Is your MacBook suddenly slow, freezing, or constantly showing the spinning beach ball? Maybe apps take forever to open, Safari or Chrome lags, or everything just feels… heavy.

The good news: you don’t need to be a tech expert to fix this.

In this guide, you’ll learn five practical, at-home fixes that work for most MacBook Air and MacBook Pro models—including Intel Macs and Apple Silicon devices like M1 and M2. These are the same steps I recommend when you want your MacBook to feel smooth and “brand new” again.

Prefer to watch the step-by-step guide? Check out our video tutorial below:

Let’s jump in.

Quick 30-Second Check (Do This First)

Before you change any settings, do these two fast checks:

• Restart your MacBook (Apple menu  → Restart)
  A restart clears temporary memory issues, stops stuck background processes, and often fixes sudden lag instantly.
• Unplug extra accessories (especially hubs/docks)
  A bad dongle, external drive, or buggy peripheral driver can cause slowdowns or weird system behavior.
  
  

If you’re still slow after that, go to the real fixes below.

Before You Start: What Usually Makes a MacBook Slow?

A slow MacBook is usually caused by one (or more) of these:

• Too many heavy apps are running in the background
• Apps launching automatically at startup
• Storage is almost full (one of the biggest performance killers)
• Outdated macOS or apps with bugs/compatibility issues
• Too many browser tabs/extensions are eating memory and CPU
• (Sometimes) overheating or heavy background syncing like iCloud/Photos

Now let’s fix them step-by-step.

Fix #1: Close Heavy Apps Using Activity Monitor

If your MacBook is slow, the first thing to check is what’s using your CPU, Memory, and sometimes Disk. Often, one app (or one browser tab) is hogging resources and dragging everything down.

Step 1: Open Activity Monitor

1. Press Command (⌘) + Space
2. Type Activity Monitor
3. Press Return

You’ll see a list of all running processes on your Mac.

Check CPU Usage (What’s making your Mac “work too hard”)

1. Click the CPU tab
2. Click the % CPU column header to sort from highest to lowest
3. Look for apps consistently sitting at high CPU usage, such as:
   • Chrome/Chrome Helper
   • Zoom
   • Slack/Teams
   • Photoshop/Lightroom/Final Cut
   • Backup/sync tools
     

What “high CPU” looks like

• A quick spike is normal (opening an app, loading a website).
• Sustained high CPU (staying near the top for minutes) is usually the problem
  

Quit vs Force Quit (Use the safer option first)

When you find a heavy app:

1. Click the app/process name
2. Click the X button at the top of Activity Monitor
3. Choose:
   • Quit (best option)
   • Force Quit (only if the app is frozen or won’t close)
     

⚠️ Important: Force Quit can cause unsaved work to be lost—use it only when needed.

Check Memory Pressure (This matters a LOT on M1/M2)

Now click the Memory tab.

At the bottom, you’ll see Memory Pressure:

• Green = you’re fine
• Yellow = you’re pushing it
• Red = your Mac is struggling and will feel slow
  

Why this happens

When memory pressure is yellow/red, macOS starts using your storage as “extra memory” (called swap). Swap is normal, but if it’s heavy, performance drops—especially if you also have low free storage.

Fix it fast

• Close apps you aren’t actively using (especially browsers)
• Reduce tab count
• Quit anything heavy like Zoom + Chrome + creative apps altogether

✅ After this step alone, many MacBooks feel noticeably faster.

Pro tip (Intel + Apple Silicon):
In Activity Monitor, also check the Energy tab. If something is constantly draining energy, it’s often running hard in the background as well.

Fix #2: Turn Off Startup Items (Speed Up Login + Everyday Performance)

If your MacBook feels slow right after you log in, chances are that too many apps are launching automatically in the background.

This is common when you install apps like Spotify, Zoom, Slack, Teams, Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

How to turn off Login Items (Newer macOS)

1. Apple menu  → System Settings
2. Go to General → Login Items
3. You’ll see two important sections:
   • Open at Login (apps that launch when you sign in)
   • Allow in the Background (apps that run silently even if you don’t open them)
     

What to disable

• Anything you don’t use every day
• Anything you don’t need immediately on startup
  

For example:

• Spotify (you can open it when you want)
• Zoom (you don’t need it running all day)
• Updaters for apps you rarely use
  
  

⚠️ Don’t disable system essentials you recognize as Apple services. If you’re unsure, leave it alone.

Older macOS (Monterey or earlier)

1. Apple menu  → System Preferences
2. Users & Groups
3. Click your username
4. Choose Login Items
5. Select an item → click – to remove it
   

Why this helps

Fewer startup items means:

• Faster boot/login time
• Less background CPU and memory usage
• Fewer random “slow moments” after turning on your Mac
  
  

This fix often makes Macs feel smoother immediately.

Fix #3: Free Up Storage Space (Massive Performance Boost)

This is one of the biggest reasons MacBooks slow down—especially if you see “Storage Almost Full.”

macOS needs free space for:

• System caching
• Updates
• Virtual memory (swap)
• Temporary files that keep apps running smoothly
  
  

When your storage is nearly full, your Mac can feel sluggish, even if everything else is functioning properly.

Step 1: Check your storage

1. Apple menu  → System Settings
2. General → Storage
   

You’ll see categories like:

• Applications
• Documents
• Photos
• Mail
• System Data
  

Step 2: Delete the “big wins” first

Here’s where most people free up space fastest:

1) Downloads folder

• Delete old DMG installers, ZIP files, duplicate downloads
• Remove old PDFs or files you no longer need
  

2) Unused applications

• Sort by size (in Finder or Storage view)
• Uninstall apps you don’t use
  
  

Tip: Dragging an app to Trash works for many apps, but some leave leftovers. If you want to keep it simple, just remove the big ones you’re confident you don’t need.

3) Large videos and screen recordings

These are common “silent storage killers,” especially if you record meetings or screen tutorials.

4) Old iPhone/iPad backups (often HUGE)

• Open Finder
• Connect your iPhone (optional)
• Look for Manage Backups (or check storage management if shown)
• Delete old backups you no longer need
  

Step 3: Empty the Trash (don’t skip this)

Your space isn’t truly freed until you:

• Right-click Trash → Empty Trash
  

Storage rule that actually works

Try to keep 10%–20% of your disk free (or at least 15–25 GB free if your Mac has a smaller drive).

✅ Once you free up space, your MacBook will usually run smoother, stop stuttering, and handle multitasking better.

Fix #4: Update macOS and Your Apps (Bug Fixes + Performance Improvements)

Sometimes, performance problems come from:

• Known macOS bugs
• App compatibility issues
• Security patches that improve stability
• Browser updates that reduce memory/CPU usage
  
  

Even if you don’t love updates, they can absolutely fix lag and weird glitches.

Update macOS

1. Apple menu  → System Settings
2. General → Software Update
3. If an update is available:
   • Back up important files (recommended)
   • Install the update
     
     

Tip: If you’re on a very old major macOS version, even jumping one major version can help with stability—but make sure your essential apps support it.

Update your apps (especially browsers)

App Store apps

1. Open App Store
2. Go to Updates
3. Update everything you use regularly
   

Non–App Store apps

Many apps update themselves, but you can also look for:

• App Name → Check for Updates in the menu bar
  

Prioritize updating:

• Safari/Chrome
• Zoom/Teams
• Creative apps
• Cloud sync apps (Drive/Dropbox/OneDrive)
  
  

✅ Keeping your system and apps updated helps everything run more efficiently and reduces random freezing.

Fix #5: Reduce Browser Tabs, Extensions, and Background Sync

If your MacBook feels slow mainly while browsing or working online, the issue may not be your Mac—it may be your browser habits.

Modern websites are basically mini-apps: video, ads, scripts, trackers, live chat widgets—each tab can consume memory and CPU.

Step 1: Close extra tabs (yes, this really matters)

If you regularly keep 20–30 tabs open, your MacBook is juggling dozens of active tasks.

Close:

• Tabs playing video/audio
• Social media feeds
• Web apps you aren’t actively using
• Heavy sites like dashboards, editors, or pages with lots of auto-refreshing content

Easy habit: Bookmark the tabs you “don’t want to lose,” then close them.

Step 2: Disable unnecessary extensions

Chrome

1. Open Chrome
2. Click ⋮ (three dots) → Extensions → Manage Extensions
3. Turn off anything you don’t truly use
   

Extensions that often cause lag:

• Coupon finders
• Screenshot tools you rarely use
• Multiple ad blockers running together
• “Shopping helpers” and “productivity boosters”
  

Safari

1. Safari → Settings
2. Extensions
3. Disable or uninstall anything unnecessary
   

Step 3: Reduce background browser load

A couple of practical tips:

• In Chrome, consider turning on memory-saving/performance features if available in your version.
• If Chrome still feels heavy, try testing Safari for a day—on many Macs, Safari is more efficient because it’s tightly integrated with macOS.
  
  

After cleaning up tabs and extensions, browsing usually feels faster and smoother immediately.

What If Your MacBook Is Still Slow?

If you’ve done all five fixes and your MacBook still lags, you may be hitting hardware limits or a deeper system issue—especially if:

• Your MacBook is an older Intel model
• You have low RAM (common on older base models)
• Your storage is small and frequently near full
• You run heavy workflows (editing, design, coding + lots of tabs, Zoom calls, etc.)
  

Your options at this point

• Get it checked by a professional (especially if there’s overheating, battery issues, or repeated crashes)
• Consider upgrading to a model with better specs for your workload
• Trade it in / sell it if the cost or hassle isn’t worth it

If you need help choosing the right MacBook or comparing models, check Techable for buying guides, comparisons, and options. If you’re looking for a great deal on a refurbished MacBook from a trusted source, head to techable.com.
Ready to sell your old MacBook? Visit sellmac.com for a competitive offer.

Final Thoughts

A slow MacBook doesn’t always mean it’s “done.” Most of the time, the fix is simple:

• Close heavy apps
• Reduce startup clutter
• Free up storage
• Update software
• Clean up your browser
  
  

Try these steps, and you’ll often feel an immediate difference, sometimes in minutes.