Chrome is notorious for being a memory hog, and over time it tends to get slower — pages take longer to load, switching tabs feels laggy, and your laptop fan starts spinning harder. Most of these issues have straightforward fixes that can make a significant difference without needing to switch browsers.
Close Unused Tabs
Each open tab in Chrome uses memory and CPU, even when you are not actively using it. If you have 20+ tabs open, this alone can cause significant slowdowns. Close any tabs you do not need, and consider bookmarking ones you want to return to later. Chrome’s built-in Reading List (click the bookmark icon) is also useful for saving pages to read later without keeping them as open tabs.
Clear the Cache
A bloated or corrupted cache can cause Chrome to slow down noticeably. Press Ctrl + Shift + Delete, select All time, tick Cached images and files, and click Clear data. See our full guide on clearing Chrome cache and cookies.
Disable Extensions You Do Not Use
Extensions run in the background and consume memory. Check how many you have installed and disable any you do not regularly use:
- Click the three-dot menu > Extensions > Manage Extensions
- Toggle off extensions you do not need
- Remove any you no longer use entirely
Ad blockers, password managers, and productivity tools are useful, but five or ten lesser-used extensions running simultaneously add up. Even well-built extensions contribute to Chrome’s memory footprint.
Use Chrome’s Task Manager to Find the Culprit
Chrome has its own Task Manager showing memory usage per tab and extension:
- Press Shift + Esc to open Chrome’s Task Manager
- Click Memory footprint to sort by memory usage
- Identify any tab or extension using an unusually large amount of memory and close it
Enable Memory Saver
Chrome’s Memory Saver feature automatically puts inactive tabs to sleep to free up RAM:
- Click the three-dot menu > Settings
- Go to Performance
- Toggle on Memory Saver
Sleeping tabs load again when you click on them, so you do not lose anything — you just save memory in the meantime.
Enable Energy Saver
Also in the Performance settings, Energy Saver reduces Chrome’s activity when your battery is low or the device is under load, which can reduce fan noise and improve overall system responsiveness.
Update Chrome
Running an outdated version of Chrome can cause performance issues. To check:
- Click the three-dot menu
- Go to Help > About Google Chrome
- Chrome will check for updates and install them automatically
- Click Relaunch when prompted
Reset Chrome Settings
If Chrome has become slow over a long period and other fixes have not helped, a reset can restore it to a clean state:
- Go to Settings > Reset settings
- Click Restore settings to their original defaults
- Click Reset settings
This disables extensions, resets your homepage and start page, and clears temporary data. Your bookmarks and saved passwords are preserved.
Consider Using Edge or Firefox
If Chrome consistently runs slowly on your machine, it may be worth trying an alternative browser. Microsoft Edge (based on the same Chromium engine as Chrome) typically uses less memory than Chrome. Firefox is another solid option with lower RAM usage on older hardware.
