TL;DR
To check the memory usage on a Mac, follow these steps:
- Open Spotlight and search for Activity Monitor.
- Go to the Memory tab.
- Check app memory usage and the Memory Pressure chart.
Tried and Tested ✅: The methods and steps mentioned in this article have been tried and tested firsthand by Ojash Yadav on his MacBook Pro M3 and rechecked for errors on Hashir’s MacBook Air M2.
Feeling like your Mac is slowing down? Checking memory usage is a simple fix that can help you see what’s taking up space and what needs cleaning.
How to Check the Memory Usage on a Mac
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Below, I am going to share two different methods to check memory usage on a Mac:
1. Using Activity Monitor
Activity Monitor is a built-in macOS tool that provides real-time insights into your Mac’s memory usage. Here’s how to check the memory usage on a Mac using the Activity Monitor:
- Click the magnifying icon in the menu bar to open Spotlight Search.
- Type Activity Monitor in Spotlight and press Enter.
- Click the Memory tab to see the memory usage statistics for each app.
- Here, you’ll see a list of running processes and how much memory they are using. By default, the processes are sorted by their memory usage, with the most memory-intensive processes at the top of the list.
- At the bottom of the Activity Monitor window, you’ll see a Memory Pressure chart that shows if your Mac needs more RAM (yellow or red) or if it has sufficient memory (all green).
After checking your Mac’s memory usage, it’s important to interpret the statistics to understand your computer’s performance fully. Let’s explore the meaning of each statistic:
- Memory Pressure: Shows the current load on the Mac’s memory. Green means enough memory, yellow or red means more is needed.
- Memory Used: Displays the memory currently being used.
- Cached Files: Memory used to store files for quicker access. Normal, not a problem.
- Swap Used: Amount of virtual memory in use.
- Compressed: Memory compressed to save space. High values suggest low physical memory.
- Page Outs: Data moved from RAM to virtual memory. High page outs indicate insufficient physical memory.
Many people forget that clicking the red ‘X’ doesn’t close an app. Make sure to quit apps properly to free up memory.
2. Using a Third Party
Third-party apps make it easy to monitor and manage memory. MacKeeper offers an easy way to monitor and free up your Mac’s memory with a more user-friendly interface. Here is how:
- Download MacKeeper and install it on your Mac.
- Open Mackeeper and click Memory Cleaner in the left sidebar.
- Click Open to start the Memory Cleaner.
- You can see the occupied and available memory on your Mac. Tap the Clean Memory button to free up available memory.
- Once the memory cleaning cycle is complete, it will free up available memory and you’ll see how many GBs it cleaned in the last cleanup.
Freeing up RAM improves your Mac’s performance but also causes applications to reload data from scratch, which may take some time.
Tips to Reduce Memory Usage on Your Mac
To use less memory on your Mac, consider these tips:
- 🚪 Close Unused Apps: Regularly check and close unused apps to free up memory.
- 🛠️ Manage Startup Items: Cleaning up Login Items improves startup speed. You can do this in System Settings.
- 🌐 Optimize Browser Usage: Fewer tabs and extensions reduce memory strain.
- 🔄 Keep macOS Updated: Updates often improve memory efficiency.
- 💾 Upgrade Hardware: Adding more RAM improves performance, especially on older Macs.
Monitor the Memory Usage on Your Mac
Now that you know how to check and interpret memory usage statistics, here are some more tips for managing memory usage on your Mac:
- Declutter your Mac by removing the cache and deleting junk files regularly.
- Remove unwanted startup apps via System Settings > General > Login Items.
- Use MacKeeper to uninstall unused apps on your Mac without hassle.
