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Google Chrome Running Slow: Fix Extensions, Cache and Memory Use

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If Google Chrome is slow or freezing, work through four checks in order: update Chrome, open Chrome's Task Manager to find the tab or extension using the most memory, turn off extensions you do not need, and turn on Memory Saver in Settings. Clearing cached data is a targeted fix for one misbehaving site, not a general speed-up. The menu paths below match Google's Chrome Help pages as checked on October 31, 2026.

Who this is for and what you will have at the end

This guide is for anyone using Chrome on Windows or macOS whose browser lags when typing, takes a long time to open pages, freezes while scrolling, or makes the fan spin up. You do not need technical knowledge. By the end you will know how to see which tab or extension is the problem, how to stop it, how to set Chrome to manage memory for you, and when clearing browsing data helps.

The steps use Chrome's menu, the three-dot icon at the top right of the window. Chrome Help calls it More. Menu names can shift slightly between Chrome versions, and managed work or school computers may hide or lock some of the options.

Before you start: save your work

Several fixes close tabs or restart Chrome. Chrome saves open tabs and windows when it relaunches after an update, but Incognito windows are not reopened. Finish any forms, uploads or documents you have open in web apps before you begin.

If the whole computer is slow, not just Chrome, close other programs as well. Google's guidance for speeding up Chrome includes avoiding running several apps at the same time, because Chrome shares the machine's memory with everything else.

Step 1: Update Chrome

Running the latest version is the first thing Google recommends. To check:

  1. Open Chrome.
  2. Select More (three dots, top right), then Help, then About Google Chrome.
  3. If an update is waiting, select Relaunch. If there is no Relaunch button, Chrome is already current.

Chrome reopens your tabs and windows after the restart. If you would rather not restart now, select Not now; the update installs the next time you restart Chrome. On Windows, you must close all Chrome windows and tabs before the update can apply. On a Mac, if Chrome is in your Applications folder, the About Google Chrome page lets you turn on automatic updates for all users of that Mac.

Step 2: Close tabs you are not using

It sounds obvious, but each open tab uses memory. Close a tab with the x on the tab, or press Ctrl + W on Windows or Command + W on a Mac. If you keep tabs open as a to-do list, bookmark them first and close them.

Step 3: Find the heavy tab or extension with Chrome Task Manager

Chrome has its own Task Manager, separate from the Windows Task Manager and the Mac Activity Monitor. It lists each tab, extension and background page as a separate task, with the memory each one uses.

  1. Select More (three dots), then More tools, then Task Manager.
  2. Select the Memory column heading to sort by memory use.
  3. Look at the top of the list. Entries are labeled by type, such as a tab (named for the page) or an extension. Google specifically suggests looking for items labeled Background page.
  4. To close one, select its row and choose End process.

Ending a process closes just that task; the rest of Chrome keeps running. Unsaved work in that task is lost, so be sure you are ending the right row.

How to read what you find

What you see at the top What it suggests What to do
One web page far above the rest A heavy web app, video page or a page with a runaway script End the process, reload the page later, or use it in a different browser to compare
An extension (or its background page) using a lot The extension is costly or misbehaving Disable or remove it (Step 4)
Many tabs each using moderate memory Too many tabs for the memory you have Close tabs and turn on Memory Saver (Step 5)
Everything looks small but the computer is slow The problem may be outside Chrome Check other programs, free disk space, and restart the computer

If your organization manages Chrome, an administrator can disable the End process button. It then appears dimmed. That is a policy setting, not a fault.

Step 4: Turn off or remove extensions

Extensions run inside Chrome, and some run code on every page you open. Google's guidance is to turn off or remove extensions you do not use.

  1. Select More, then Extensions, then Manage Extensions.
  2. For each extension, use the toggle to turn it off, or select Remove to uninstall it.
  3. Restart Chrome and see whether it feels faster.

Find the culprit by elimination

If you cannot tell which extension is the problem from Task Manager, turn them all off, confirm Chrome behaves better, and then turn them back on one at a time, using Chrome for a few minutes between each. Google's crash-troubleshooting guidance suggests the same approach: remove extensions you do not need, then add back the ones you want one by one.

Remove anything you do not recognize. Extensions you never installed on purpose are a security concern as well as a speed problem. If a browser is also showing pop-ups with phone numbers, read fake tech support pop-up scams before doing anything else.

Step 5: Turn on Memory Saver

Memory Saver frees memory from tabs you are not using. Chrome deactivates them and reloads the page when you click back on the tab.

  1. Select More, then Settings, then Performance in the left sidebar.
  2. Turn Memory Saver on.
  3. Choose a level: Moderate (tabs go inactive after a longer time), Balanced (the recommended level) or Maximum (tabs go inactive sooner).
  4. Optional: turn on Inactive tabs appearance so inactive tabs are marked in the tab strip; their icon appears inside a ring.

Memory Saver does not deactivate tabs with active audio or video, screen sharing, page notifications, active downloads, partially filled forms, pinned tabs, or connected USB or Bluetooth devices.

Keep specific sites active

If a site must stay live, such as a web email tab, a chat app or a dashboard, add it to the exceptions list:

  1. Go to Settings > Performance.
  2. Next to Always keep these sites active, select Add.
  3. Choose Add current sites and check the open sites you want, or choose Add sites manually and type the address.

When you type an address, google.com covers the domain and its subdomains, while .google.com covers the subdomains only. Wildcards at the start of the host name are not supported.

Energy Saver on laptops

On computers with a battery, the same Performance page has Energy Saver. It runs when the computer is unplugged or the battery is low, and Chrome then stops eligible CPU-intensive background tabs. It does not run while plugged in, so it will not explain slowness on a desktop PC. Tabs on video calls or playing audio are not affected. To turn it off for the current session, select the Energy Saver icon next to the address bar, then Turn off now.

Show memory use on tab hover

You can see each tab's memory use without opening Task Manager. Go to Settings > Appearance. On Windows, turn on Show tab memory usage under "Tab hover preview card". On a Mac, the setting is Show memory usage on tab hover preview card. Hovering over a tab then shows how much memory it uses.

Performance alerts and preloading

The Performance page also has Performance issue alerts, which suggest deactivating tabs when browsing slows. It is on by default. A Preload pages option lets Chrome load pages it expects you to visit. Google notes that preloading can use cookies, if allowed, and sends pages through Google. If you turn preloading off, you can compare whether it changes how responsive Chrome feels for you.

Step 6: Clear cached data when one site misbehaves

Clearing cache is the step most guides lead with, but it is better treated as a fix for a specific problem: a site that will not load, shows old content, or displays a broken layout.

  1. Select More, then Delete browsing data. You can also type "Delete browsing data" in the address bar and select the action chip that appears.
  2. Choose a time range, such as Last hour or All time.
  3. Check Cookies and other site data if you want those removed, and any other items, such as cached images and files.
  4. Select Delete data.

Know what this does before you do it:

  • Deleting cookies can sign you out of sites that remember you.
  • Some sites may load more slowly afterward, because they have to rebuild data they had saved.
  • If you are signed in to Chrome, deleting browsing data also removes it from your Google Account and from other devices where you sync.

If only one site is the issue, choose a narrow time range, or delete just that site's data rather than everything.

Step 7: Reset settings or remove unwanted programs

If Chrome is still slow after the steps above, and especially if the home page or search engine changed without your doing, Google's guidance points to two further options: reset Chrome's settings to their defaults and manually remove unwanted programs from your computer. A reset changes settings back to their originals, so use it after the earlier steps, not before, because it undoes settings you may have chosen on purpose.

Troubleshooting

Chrome is slow only on one site

Open that site, then check Task Manager. If the page tops the memory list, the site itself is heavy. Try ending the process and reloading, then clearing that site's data as in Step 6. If the site is slow in a different browser too, the problem is the site or your network, not Chrome.

Chrome is slow right after startup

Check More > Extensions > Manage Extensions for anything that loads at startup, and disable extensions one at a time. Also look at what Chrome reopens: if you restore dozens of tabs every launch, Chrome loads all of them. Close what you do not need.

The End process button is dimmed

The browser is managed by an organization that has blocked it. You can still open Task Manager and read the list, but you will need to use the tab's close button or ask your administrator.

The computer, not Chrome, is slow

If Chrome's Task Manager shows nothing unusual, the computer may be short on memory or disk space, or another program may be using the processor. Restart the computer, close programs you are not using, and check the operating system's own task manager (Windows Task Manager or Activity Monitor on a Mac).

Quick checklist

  • Update Chrome from More > Help > About Google Chrome and relaunch.
  • Close tabs you are not using.
  • Open More > More tools > Task Manager, sort by Memory, and end the heaviest unneeded task.
  • Turn off or remove extensions in More > Extensions > Manage Extensions; test one at a time.
  • Turn on Memory Saver in Settings > Performance, and add must-stay-live sites to the keep-active list.
  • Clear cached data only for a site that misbehaves, and accept that you may be signed out.
  • If it is still slow, reset Chrome's settings and remove unwanted programs.

References

This guide was researched and drafted with AI assistance and checked against the vendor documentation listed in its References. Read the maintained version and related guides on EpiFive.

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