MacBook Air M5 vs M4: Moldova prices and the difference

The MacBook Air is a popular choice for students and for people who work from home or a café. This year the M4 and M5 are on sale side by side in Moldova, and the price gap between them is so large that the question of which to buy is no longer obvious.

How much do the MacBook Air M4 and M5 cost in Moldova?

Prices on 1 November 2026, in stock only:

The catalog has 18 MacBook Air models sold by 5 stores. The M4 models are left mainly at Enter: this is previous-generation stock. The MacBook Air M5 is sold by Smart, Darwin, Enter, XStore and Uno.

At Uno some MacBook Air M4 listings appear far below other stores' prices and can jump by several thousand lei the next day. The price history of these offers is unstable, so for the comparison we rely on Enter's prices. If you see a price like that, check stock and configuration before you buy.

How does the MacBook Air M5 differ from the M4?

According to Apple, the MacBook Air with M5 came out on 11 March 2026. The main changes:

• 512 GB base storage instead of 256 GB, an SSD twice as fast, configurations up to 4 TB;
• a 10-core processor and up to 10 GPU cores with a neural accelerator in each core;
• up to 4 times faster than the M4 in artificial intelligence tasks;
• the new N1 chip with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 6;
• up to 18 hours of battery life and a 12 MP Center Stage camera.

A dash means we found no official figure for the M4 and did not want to guess. In everyday use (browser, documents, video calls) you will hardly notice the difference at the same 16/512 GB. The M5 wins at video editing, heavy files and the tasks Apple gave it neural accelerators for.

Only the M5 has got pricier since summer

The lowest store price on 15 July and 31 October 2026:

The new M5 models rose 14–15%, while M4 stock costs the same as in summer. At the start of October the M5 was even more expensive: the MacBook Air 13 M5 cost 29,290 lei at Darwin and 32,540 lei at Smart. Smart now sells it for 27,499 lei.

Why is a MacBook more expensive in Moldova than in the US?

Apple sells the MacBook Air 13 M5 in the US from $1,099 and the 15-inch from $1,299. At the NBM rate (18.0365 lei to the dollar) that is 19,822 and 23,429 lei before sales tax. With 20% VAT you get about 23,787 and 28,115 lei. The lowest prices in Moldova are 27,499 and 32,539 lei, about 16% above the US price with tax. Part of the gap is logistics and distributor margins, and part is the general rise in laptop prices: according to our index, laptops are up 11.5% since July.

Which MacBook Air to buy: our pick by budget

MacBook Air 13 M2 16/256 GB (16,990 lei): the most affordable MacBook, if you only need a browser and documents.

MacBook Air 13 M4 16/256 GB (18,490 lei): ideal for study. But 256 GB fills up fast.

MacBook Air 13 M4 16/512 GB (20,990 lei): the best balance of price and storage, 6,509 lei cheaper than the M5 in the same configuration.

MacBook Air 13 M5 16/512 GB (from 27,499 lei): if you work with AI, photos and video, or want the laptop to last longer.

MacBook Air 15 M5 (from 32,539 lei): if a big screen matters. The MacBook Air 15 M4 16/256 GB costs 27,490 lei at Enter.

Where the MacBook Air M5 is cheapest

• MacBook Air 13 M5 16/512 GB: at Smart, 27,499 lei; at Darwin, 27,790 lei.
• MacBook Air 15 M5 16/512 GB: at XStore, 32,539 lei; at Darwin, 32,690 lei.
• MacBook Air M4: at Enter, 18,490 lei (256 GB) and 20,990 lei (512 GB).

Why laptops and other devices with memory have got more expensive is explained in The 2026 memory crisis: why PCs and phones cost more. If you are buying several Apple devices at once, see also iPhone 17 price in Moldova: +12% in October, and where it's cheapest. For an overview of price rises, read Electronics prices in Moldova: up 8.5% since July 2026.

The M5 got cheaper in the second half of October

After the October peak, the M5 started to come down, and in a few stores noticeably so. These prices held until the end of the month:

At Darwin the 32,690 lei price for the Air 15 M5 16/512 GB applies to all four colours. As in our other pieces, we only counted prices that held for several days while the laptop was in stock.

Before Black Friday: price benchmarks

The M5 has already come down from its October peak, but it is still 14.6% more expensive than in July. Our benchmarks: 27,499 lei for the 13-inch M5 and 20,990 lei for the M4 16/512 GB. And bear in mind that M4 stock may run out before the November clearance sales begin.

Prices come from the PriceList.md catalog on 01.11.2026 (17 stores, in stock only), one lowest price per store. Offers far below the rest of the market that looked like errors were left out.