 Ultra	24 CPU / 76 GPU	2,582	28,751	221,104	2,741	22,660	–	7,500	126	1,918
Apple M1	8 CPU / 8 GPU	2,191	8,551	28,496	2,363	8,622	419	1,722	112	509
Apple M1 Pro	10 CPU	2,201	13,914	65,572	2,409	12,440	437	3,329	113	802
Apple M1 Max	10 CPU	2,231	14,332	109,071	2,442	12,994	438	3,135	112	796
Apple M1 Ultra	20 CPU	2,220	23,527	146,942	–	–	–	5,509*	114	1,624

– means no reliable result, * means estimate. Config is the CPU and GPU core count of the top Geekbench 7 configuration. Geekbench doesn't report GPU cores for the M1 Pro, Max and Ultra.