MacBook Air M4 vs M5: Which to Buy Refurbished?

Apple raised MacBook Air M5 prices on 25 June 2026, and that changes the refurbished math. The 13-inch M5 now lists new at $1,299, up from its $1,099 launch price, while a refurbished unit starts at $1,199 on RefurbMe (Amazon Renewed, verified 11 September 2026), a real discount rather than the price parity this comparison used to report. The refurbished M4 is still cheaper in absolute terms, from $845 at its 256GB base configuration, but the case for it is narrower than that headline gap suggests. At 512GB, the cheapest refurbished M5 currently costs less than the cheapest refurbished M4, because 512GB is the M5's standard configuration while every M4 512GB unit in stock right now is bundled with a 24GB memory upgrade.

According to RefurbMe's own tracking, a MacBook Air reaches the refurbished market a median of 99 days after Apple ships it, and the M5 beat that pace: Back Market listed the first refurbished M5 Air on 24 May 2026, 74 days after the 11 March release. Those figures come from the RefurbMe Refurbished Apple Price Index (RAPI), as of September 2026.

One more RefurbMe figure sets the context. The median Refurb Discount across every MacBook Air model RefurbMe has ever tracked is 87% (as of September 2026). That is a family-wide median reaching back to 2011-era machines, so it does not mean a current M4 or M5 sells for 87% off. What it shows is how far MacBook Air prices eventually fall, which is exactly why buying one generation back is usually the value play.

Quick Verdict: M4 or M5 Refurbished

Buy the refurbished M4 at its 256GB base configuration. At $845 it sits 15% below its own $999 launch price and $354 below the cheapest refurbished M5 ($1,199), and it shares the chassis, display, battery, camera, and port layout of the newer machine. For email, browsing, documents, and video calls, nothing about the M5 will be visible to you. If you are deciding between that refurbished discount and a brand-new machine altogether, see our MacBook Air new vs refurbished comparison.

Pay for the refurbished M5 if you want 512GB or more, and not only for the performance gains. Apple rates the M5 at up to 15 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance and up to 30 percent faster graphics than the M4, rising to up to 45 percent in apps that use ray tracing, with over four times the peak GPU compute for AI workloads. At 512GB the M5 is not a premium at all right now: the cheapest 512GB M5 listing runs $1,199 against $1,399 for the only 512GB M4 units currently in stock, which come bundled with a 24GB memory upgrade the base M5 does not need to match. That makes the M5 the cheaper way to reach 512GB today, on top of Wi-Fi 7 and the faster SSD.

Everything that defines how a MacBook Air feels is unchanged across both. Same weight, same Liquid Retina display, same all-day battery, same fanless silence. You can compare live refurbished MacBook Air prices on RefurbMe to see exactly how wide the M4-to-M5 gap is on any given day.

MacBook Air M4 vs M5: Spec Comparison

Both generations use a 10-core CPU, the same 16GB base memory, and the same 16-core Neural Engine. The real changes sit in memory bandwidth, storage, wireless, SSD speed, and graphics throughput.

Sources: MacBook Air (13-inch, M4, 2025) Tech Specs, MacBook Air (13-inch, M5) Tech Specs, Apple's MacBook Air with M5 announcement, and 9to5Mac on Apple's 25 June 2026 Mac and iPad price increases. Refurbished floors verified live on RefurbMe, 11 to 13 September 2026.

Two deltas matter most. The M5 doubles the base storage, so its $1,299 current list price (up from $1,099 at launch, after Apple's 25 June 2026 increase) buys a 512GB machine against the M4's 256GB, and it can be configured to 4TB for the first time. Apple also states the M5's new SSD delivers 2x faster read and write performance than the previous generation, which shows up when you copy large video files or open big project libraries.

Real-World Performance: How Much Faster Is the M5?

Apple publishes the cleanest figures here. Against the M4, Apple rates the M5 at up to 15 percent faster multithreaded CPU performance, up to 30 percent faster graphics from its enhanced shader cores, up to a 45 percent graphics uplift in apps that use ray tracing, and over four times the peak GPU compute for AI workloads.

The MacBook-Air-specific numbers are more useful than the chip-level ones. Apple measured the M5 Air at up to 1.9x faster than the M4 Air in Topaz Video, up to 1.5x faster in Blender ray-traced 3D rendering, up to 1.5x faster in Affinity image processing, and up to 4x faster on AI tasks. Those are the workloads where the generation gap is real.

For everyday work the gap disappears. Browsing, office documents, photo edits, and video calls feel the same on both chips. Neither Air has a fan, so under long sustained loads both throttle and the practical difference narrows further. The M5 is the faster chip on paper and in bursts; the M4 keeps pace for the work most people actually do. The same pattern held one generation earlier, covered in our MacBook Air M3 vs M4 comparison.

What Is Identical Between the M4 and M5 Air

This is where the upgrade math tilts toward the M4. The M5 changed the chip and a few components around it, but the laptop you hold is the same one.

Both share the same aluminum chassis and weight: 2.7 pounds for the 13-inch, 3.3 pounds for the 15-inch. You cannot tell them apart by looking. Both use the same Liquid Retina display at 13.6 or 15.3 inches, 500 nits, P3 wide color, and True Tone. Neither offers ProMotion or a brighter panel.

Battery is unchanged too. The 13-inch carries the same 53.8Wh cell on both generations and the 15-inch the same 66.5Wh cell, with an identical Apple rating of up to 18 hours of video streaming and 15 hours of wireless web. The camera is also the same on both: a 12MP Center Stage camera with Desk View, recording 1080p video. MagSafe 3 charging, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and the headphone jack all carry over without change.

The Refurbished Price Gap in 2026

The M5 launch in March 2026 pushed the M4 deeper into the refurbished channel, and that is exactly where its value now lives. The M5 has followed it too, just at a different pace: Apple's own price for a new M5 climbed on 25 June 2026, which turned what looked like price parity into a real discount once you compare against the current list price instead of the launch price.

Here is what refurbished pricing looks like on RefurbMe right now, verified live between 11 and 13 September 2026 and sorted by price:

Read that table three ways. Floor to floor, the cheapest refurbished M4 undercuts the cheapest refurbished M5 by $354: $845 against $1,199. Like for like at 512GB, that gap flips: the M5 is $200 cheaper, because the only 512GB M4 units in stock right now carry a 24GB memory upgrade nobody asked for, while 512GB is simply the M5's base spec. And the cheapest refurbished 13-inch M5 costs $1,199 against Apple's current $1,299 list price, a discount of about 8%, growing to roughly 18% on the 15-inch ($1,231 against $1,499). That discount exists because Apple raised the price of a new one, not because refurbished M5 units got any cheaper.

That is the whole argument in one line. Buy the M4 if 256GB is enough for you, because $845 is a genuine discount off its own launch price. If you need 512GB, buy the M5, because right now it is both the newer chip and the cheaper way to get there.

For context on how low these can go, RefurbMe's record for a 13-inch M4 is $769, set on eBay Refurbished on 8 July 2026, and the record for a 13-inch M5 is $949, set on eBay Refurbished on 13 August 2026. Those are all-time lows, not prices you can buy at today, but they show where patient shoppers have landed. Across the configurations in the table above, Back Market carries the deepest current M4 stock while Apple Store carries the widest current stock of the 13-inch M5, so check both before assuming one seller has run out.

+1 deals

MacBook Air 11.6"

128GB SSD
1.3Ghz Intel Dual-Core i5 4th gen
4GB memory • Silver
2013 release

Good condition, by eBay

$119

new $999 -88%

View deals

+3 deals

MacBook Air 13.3"

128GB SSD
1.6Ghz Intel Dual-Core i5 5th gen
8GB memory • Silver
2015 release

Fair condition, by Back Market

$149

new $1,099 -86%

View deals

+2 deals

MacBook Air 13.3"

128GB SSD
1.6Ghz Intel Dual-Core i5 5th gen
4GB memory • Silver
2015 release

Good condition, by Back Market

$150

new $999 -85%

View deals

Compare all Refurbished MacBook Air

Who Should Buy the Refurbished M4

The refurbished M4 fits a wider range of buyers than its older-generation label suggests, provided you stay at the base configuration.

Budget-conscious buyers. At $845 the 13-inch M4 delivers nearly all of the M5's day-to-day capability for $354 less, and it carries the larger discount off its own list price: 15% off the M4's $999 launch price against roughly 8% off the M5's current $1,299 list.

Everyday users. Email, browsing, documents, streaming, and video calls run identically on both chips. Paying the M5 premium for these jobs buys you nothing you will notice.

Students. The MacBook Air is one of the best laptops for coursework, and the refurbished M4 is the most affordable path into current Apple silicon. See our guide on whether MacBooks are worth it for the long view.

Anyone unsure refurbished is safe. A certified refurbished M4 carries a warranty and a tested condition grade. Our breakdown of whether refurbished MacBooks are worth it covers what to check before you buy.

Who Should Choose the M5

The M5 earns its keep for a narrower set of needs, but that set grew once its 512GB configuration turned out to be the cheaper way to reach that capacity.

Anyone who needs 512GB or more. This is the biggest change for 2026. The only refurbished 512GB M4 units in stock right now come with a 24GB memory bump and run $1,399, against $1,199 for the base 512GB M5. If 256GB feels tight, the M5 is not just the newer chip, it is also the cheaper one at that capacity today.

Creative and AI workloads. Apple measures the M5 Air at up to 1.5x faster in Blender ray-traced rendering, up to 1.9x faster in Topaz Video, and up to 4x faster on AI tasks than the M4 Air. If you render, run local models, or push the GPU daily, those are gains you can feel.

Fast networks and future-proofing. The Apple N1 wireless chip brings Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6, and Thread, and the M5 drives a wider range of external display configurations, including a single 8K panel at 60Hz. If you plan to keep the laptop six or more years, that headroom matters.

Where to Buy a Refurbished MacBook Air Safely

Buy from sellers that test, grade, and warranty their stock. Back Market is the first stop for the M4: it carries the deepest M4 inventory RefurbMe tracks right now, a one-year warranty, and a one-month return window. Mac of All Trades and Amazon Renewed are the next US options worth comparing, and eBay Refurbished, the vetted certified-refurbished program rather than the open marketplace, undercuts Apple Store on higher-capacity M5 units, such as the 1TB configuration.

Apple Certified Refurbished is the trust option, and it currently carries the widest stock of the 13-inch M5 of any seller RefurbMe tracks, though its listings skew toward higher-capacity units rather than the entry configuration. Apple's terms are worth reading precisely, because they are widely misquoted. Every Apple Certified Refurbished device is tested, cleaned, inspected, fitted with genuine Apple replacement parts as needed, boxed new, and covered by the standard one-year limited warranty. The extra promise of a new battery and a new outer shell applies to refurbished iOS devices only, so do not expect a new battery or a new casing on a refurbished Mac.

Compare grades, warranty terms, and prices side by side rather than buying the first listing you find. For a ranked look at sellers and what each offers, see our guide to the best refurbished MacBooks or the refurbisher comparison tool. RefurbMe aggregates live pricing across every major seller so you can compare refurbished MacBook deals in one place.

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