MacBook Pro M1 vs M2 vs M3: Worth Now

In 2026, indicative UK buyback values run roughly £580 to £650 for a 14-inch MacBook Pro M1 Pro, £780 to £870 for the M2 Pro equivalent, and £1,000 to £1,100 for the M3 Pro - with 13-inch M1 and M2 models at about £420 and £550 respectively. The newer the chip, the more you get, but not proportionally.

If you are weighing up whether to cash in now or hold on for another year, the interesting question is not what each chip is worth today - it is how quickly each one is falling. The three generations are depreciating at noticeably different speeds.

What are M1, M2 and M3 MacBook Pros worth side by side?

Here is the chip-by-chip picture as of mid-2026, all figures indicative and assuming good working condition with base storage:

For a fuller list including M4 and Intel machines, see our complete guide to what every MacBook Pro is worth in 2026.

Why is the M1 generation depreciating slowest?

Depreciation curves flatten with age. The M1 Pro and M1 Max took their biggest hits between 2022 and 2024; by now, most of the value they were ever going to lose has already gone. What remains is supported by genuine demand - an M1 Pro still edits 4K video, compiles code and runs current macOS comfortably, so students and budget-conscious professionals actively hunt for them.

The M1 13-inch is the exception within its generation. Its Touch Bar design, two-port layout and 8GB base memory date it more visibly than the 14-inch and 16-inch machines, and its value reflects that.

Is the M2 generation stuck in the middle?

Somewhat, and that is precisely why M2 owners face the most interesting timing decision. The M2 Pro and M2 Max are excellent machines, but they occupy an awkward slot: too recent to be bargain-bin cheap, too old to be current. Buyers comparing a used M2 Pro at around £820 against a used M3 Pro at £1,050 often stretch to the newer chip, which caps what the M2 can command.

The 13-inch M2 MacBook Pro has a further quirk - it was the last Touch Bar Mac Apple ever made. That gives it mild curiosity appeal but no price premium; at an indicative £550 in good condition, it has shed roughly 60 percent of its £1,349 launch price in four years.

When the M5 generation lands, M2 machines slip from "two generations back" to "three generations back" in buyers' minds, and history suggests that reframing costs 12 to 18 percent. If you are already considering selling an M2, the maths favours doing it before that happens.

How much of its launch price has each M3 model kept?

The M3 generation is in its steepest depreciation phase - the years immediately after a model stops being current are always the costliest to hold. A snapshot of value retention makes the point:

Notice the pattern: the higher the launch price, the lower the retention percentage. Max-chip machines lose the most in absolute pounds because their original buyers paid for peak performance, and peak performance is exactly what each new generation resets. An M3 Max owner who sells in 2026 keeps a substantial four-figure sum; the same owner selling in 2028 will not.

Where will each generation sit in 2027?

Nobody can promise future prices, but the staircase pattern of Mac depreciation makes directional projections reasonably safe. Assuming Apple ships M5 MacBook Pros on its usual autumn schedule, here is the plausible landscape twelve months from now, extrapolated from how previous generations behaved at the same age:

• M1 Pro and M1 Max should shed another 15 to 20 percent, drifting towards £480 to £550 and £580 to £650 respectively. The floor is soft but real - machines this capable rarely collapse in value until their macOS support ends.
• M2 Pro and M2 Max are likely to take the reframing hit described above, landing somewhere around £640 to £720 and £850 to £950. That £130-plus difference between selling now and selling next summer is the cost of indecision.
• M3 models face the steepest slide in pounds, with the 14-inch M3 Pro plausibly settling near £820 to £900 once it sits two generations behind the current lineup.

Treat these as planning figures, not promises - a delayed Apple launch or a strong refurbished market could shift any of them. The direction, however, is not in doubt. No Apple silicon generation has ever been worth more a year later.

Which specs actually move the quote within each generation?

Chip aside, three configuration details shift what you are offered:

• Unified memory. Moving from the base allocation to 32GB adds roughly £60 to £120 across M-series generations. 64GB and 96GB Max configurations attract genuine professional premiums.
• Storage. Each doubling adds £30 to £80 - worthwhile, but a fraction of what Apple charged for it new.
• Battery cycle count. Under 300 cycles supports top-of-band pricing; a battery flagged "Service Recommended" drags any generation down £30 to £60.

Cosmetics matter less than sellers fear. Honest light wear rarely changes a band; undisclosed dents discovered at inspection do. Colour makes no difference on these generations either - Space Grey and Silver price identically across M1, M2 and M3, so describe the machine's condition accurately and let the specification do the talking.

What is the smartest move for each owner in 2026?

• M1 13-inch owners: value is low and drifting lower; sell whenever convenient, as waiting gains you nothing.
• M1 Pro and M1 Max owners: no urgency - your depreciation is the gentlest - but no upside to waiting either.
• M2 owners: the strongest case for acting now, ahead of the next Apple launch cycle demoting your chip a further step.
• M3 owners: you are in the steep part of the curve; every quarter of delay is measurably expensive, so sell as soon as your upgrade plans firm up.

Whenever you decide, the mechanics take minutes: answer a few questions about spec and condition, receive a fixed emailed quote inside two working hours any day of the week, then send the machine with the free insured postage label we provide. Payment lands by bank transfer within 24 hours of the Mac passing inspection, quotes hold for 14 days, and if we ever revise an offer you can decline and get the machine back at no cost. The full process is laid out on our how it works page, and you can sell your MacBook Pro online in a couple of minutes - working or broken, M1, M2 or M3. We buy Apple Silicon Macs only - M1-generation and newer; Intel machines are covered by our Intel MacBook value guide.