MacBook Air vs MacBook Pro: what’s the difference?
Between the cheapest of each with a price read from Apple’s UK store, the MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) and the MacBook Pro M5 Pro (14-inch). At Apple’s UK prices as read on 22 September 2026 the Pro costs £1,200 more.
Published · Figures read to
The basis
A line has no figures; its models do. This page uses the MacBook Airs and MacBook Pros with a price read from Apple’s UK store: 2 Airs and 4 Pros. The head-to-head is the cheapest of each.
The MacBook Neo (13-inch, A18 Pro) also has a price read from Apple’s UK store; it is neither an Air nor a Pro and is left out.
MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) and MacBook Pro M5 Pro (14-inch)
Every figure is from the source marked by its Mac’s name unless it carries its own small number. The same table is at MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Pro (14-inch).
Quick look
| Figure | MacBook Air M51 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,2993Apple UK store | £2,4994Apple UK store |
| Chip | M5chip | M5 Prochip |
| CPU | 10-coreCPU | 15-coreCPU |
| GPU | 8-coreGPU | 16-coreGPU |
| Memory | 16GBunified memory, base | 24GBunified memory, base |
| Storage | 512GBstorage, base | 1TBstorage, base |
| Battery life | Up to18 hrsvideo playback, claimed | Up to22 hrsvideo playback, claimed |
| Released | 11 March 20265ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026. | 11 March 20266ReleasedIn Apple Stores; pre-order from 4 March 2026. |
| Security updates | Not available7Security updates | Not available7Security updates |
Specifications
Body
| Specification | MacBook Air M51 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Dimensions | 11.3 x 304.1 x 215 mm | 15.5 x 312.6 x 221.2 mm |
| Weight | 1.23 kg | 1.6 kg |
| Colours | Sky Blue, Silver, Starlight, Midnight | Space Black, Silver |
| Ports | Two Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) ports, MagSafe 3 charging port, 3.5mm headphone jack | Three Thunderbolt 5 (USB-C) ports, HDMI port, SDXC card slot, MagSafe 3 port, 3.5mm headphone jack |
| Thunderbolt ports9 | 2 | 3 |
| Thunderbolt version | Thunderbolt 4 | Thunderbolt 5 |
| USB-A ports | No USB-A ports.10 | No USB-A ports.11 |
| HDMI | No HDMI port.12 | HDMI port |
| SD card slot | No SD card slot.12 | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes | Yes |
| MagSafe | Yes | Yes |
| Keyboard | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID | Backlit Magic Keyboard with Touch ID |
| Touch ID | Yes | Yes |
| Touch Bar | Not available13 | No Touch Bar.14 |
Display
| Specification | MacBook Air M51 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Display size | 13.6 in | 14.2 in |
| Resolution | 2560 x 1664 | 3024 x 1964 |
| Pixel density | 224 ppi | 254 ppi |
| Display type | Liquid Retina display | Liquid Retina XDR display |
| Brightness | 500 nits | Not available15 |
| Brightness (SDR, outdoor) | Not available16 | 1,000 nits17 |
| Peak brightness (HDR) | Not available18 | 1,600 nits |
| Refresh rate | Not available19 | 120 Hz |
| Wide colour (P3) | Yes | Yes |
| Nano-texture option | No nano-texture display option.12 | Yes |
Chip and memory
| Specification | MacBook Air M51 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Chip | Apple M5 chip | Apple M5 Pro chip |
| Apple silicon | Yes | Yes |
| CPU cores | 10 | 15 |
| Super cores | 420 | 517 |
| Performance cores | Not available21 | 1017 |
| Efficiency cores | 620 | Not available22 |
| GPU cores | 8 | 16 |
| Neural Engine cores | 16 | 16 |
| Chip options | M5 with 10-core CPU and 8-core GPU or 10-core GPU | M5 Pro with 15-core CPU and 16-core GPU, or M5 Pro with 18-core CPU and 20-core GPU17 |
| Memory (base) | 16GB | 24GB |
| Memory (maximum) | 32GB | 64GB17 |
| Memory options | 16GB, 24GB or 32GB | 24GB, 48GB or 64GB (64GB with 20-core GPU)17 |
| Memory upgradeable by user | No, as Apple documents23 | No, as Apple documents23 |
| Memory bandwidth | 153 GB/s | 307 GB/s |
| Storage (base) | 512GB | 1TB |
| Storage (maximum) | 4TB | 4TB17 |
| Storage options | 512GB, 1TB, 2TB or 4TB | 1TB, 2TB or 4TB17 |
| Media engine | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode | Hardware-accelerated H.264, HEVC, ProRes and ProRes RAWvideo decode enginevideo encode engineProRes encode and decode engineAV1 decode |
Battery and power
| Specification | MacBook Air M51 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Battery capacity | 53.8 Wh | 72.4 Wh |
| Rated charge cycles | 1,000 cycles24 | 1,000 cycles24 |
| Video playback (claimed) | 18 h | 22 h |
| Wireless web (claimed) | 15 h | 14 h |
| Included power adapter | No power adapter in the box.12 | No power adapter in the box.14 |
| Fast charging | Yes | Yes |
Connectivity
| Specification | MacBook Air M51 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Wi-Fi | Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) | Wi‑Fi 7 (802.11be) |
| Bluetooth | 6 | 6 |
| Ethernet | No Ethernet port.12 | No Ethernet port.14 |
| External displays (base) | 2 | 3 |
Camera and audio
| Specification | MacBook Air M51 | MacBook Pro M5 Pro2 |
|---|---|---|
| Camera | 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View | 12MP Center Stage camera with support for Desk View |
| Camera resolution | 12 MP | 12 MP |
| Speakers | Four-speaker sound system | High-fidelity six-speaker sound system with force-cancelling woofers |
| Microphones | Three-mic array with directional beamforming | Studio-quality three-mic array with high signal-to-noise ratio and directional beamforming25 |
Every Air against every Pro on sale
8 pairs, cheapest Air first, each with the Pro’s price against the Air’s. Each pair this site indexes links to its full comparison; a pair it does not index is listed without a link.
- MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Pro (14-inch)+£1,200 for the Pro
MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch)+£1,700 for the Pro
MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Max (14-inch)+£2,800 for the Pro
MacBook Air M5 (13-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Max (16-inch)+£3,100 for the Pro
- MacBook Air M5 (15-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Pro (14-inch)+£1,000 for the Pro
MacBook Air M5 (15-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Pro (16-inch)+£1,500 for the Pro
MacBook Air M5 (15-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Max (14-inch)+£2,600 for the Pro
MacBook Air M5 (15-inch) vs MacBook Pro M5 Max (16-inch)+£2,900 for the Pro
Sources
Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple UK store — 13-inch MacBook Air M5, 10-core CPU, 8-core GPU — From £1,299 ·
↩Apple UK store — 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 Pro, 15-core CPU, 16-core GPU — From £2,499 ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with M5 ·
↩Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max ·
↩Security updates: no end date published.
↩Apple UK store — 14-inch MacBook Pro M5 Max, 18-core CPU, 32-core GPU, 36GB, 2TB — From £4,099 ·
↩Different Thunderbolt generations. MacBook Air M5: Thunderbolt 4. MacBook Pro M5 Pro: Thunderbolt 5.
↩MacBook Air (13-inch, M5): No USB-A ports.
↩MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5 Pro): No USB-A ports.
↩MacBook Air (13-inch, M5): No HDMI port. No SD card slot. No nano-texture display option. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: the Touch Bar was only fitted to MacBook Pro
↩MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5 Pro): No Touch Bar. No power adapter in the box. No Ethernet port.
↩Doesn’t apply: Apple’s one SDR brightness figure is the outdoor one
↩Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no outdoor brightness for this display
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs ·
↩Doesn’t apply: Apple lists no separate HDR peak for this display
↩Not published by Apple.
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple names this chip’s cores differently: 4 super cores, 6 efficiency cores
↩Apple lists this chip’s cores as 5 super cores, 10 performance cores, with no efficiency cores
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro: how to remove or install memory ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Determine battery cycle count for Mac laptops ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model ·
↩Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model ·
↩Geekbench Browser (Primate Labs) ·
↩
Not published by Apple
MacBook Air M5. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) - Tech Specs; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Air model; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces the new MacBook Air with M5; Apple Support (UK) — macOS 27 Golden Gate is compatible with these computers, read 9 Oct 2026.
MacBook Pro M5 Pro. Apple doesn’t publish for this Mac: storage upgradeable by user, the macOS it shipped with. Pages checked: Apple Support (UK) — MacBook Pro (14-inch, M5 Pro or M5 Max) - Tech Specs; Apple Newsroom (UK) — Apple introduces MacBook Pro with all-new M5 Pro and M5 Max; Apple Support (UK) — Identify your MacBook Pro model, read 9 Oct 2026.
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