Mac Mini M2 16/512 or Mac Mini M2 Pro 16/512?

[SmartAussie]

My usage is
Doc editing
Web browsing
Watching YouTube videos
Playing music and movies
Programming
Learning data warehouse, ETL tools, data analysis
Sometimes running 3 to 4 virtual machines for learning network concepts
No video editing
No photo editing
No gaming

Looking to keep it at least 5 years.

Which one will be more suitable, Mac Mini M2 16/512 or Mac Mini M2 Pro 16/512? Difference in price is AUD432.30.

 

[CausticPuppy]

M2 will be more than fine. Spend the additional money on a comfortable new chair.

 

[Fishrrman]

I say m2pro.

The 16gb of RAM and 512gb SSD come as standard, no up-charge.

And you get FOUR USBc ports on the back, instead of just 2, which is inexcusable on a "desktop" computer...

 

[Che Castro]

For $300 more I went with the pro
I plan to keep the computer for many years

 

[Apple Knowledge Navigator]

M2, no question. Don’t underestimate it, it’s a much more capable chip than the M1.

 

[omnimax]

M2 pro because of your VM and 5yr comment. 5yr comment makes future proofing is a bigger consideration IMO. M2 is incredibly capable, I go back and forth between M2 MBA and M1 Max MBP and I can easily daily an M2 MBA for most things.