The entry 14-inch MacBook Pro cost $1,999 in 2021 and costs $1,999 today, now with an M6 chip. The catch: a $300 hike this year and a pricey OLED model.
Apple's cheapest 14-inch MacBook Pro cost $1,999 in 2021, and it costs $1,999 now. Adjusted for US inflation, that 2021 price is about $2,467 today, so you're paying less in real terms.
There are a few catches:
The good news is that the $1,999 model got Apple's new M6 chip on October 27, with Wi-Fi 7 and faster graphics. It ships November 6. For most buyers it's the best-value Pro, and the MacBook Air remains the cheaper option for everyday work.
The cheapest 14-inch MacBook Pro cost $1,999 when Apple redesigned it in 2021. Five years, one pandemic recovery and a global memory shortage later, the cheapest 14-inch MacBook Pro costs $1,999. On paper, nothing has changed. In real money, quite a lot has.
If you’re deciding whether to replace an M1-era laptop, the sticker price only tells half the story. US inflation means a 2021 price of $1,999 is worth about $2,467 today, so the entry model is actually cheaper in real terms than it was. But Apple added $300 to that same laptop earlier this year, the 16-inch model now costs $500 more than in 2021, and Apple’s brand-new touchscreen version starts at almost $3,000. Here’s how the MacBook Pro price compares between 2021 and 2026, and which numbers matter for your wallet.
Comparing the entry-level models, the 14-inch is flat and the 16-inch is up $500. These are US starting prices for the cheapest configuration each year.
Adjusted for inflation, the 2021 models would cost about $2,467 (14-inch) and $3,084 (16-inch) in today’s dollars. So both of today’s standard models come in under their 2021 equivalents in real terms, the 16-inch only narrowly.
The jump happened earlier in 2026, when Apple raised prices across its whole Mac lineup. The base 14-inch MacBook Pro took the biggest hit, rising $300 from $1,699 to $1,999. The 16-inch with M5 Pro went from $2,699 to $2,999.
The reason is the memory crunch. AI data centers are buying up huge amounts of memory, storage and graphics chips, and that has pushed up part costs for every laptop and phone maker. Apple usually keeps its starting prices steady for years, but this time it passed the extra cost on to buyers.
That’s the twist in the headline. Before the hike, the 2026 14-inch was cheaper than the 2021 model even before you account for inflation. The hike wiped out that advantage and put the price right back where it started.
The 2026 base model is far faster, but it isn’t quite the same class of machine. In 2021, $1,999 bought a 14-inch with the M1 Pro, the step-up chip of its day. In early 2026, the same money bought a base M5, the same chip used in the much cheaper MacBook Air.
That changed on October 27, when Apple refreshed the base 14-inch with its new M6 chip at the same $1,999. The M6 has a 12-core CPU and a 12-core GPU, and Apple claims up to 30% faster graphics than the base M5 model. It also gains Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6, which earlier were reserved for the pricier Pro and Max chips. The design hasn’t changed: the same mini-LED screen, HDMI port, SD card slot and three Thunderbolt 4 ports. There’s no 16-inch M6, so the bigger model stays on the M5 Pro.
Not everyone thinks $1,999 is good value for 16GB of memory and 512GB of storage. One reviewer pointed out that, with current discounts, you could buy an M6 Mac mini and a 13-inch M5 MacBook Air for about the same money.
Apple’s October 28 event added a second, pricier MacBook Pro line with a touchscreen OLED display, a Dynamic Island and a thinner, lighter body. It starts at $2,899 for the 14-inch and $3,399 for the 16-inch, both with the M5 Pro, 24GB of memory and a 1TB SSD. That’s $400 more than the matching standard models. Preorders are open, and they arrive on November 6.
Push every option and the touchscreen 16-inch reaches $14,549. Storage drives most of that: the new 16TB SSD option alone costs $7,000 on the top M5 Max model.
The OLED models don’t add speed. They use the same M5 Pro and M5 Max chips as the standard ones, which are still on sale. You’re paying for the screen, the touch input and the lighter frame.
For most people, the M6 14-inch at $1,999 is the sensible entry point. It costs exactly what the 2021 model did, it’s worth less than that in real money, and it’s much faster than an M1 Pro for everyday work and gaming.
If you don’t need the Pro’s brighter display or extra ports, the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air costs $900 less and handles email, browsing and video calls just fine. If you edit video or code all day, the 16-inch M5 Pro at $2,999 still beats its inflation-adjusted 2021 price, barely. And only pick the OLED model if the touchscreen or the weight matters to you, because it isn’t any faster.
One more thing: memory costs are expected to stay high for at least the next few years. Watch for sales on current models rather than waiting for the next generation to get cheaper.
The base 14-inch cost $1,999 in 2021 and still costs $1,999 in 2026. The base 16-inch went from $2,499 to $2,999.
Yes, slightly. The 2021 14-inch price equals about $2,467 today and the 16-inch about $3,084, so both current standard models cost less in real terms.
Apple raised Mac prices earlier this year because AI data centers have pushed up the cost of memory and storage.
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