You open your MacBook to get some work done, launch Chrome, and suddenly everything slows to a crawl. The fan roars, the rainbow wheel spins, and even simple tasks feel impossible. A quick peek at Activity Monitor shows the culprit: Chrome is devouring your RAM like an all-you-can-eat buffet.

If Chrome’s high memory usage has you ready to ditch it altogether, don’t uninstall just yet. With the right tweaks, you can tame Chrome’s appetite and get your Mac running smoothly again.

Why Chrome Uses So Much RAM on Mac

Multiple tabs: Each tab runs as a separate process for stability—but that eats memory.
Extensions: Handy, but some are memory hogs in disguise.
Background processes: Chrome keeps things running even when you’re not looking.
Outdated version: Old Chrome builds often leak memory.

5 Fixes to Reduce Chrome’s Memory Drain

1. Limit Open Tabs

Every tab is a memory vampire.

Bookmark articles instead of keeping them open.
Use Chrome’s built-in Memory Saver (Settings > Performance).
Try OneTab to collapse all tabs into a single list.

2. Disable Unnecessary Extensions

Extensions are like apps inside your browser. Some never stop running.

Go to chrome://extensions/
Turn off everything you don’t need daily
Restart Chrome and check memory usage again

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3. Enable Tab Discarding

This feature automatically unloads inactive tabs to save memory.

Type chrome://flags/ in the address bar
Search for Automatic Tab Discarding
Set it to Enabled

4. Update Chrome Regularly

Updates often fix memory leaks.

Go to ⋮ Menu > Help > About Google Chrome
Update if available, then relaunch

5. Close Background Apps

It’s not always Chrome’s fault—if Photoshop, Slack, and Zoom are all open, your Mac is already stressed.

Use Activity Monitor to spot heavy apps
Quit what you don’t need running in the background

Track Your Progress

The best way to know if these tips work? Open Activity Monitor before and after making changes. Watching Chrome’s memory usage drop in real time is oddly satisfying.

Cloud Computing

How to Solve Google Chrome’s High Memory Usage on Mac