EC2 had mac-m3ultra.metal instances added, so I tried checking the specs and pricing using the Pricing API
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Introduction
In May 2026, mac-m3ultra.metal equipped with Apple M3 Ultra was added to EC2 Mac instances. In terms of CPU core count and memory, it surpasses the previous top-of-the-line mac-m4max.metal instance type.
Here is a comparison of the main specifications.
| Item | mac-m4max.metal | mac-m3ultra.metal（NEW） |
|---|---|---|
| Processor | Apple M4 Max | Apple M3 Ultra |
| Clock | Up to 4.5 GHz | 4 GHz |
| vCPU | 16 | 28 |
| Memory | 128 GiB | 256 GiB |
| EBS Bandwidth | 8 Gbps | 8 Gbps |
| Network | 10 Gbps | 10 Gbps |
| DH Price | $6.25/hr | $12.50/hr |
The corresponding hardware is Apple Mac Studio (M3 Ultra).
We will not allocate or launch actual hardware, and will only verify information available through the Pricing API.
Verification Details
Verification Environment
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Region | us-east-1 (N. Virginia) |
| API Used | AWS Pricing API (pricing:GetProducts) |
| Physical Verification | None (no Dedicated Host allocation or instance launch) |
| Retrieval Date | July 14, 2026 |
Retrieving mac-m3ultra.metal Information via Pricing API
First, we retrieve the product attributes for mac-m3ultra.metal. Since EC2 Mac instances only run on Dedicated Hosts, we specify Host for tenancy. The PriceList elements are returned as JSON strings, so we use jq to extract the attributes.
aws pricing get-products \
--region us-east-1 \
--service-code AmazonEC2 \
--filters \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=instanceType,Value=mac-m3ultra.metal' \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=location,Value=US East (N. Virginia)' \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=tenancy,Value=Host' \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=operatingSystem,Value=macOS' \
--output json \
| jq -r '.PriceList[] | fromjson | .product.attributes
| {instanceType, physicalProcessor, clockSpeed, vcpu, memory,
dedicatedEbsThroughput, networkPerformance, storage, tenancy}'
{
"instanceType": "mac-m3ultra.metal",
"physicalProcessor": "Apple M3 Ultra",
"clockSpeed": "4 GHz",
"vcpu": "28",
"memory": "256 GiB",
"dedicatedEbsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"networkPerformance": "10 Gigabit",
"storage": "EBS only",
"tenancy": "Host"
}
28 vCPUs and 256 GiB memory are double those of the Apple M3 Max (14 vCPUs, 128 GiB memory). The M3 Ultra is said to be a configuration combining two M3 Max dies via UltraFusion, and these values are considered to reflect that.
The OnDemand Dedicated Host pricing was retrieved as follows.
aws pricing get-products \
--region us-east-1 \
--service-code AmazonEC2 \
--filters \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=instanceType,Value=mac-m3ultra.metal' \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=location,Value=US East (N. Virginia)' \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=tenancy,Value=Host' \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=operatingSystem,Value=macOS' \
--output json \
| jq -r '.PriceList[] | fromjson | .terms.OnDemand[].priceDimensions[]
| "\(.pricePerUnit.USD) USD / \(.unit)"'
The price was $12.50 per hour.
12.5000000000 USD / Hrs
Pricing API Response (Excerpt of Attributes and Pricing)
{
"product": {
"productFamily": "Dedicated Host",
"attributes": {
"instanceType": "mac-m3ultra.metal",
"physicalProcessor": "Apple M3 Ultra",
"clockSpeed": "4 GHz",
"vcpu": "28",
"memory": "256 GiB",
"dedicatedEbsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"networkPerformance": "10 Gigabit",
"storage": "EBS only",
"tenancy": "Host",
"operatingSystem": "macOS",
"location": "US East (N. Virginia)",
"locationType": "AWS Region",
"capacitystatus": "Used",
"servicecode": "AmazonEC2"
}
},
"terms": {
"OnDemand": {
"...": {
"priceDimensions": {
"...": {
"unit": "Hrs",
"description": "USD 12.5 per On Demand macOS mac-m3ultra.metal Dedicated Host Hour",
"pricePerUnit": {
"USD": "12.5000000000"
}
}
}
}
}
}
}
Comparing All Mac Instance Types in a List
Compared to mac-m4max.metal, mac-m3ultra.metal has double the memory and price, with a vCPU configuration of 16→28. The following is a comparison list of the 9 Mac instance types listed on the AWS official page as of July 14, 2026, retrieved from the Pricing API in us-east-1.
| Instance Type | Processor | Clock | vCPU | Memory | EBS Bandwidth | DH Price ($/hr) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mac1.metal | Intel Core i7-8700B | 3.2 GHz | 12 | 32 GiB | 1,750 Mbps | $1.083 |
| mac2.metal | Apple M1 | 3.2 GHz | 8 | 16 GiB | 1,000 Mbps | $0.65 |
| mac2-m1ultra.metal | Apple M1 Ultra | 3.2 GHz | 20 | 128 GiB | 8 Gbps | $5.00 |
| mac2-m2.metal | Apple M2 | 3.49 GHz | 8 | 24 GiB | 8 Gbps | $0.878 |
| mac2-m2pro.metal | Apple M2 Pro | 3.5 GHz | 12 | 32 GiB | 8 Gbps | $1.56 |
| mac-m4.metal | Apple M4 | 4.4 GHz | 10 | 24 GiB | 8 Gbps | $1.23 |
| mac-m4pro.metal | Apple M4 Pro | 4.5 GHz | 14 | 48 GiB | 8 Gbps | $1.97 |
| mac-m4max.metal | Apple M4 Max | Up to 4.5 GHz | 16 | 128 GiB | 8 Gbps | $6.25 |
| mac-m3ultra.metal | Apple M3 Ultra | 4 GHz | 28 | 256 GiB | 8 Gbps | $12.50 |
Note that there were discrepancies between the Pricing API's dedicatedEbsThroughput and the EBS bandwidth shown on the official page for mac1.metal and mac2.metal. The Pricing API returns 1,750 Mbps and 1,000 Mbps respectively, while the official page shows 8 Gbps for both. Please check the official page for accurate EBS bandwidth values.
Command to Retrieve All 9 Types at Once
INSTANCE_TYPES=(
mac1.metal
mac2.metal
mac2-m1ultra.metal
mac2-m2.metal
mac2-m2pro.metal
mac-m4.metal
mac-m4pro.metal
mac-m4max.metal
mac-m3ultra.metal
)
for instance_type in "${INSTANCE_TYPES[@]}"; do
aws pricing get-products \
--region us-east-1 \
--service-code AmazonEC2 \
--filters \
"Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=instanceType,Value=${instance_type}" \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=location,Value=US East (N. Virginia)' \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=tenancy,Value=Host' \
'Type=TERM_MATCH,Field=operatingSystem,Value=macOS' \
--output json
done | jq -s '[.[] | .PriceList[] | fromjson | {
instanceType: .product.attributes.instanceType,
processor: .product.attributes.physicalProcessor,
clockSpeed: .product.attributes.clockSpeed,
vcpu: .product.attributes.vcpu,
memory: .product.attributes.memory,
ebsThroughput: .product.attributes.dedicatedEbsThroughput,
price: (.terms.OnDemand[].priceDimensions[].pricePerUnit.USD)
}]'
Pricing API Retrieval Results for All 9 Types (JSON)
[
{
"instanceType": "mac1.metal",
"processor": "Intel Core i7-8700B",
"clockSpeed": "3.2 GHz",
"vcpu": "12",
"memory": "32 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "1,750 Mbps",
"price": "1.083"
},
{
"instanceType": "mac2.metal",
"processor": "Apple M1",
"clockSpeed": "3.2 GHz",
"vcpu": "8",
"memory": "16 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "1,000 Mbps",
"price": "0.65"
},
{
"instanceType": "mac2-m1ultra.metal",
"processor": "Apple M1 Ultra",
"clockSpeed": "3.2 GHz",
"vcpu": "20",
"memory": "128 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"price": "5.00"
},
{
"instanceType": "mac2-m2.metal",
"processor": "Apple M2",
"clockSpeed": "3.49 GHz",
"vcpu": "8",
"memory": "24 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"price": "0.878"
},
{
"instanceType": "mac2-m2pro.metal",
"processor": "Apple M2 Pro",
"clockSpeed": "3.5 GHz",
"vcpu": "12",
"memory": "32 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"price": "1.56"
},
{
"instanceType": "mac-m4.metal",
"processor": "Apple M4",
"clockSpeed": "4.4 GHz",
"vcpu": "10",
"memory": "24 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"price": "1.23"
},
{
"instanceType": "mac-m4pro.metal",
"processor": "Apple M4 Pro",
"clockSpeed": "4.5 GHz",
"vcpu": "14",
"memory": "48 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"price": "1.97"
},
{
"instanceType": "mac-m4max.metal",
"processor": "Apple M4 Max",
"clockSpeed": "Up to 4.5 GHz",
"vcpu": "16",
"memory": "128 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"price": "6.25"
},
{
"instanceType": "mac-m3ultra.metal",
"processor": "Apple M3 Ultra",
"clockSpeed": "4 GHz",
"vcpu": "28",
"memory": "256 GiB",
"ebsThroughput": "8 Gbps",
"price": "12.50"
}
]
Reference: Instance Specs on the Official Page
The Pricing API cannot retrieve the number of GPU cores, Neural Engine cores, or the breakdown of P/E cores. These can be supplemented from the Instance Specs table on the official page. The following is the information confirmed from that page (confirmed July 14, 2026, cited for reference).
| Instance | Physical Cores | CPU Configuration | Memory (GB) | GPU | Neural Engine |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| mac-m3ultra.metal | 28 | P20 + E8 | 256 | 60 | 32 |
| mac-m4max.metal | 16 | P12 + E4 | 128 | 40 | 16 |
| mac-m4pro.metal | 14 | P10 + E4 | 48 | 20 | 16 |
| mac-m4.metal | 10 | P4 + E6 | 24 | 10 | 16 |
| mac2-m2pro.metal | 12 | P8 + E4 | 32 | 19 | 16 |
| mac2-m2.metal | 8 | P4 + E4 | 24 | 10 | 16 |
| mac2-m1ultra.metal | 20 | P16 + E4 | 128 | 64 | 32 |
| mac2.metal | 8 | P4 + E4 | 16 | 8 | 16 |
| mac1.metal | 6 | 6 (Intel) | 32 | - | - |
mac-m3ultra.metal has 60 GPU cores and 32 Neural Engine cores. However, looking at GPU core count alone, mac2-m1ultra.metal with 64 cores surpasses it.
Summary
mac-m3ultra.metal offers the largest vCPU count of 28 and memory of 256 GiB among all EC2 Mac instances to date. As it also carries the highest price of $12.50/hr, please consider the minimum 24-hour billing ($300 or more) before use.
Reference Links
