diff --git a/mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.cpp b/mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.cpp
index 66e8c5c660..93bf48542d 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.cpp
+++ b/mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.cpp
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 
 #include "mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.h"
 #include "mlx/backend/cuda/utils.h"
-#include "mlx/backend/cuda/worker.h"
 #include "mlx/utils.h"
 
 #include <cuda_runtime.h>
@@ -25,52 +24,58 @@ constexpr int small_block_size = 8;
 constexpr int small_pool_size = 4 * page_size;
 
 SmallSizePool::SmallSizePool() {
-  CHECK_CUDA_ERROR(cudaMallocManaged(&buffer_, small_pool_size));
-  end_ = reinterpret_cast<void*>(
-      reinterpret_cast<char*>(buffer_) + small_pool_size);
-  next_free_ = reinterpret_cast<Block*>(buffer_);
-
   auto num_blocks = small_pool_size / small_block_size;
+  buffer_ = new Block[num_blocks];
+
+  next_free_ = buffer_;
+
+  CHECK_CUDA_ERROR(cudaMallocManaged(&data_, small_pool_size));
+  CHECK_CUDA_ERROR(
+      cudaMemAdvise(data_, small_pool_size, cudaMemAdviseSetReadMostly, 0));
+
   auto curr = next_free_;
-  for (size_t i = 0; i < num_blocks - 1; ++i) {
-    curr->next = reinterpret_cast<Block*>(
-        reinterpret_cast<char*>(buffer_) + (i + 1) * small_block_size);
+  for (size_t i = 1; i < num_blocks; ++i) {
+    curr->next = buffer_ + i;
     curr = curr->next;
   }
   curr->next = nullptr;
 }
 
 SmallSizePool::~SmallSizePool() {
-  CHECK_CUDA_ERROR(cudaFree(buffer_));
+  CHECK_CUDA_ERROR(cudaFree(data_));
+  delete[] buffer_;
 }
 
-void* SmallSizePool::malloc() {
+CudaBuffer* SmallSizePool::malloc() {
   if (next_free_ == nullptr) {
     return nullptr;
   }
   Block* b = next_free_;
+  uint64_t i = next_free_ - buffer_;
   next_free_ = next_free_->next;
-  return static_cast<void*>(b);
+  b->buf.data = static_cast<char*>(data_) + i * small_block_size;
+  b->buf.size = small_block_size;
+  return &b->buf;
 }
 
-void SmallSizePool::free(void* p) {
-  auto b = static_cast<Block*>(p);
+void SmallSizePool::free(CudaBuffer* buf) {
+  auto b = reinterpret_cast<Block*>(buf);
   b->next = next_free_;
   next_free_ = b;
 }
 
-bool SmallSizePool::in_pool(void* p) {
-  return (p >= buffer_) && (p < end_);
+bool SmallSizePool::in_pool(CudaBuffer* buf) {
+  constexpr int num_blocks = (small_pool_size / small_block_size);
+  auto b = reinterpret_cast<Block*>(buf);
+  int64_t block_num = b - buffer_;
+  return block_num >= 0 && block_num < num_blocks;
 }
 
 CudaAllocator::CudaAllocator()
     : buffer_cache_(
           page_size,
           [](CudaBuffer* buf) { return buf->size; },
-          [this](CudaBuffer* buf) {
-            cuda_free(buf->data);
-            delete buf;
-          }) {
+          [this](CudaBuffer* buf) { cuda_free(buf); }) {
   // TODO: Set memory limit for multi-device.
   size_t free, total;
   CHECK_CUDA_ERROR(cudaMemGetInfo(&free, &total));
@@ -92,28 +97,26 @@ Buffer CudaAllocator::malloc(size_t size) {
 
   CudaBuffer* buf = buffer_cache_.reuse_from_cache(size);
   if (!buf) {
-    // If we have a lot of memory pressure or are over the maximum cache size,
-    // try to reclaim memory from the cache.
-    size_t mem_required = get_active_memory() + get_cache_memory() + size;
-    if (mem_required >= memory_limit_) {
-      buffer_cache_.release_cached_buffers(mem_required - memory_limit_);
+    // If we have a lot of memory pressure try to reclaim memory from the cache.
+    int64_t mem_to_free =
+        get_active_memory() + get_cache_memory() + size - memory_limit_;
+    if (mem_to_free > 0) {
+      buffer_cache_.release_cached_buffers(mem_to_free);
     }
 
-    lock.unlock();
-    buf = new CudaBuffer{nullptr, size};
-
     // Try the scalar pool first
     if (size <= small_block_size) {
-      buf->data = scalar_pool_.malloc();
+      buf = scalar_pool_.malloc();
     }
-    if (!buf->data) {
+    lock.unlock();
+    if (!buf) {
+      buf = new CudaBuffer{nullptr, size};
       cudaError_t err = cudaMallocManaged(&buf->data, size);
       if (err != cudaSuccess && err != cudaErrorMemoryAllocation) {
         throw std::runtime_error(fmt::format(
             "cudaMallocManaged failed: {}.", cudaGetErrorString(err)));
       }
     }
-
     lock.lock();
   }
   active_memory_ += size;
@@ -123,7 +126,6 @@ Buffer CudaAllocator::malloc(size_t size) {
   if (get_cache_memory() > max_pool_size_) {
     buffer_cache_.release_cached_buffers(get_cache_memory() - max_pool_size_);
   }
-
   return Buffer{buf};
 }
 
@@ -138,9 +140,7 @@ void CudaAllocator::free(Buffer buffer) {
   if (get_cache_memory() < max_pool_size_) {
     buffer_cache_.recycle_to_cache(buf);
   } else {
-    lock.unlock();
-    cuda_free(buf->data);
-    delete buf;
+    cuda_free(buf);
   }
 }
 
@@ -152,30 +152,13 @@ size_t CudaAllocator::size(Buffer buffer) const {
   return buf->size;
 }
 
-void CudaAllocator::register_this_thread() {
-  std::lock_guard lock(worker_mutex_);
-  allowed_threads_.insert(std::this_thread::get_id());
-}
-
-void CudaAllocator::cuda_free(void* buf) {
-  // If cuda_free() is called from a unregistered thread, reschedule the call to
-  // worker.
-  {
-    std::lock_guard lock(worker_mutex_);
-    if (allowed_threads_.count(std::this_thread::get_id()) == 0) {
-      if (!worker_) {
-        worker_.reset(new Worker);
-      }
-      worker_->add_task([this, buf]() { this->cuda_free(buf); });
-      worker_->end_batch();
-      worker_->commit();
-      return;
-    }
-  }
+// This must be called with mutex_ aquired
+void CudaAllocator::cuda_free(CudaBuffer* buf) {
   if (scalar_pool_.in_pool(buf)) {
     scalar_pool_.free(buf);
   } else {
-    cudaFree(buf);
+    cudaFree(buf->data);
+    delete buf;
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.h b/mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.h
index f7474dda6d..81b3dde593 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.h
+++ b/mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.h
@@ -7,13 +7,10 @@
 
 #include <mutex>
 #include <set>
-#include <thread>
 #include <utility>
 
 namespace mlx::core::cu {
 
-class Worker;
-
 using allocator::Buffer;
 
 // Stores cuda-managed unified memory.
@@ -24,13 +21,14 @@ struct CudaBuffer {
 
 class SmallSizePool {
  private:
-  struct Block {
+  union Block {
     Block* next;
+    CudaBuffer buf;
   };
 
-  void* buffer_{nullptr};
+  Block* buffer_{nullptr};
+  void* data_{nullptr};
   Block* next_free_{nullptr};
-  void* end_{nullptr};
 
  public:
   SmallSizePool();
@@ -39,9 +37,9 @@ class SmallSizePool {
   SmallSizePool(const SmallSizePool&) = delete;
   SmallSizePool& operator=(const SmallSizePool&) = delete;
 
-  void* malloc();
-  void free(void* p);
-  bool in_pool(void* p);
+  CudaBuffer* malloc();
+  void free(CudaBuffer* buf);
+  bool in_pool(CudaBuffer* buf);
 };
 
 class CudaAllocator : public allocator::Allocator {
@@ -50,15 +48,6 @@ class CudaAllocator : public allocator::Allocator {
   void free(Buffer buffer) override;
   size_t size(Buffer buffer) const override;
 
-  // Register current thread as safe to free buffers.
-  // In cuda freeing a buffer implicitly synchronizes stream, and for threads
-  // that may be waited by gpu stream (for example cpu stream threads), freeing
-  // buffers there would result in dead lock.
-  void register_this_thread();
-
-  // Call cudaFree in the safe thread.
-  void cuda_free(void* buf);
-
   size_t get_active_memory() const;
   size_t get_peak_memory() const;
   void reset_peak_memory();
@@ -69,13 +58,11 @@ class CudaAllocator : public allocator::Allocator {
   void clear_cache();
 
  private:
+  void cuda_free(CudaBuffer* buf);
+
   CudaAllocator();
   friend CudaAllocator& allocator();
 
-  std::mutex worker_mutex_;
-  std::unique_ptr<Worker> worker_;
-  std::set<std::thread::id> allowed_threads_;
-
   std::mutex mutex_;
   size_t memory_limit_;
   size_t max_pool_size_;
diff --git a/mlx/backend/cuda/device.cpp b/mlx/backend/cuda/device.cpp
index 3362315283..366cdf8269 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/cuda/device.cpp
+++ b/mlx/backend/cuda/device.cpp
@@ -306,7 +306,6 @@ void CommandEncoder::commit() {
   }
 
   // Put completion handlers in a batch.
-  worker_.end_batch();
   worker_.commit(stream_);
 }
 
@@ -315,7 +314,6 @@ void CommandEncoder::synchronize() {
   auto p = std::make_shared<std::promise<void>>();
   std::future<void> f = p->get_future();
   add_completed_handler([p = std::move(p)]() { p->set_value(); });
-  worker_.end_batch();
   commit();
   f.wait();
 }
diff --git a/mlx/backend/cuda/eval.cpp b/mlx/backend/cuda/eval.cpp
index 40beb12d2e..0e1477e950 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/cuda/eval.cpp
+++ b/mlx/backend/cuda/eval.cpp
@@ -19,8 +19,6 @@ void new_stream(Stream s) {
   cudaFree(nullptr);
   // Ensure the static stream objects get created.
   cu::get_command_encoder(s);
-  // The main thread is safe to free buffers.
-  cu::allocator().register_this_thread();
 }
 
 void eval(array& arr) {
diff --git a/mlx/backend/cuda/event.cu b/mlx/backend/cuda/event.cu
index f51d2f2e35..c9c6b36592 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/cuda/event.cu
+++ b/mlx/backend/cuda/event.cu
@@ -110,24 +110,26 @@ __global__ void event_signal_kernel(SharedEvent::Atomic* ac, uint64_t value) {
   event_signal(ac, value);
 }
 
+SharedEvent::Atomic* to_atomic(std::shared_ptr<Buffer> buf) {
+  return static_cast<SharedEvent::Atomic*>(buf->raw_ptr());
+}
+
 SharedEvent::SharedEvent() {
-  // Allocate cuda::atomic on managed memory.
-  Atomic* ac;
-  CHECK_CUDA_ERROR(cudaMallocManaged(&ac, sizeof(Atomic)));
-  new (ac) Atomic(0);
-  ac_ = std::shared_ptr<Atomic>(ac, [](Atomic* ptr) {
-    ptr->~Atomic();
-    allocator().cuda_free(ptr);
-  });
+  buf_ = std::shared_ptr<Buffer>(
+      new Buffer{allocator().malloc(sizeof(Atomic))}, [](Buffer* ptr) {
+        allocator().free(*ptr);
+        delete ptr;
+      });
+  *static_cast<uint64_t*>(buf_->raw_ptr()) = 0;
 }
 
 void SharedEvent::wait(uint64_t value) {
   nvtx3::scoped_range r("cu::SharedEvent::wait");
-  event_wait(ac_.get(), value);
+  event_wait(to_atomic(buf_), value);
 }
 
 void SharedEvent::wait(cudaStream_t stream, uint64_t value) {
-  event_wait_kernel<<<1, 1, 0, stream>>>(ac_.get(), value);
+  event_wait_kernel<<<1, 1, 0, stream>>>(to_atomic(buf_), value);
 }
 
 void SharedEvent::wait(Stream s, uint64_t value) {
@@ -138,17 +140,17 @@ void SharedEvent::wait(Stream s, uint64_t value) {
     auto& encoder = get_command_encoder(s);
     encoder.commit();
     wait(encoder.stream(), value);
-    encoder.add_completed_handler([ac = ac_]() {});
+    encoder.add_completed_handler([buf = buf_]() {});
   }
 }
 
 void SharedEvent::signal(uint64_t value) {
   nvtx3::scoped_range r("cu::SharedEvent::signal");
-  event_signal(ac_.get(), value);
+  event_signal(to_atomic(buf_), value);
 }
 
 void SharedEvent::signal(cudaStream_t stream, uint64_t value) {
-  event_signal_kernel<<<1, 1, 0, stream>>>(ac_.get(), value);
+  event_signal_kernel<<<1, 1, 0, stream>>>(to_atomic(buf_), value);
 }
 
 void SharedEvent::signal(Stream s, uint64_t value) {
@@ -162,18 +164,18 @@ void SharedEvent::signal(Stream s, uint64_t value) {
     auto& encoder = get_command_encoder(s);
     encoder.commit();
     signal(encoder.stream(), value);
-    encoder.add_completed_handler([ac = ac_]() {});
+    encoder.add_completed_handler([buf = buf_]() {});
   }
 }
 
 bool SharedEvent::is_signaled(uint64_t value) const {
   nvtx3::scoped_range r("cu::SharedEvent::is_signaled");
-  return ac_->load() >= value;
+  return to_atomic(buf_)->load() >= value;
 }
 
 uint64_t SharedEvent::value() const {
   nvtx3::scoped_range r("cu::SharedEvent::value");
-  return ac_->load();
+  return to_atomic(buf_)->load();
 }
 
 } // namespace cu
diff --git a/mlx/backend/cuda/event.h b/mlx/backend/cuda/event.h
index 4b56e2e3b8..3ef9786f32 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/cuda/event.h
+++ b/mlx/backend/cuda/event.h
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 
 #pragma once
 
+#include "mlx/allocator.h"
 #include "mlx/stream.h"
 
 #include <cuda_runtime.h>
@@ -55,12 +56,8 @@ class SharedEvent {
   bool is_signaled(uint64_t value) const;
   uint64_t value() const;
 
-  const std::shared_ptr<Atomic>& atomic() const {
-    return ac_;
-  }
-
  private:
-  std::shared_ptr<Atomic> ac_;
+  std::shared_ptr<mlx::core::allocator::Buffer> buf_;
 };
 
 } // namespace mlx::core::cu
diff --git a/mlx/backend/cuda/worker.cpp b/mlx/backend/cuda/worker.cpp
index 3b35c830b4..ce211367ce 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/cuda/worker.cpp
+++ b/mlx/backend/cuda/worker.cpp
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 // Copyright © 2025 Apple Inc.
 
 #include "mlx/backend/cuda/worker.h"
-#include "mlx/backend/cuda/allocator.h"
 #include "mlx/backend/cuda/device.h"
 
 namespace mlx::core::cu {
@@ -12,10 +11,10 @@ Worker::Worker()
 
 Worker::~Worker() {
   {
-    std::lock_guard lock(worker_mutex_);
+    std::lock_guard lock(mtx_);
     stop_ = true;
   }
-  worker_event_.signal(batch_ + 1);
+  cond_.notify_one();
   worker_.join();
 }
 
@@ -23,53 +22,41 @@ void Worker::add_task(std::function<void()> task) {
   pending_tasks_.push_back(std::move(task));
 }
 
-void Worker::consume_in_this_thread() {
-  for (auto& task : pending_tasks_) {
-    task();
-  }
-  pending_tasks_.clear();
-}
-
-void Worker::end_batch() {
-  batch_++;
+void Worker::signal(void* data) {
+  auto w = static_cast<Worker*>(data);
   {
-    std::lock_guard lock(worker_mutex_);
-    worker_tasks_[batch_] = std::move(pending_tasks_);
+    std::lock_guard lock(w->mtx_);
+    w->signaled_batch_++;
   }
-  uncommited_batches_++;
-}
-
-void Worker::commit() {
-  if (uncommited_batches_ == 0) {
-    return;
-  }
-  uncommited_batches_ = 0;
-  worker_event_.signal(batch_);
+  w->cond_.notify_one();
 }
 
 void Worker::commit(cudaStream_t stream) {
-  if (uncommited_batches_ == 0) {
+  // Move pending tasks into tasks
+  if (pending_tasks_.empty()) {
     return;
   }
-  uncommited_batches_ = 0;
-  // Signal the |worker_event_| in |signal_stream_| after the kernels in
-  // |stream_| finish running.
+  {
+    std::lock_guard lock(mtx_);
+    // Move pending tasks into ready tasks
+    worker_tasks_[++committed_batch_] = std::move(pending_tasks_);
+  }
   signal_event_.record(stream);
   signal_event_.wait(signal_stream_);
-  worker_event_.signal(signal_stream_, batch_);
+  cudaLaunchHostFunc(signal_stream_, signal, this);
 }
 
 void Worker::thread_fn() {
-  // The worker thread is safe to free buffers.
-  allocator().register_this_thread();
-
   while (!stop_) {
-    uint64_t batch = worker_event_.value();
+    uint64_t current_batch = 0;
     Tasks tasks;
     {
-      std::lock_guard lock(worker_mutex_);
-      // Move tasks in signaled batches.
-      auto end = worker_tasks_.upper_bound(batch);
+      std::unique_lock<std::mutex> lk(mtx_);
+      cond_.wait(lk, [this, &current_batch] {
+        return this->signaled_batch_ > current_batch || this->stop_;
+      });
+      current_batch = signaled_batch_;
+      auto end = worker_tasks_.upper_bound(current_batch);
       for (auto it = worker_tasks_.begin(); it != end; ++it) {
         if (tasks.empty()) {
           tasks = std::move(it->second);
@@ -85,7 +72,6 @@ void Worker::thread_fn() {
       auto task = std::move(tasks[i]);
       task();
     }
-    worker_event_.wait(batch + 1);
   }
 }
 
diff --git a/mlx/backend/cuda/worker.h b/mlx/backend/cuda/worker.h
index d28e22e952..df6647e2b7 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/cuda/worker.h
+++ b/mlx/backend/cuda/worker.h
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@
 #include "mlx/backend/cuda/event.h"
 #include "mlx/backend/cuda/utils.h"
 
+#include <condition_variable>
 #include <functional>
 #include <map>
 #include <mutex>
@@ -24,38 +25,24 @@ class Worker {
   // Add a pending |task| that will run when consumed or commited.
   void add_task(std::function<void()> task);
 
-  // Run pending tasks immediately in current thread.
-  void consume_in_this_thread();
-
-  // Put pending tasks in a batch.
-  void end_batch();
-
-  // Inform worker thread to run current batches now.
-  void commit();
-
   // Inform worker thread to run current batches after kernels in |stream|
   // finish running.
   void commit(cudaStream_t stream);
 
-  // Return how many batches have been added but not committed yet.
-  size_t uncommited_batches() const {
-    return uncommited_batches_;
-  }
-
  private:
-  void thread_fn();
+  static void signal(void*);
 
-  uint64_t batch_{0};
-  size_t uncommited_batches_{0};
+  void thread_fn();
+  std::mutex mtx_;
+  std::condition_variable cond_;
+
+  uint64_t committed_batch_{0};
+  uint64_t signaled_batch_{0};
 
   // Cuda stream and event for signaling kernel completion.
   CudaStream signal_stream_;
   CudaEvent signal_event_;
 
-  // Worker thread.
-  SharedEvent worker_event_;
-  std::thread worker_;
-  std::mutex worker_mutex_;
   bool stop_{false};
 
   // Tasks are put in |pending_tasks_| first, and then moved to
@@ -63,6 +50,7 @@ class Worker {
   using Tasks = std::vector<std::function<void()>>;
   Tasks pending_tasks_;
   std::map<uint64_t, Tasks> worker_tasks_;
+  std::thread worker_;
 };
 
 } // namespace mlx::core::cu
diff --git a/mlx/backend/metal/allocator.cpp b/mlx/backend/metal/allocator.cpp
index dd61897326..8eb70bcbca 100644
--- a/mlx/backend/metal/allocator.cpp
+++ b/mlx/backend/metal/allocator.cpp
@@ -128,8 +128,7 @@ Buffer MetalAllocator::malloc(size_t size) {
 
     auto pool = metal::new_scoped_memory_pool();
 
-    // If we have a lot of memory pressure or are over the maximum cache size,
-    // try to reclaim memory from the cache
+    // If we have a lot of memory pressure try to reclaim memory from the cache
     if (mem_required >= gc_limit_ || num_resources_ >= resource_limit_) {
       num_resources_ -=
           buffer_cache_.release_cached_buffers(mem_required - gc_limit_);