How to Fix Slow Mac Performance with 10 Easy Ways

Sue Wayne

Mar 26, 2025 • Filed to: Solve Mac Problems • Proven solutions

Everything gets lethargic over time. Macs are generally considered to be faster than Windows PCs but as the usage gets incessant and the time passes by, symptoms start to show up. Symptoms such as taking to boosting, mouse cursor becoming unresponsive, or freezing while opening an application. One might probably be in a shock after discovering that the ever-effective Mac slows down and that it has encountered a performance issue. These issues might occur because of multitasking with many heavy applications, firmware or permission issues, or an outdated hard drive or lack of RAM.

What is the possible solution to this predicament? Is it replacing the old Mac with a new one? Is it opting for the programs to optimize your Mac and make it run faster? The answer is an absolute no, especially when there are more than two ways to fix a slow Mac performance. Many solutions are attributed to the purpose that there are many potential causes that you can check. Irrespective of the Mac model, to fix a slow Mac performance, below are the 10 quick ways to help identify and give the answer to fixing the slow Mac performance.

Method 1. Use Activity Monitor to close the resource-hungry apps

One of the reasons attributed to a slow Mac performance is that the apps in the background or running consume a lot of power and hence, efficiently hinder the performance of other apps. One can find out which apps are power-hungry by looking up in the Activity Monitor that shows all the processes on your Mac. To find such resource-hungry apps and put an end to those apps, here is the procedure to follow.

1. Open the Activity Monitor in the Utility folder.
2. Click on View and Windowed Processes.
3. To sort by CPU usage, click on the CPU option.
4. In the "%CPU" column list, all the programs by the amount of CPU they are using will be displayed.
5. Select the app consuming a lot of power by clicking on it. Click the X button on the toolbar to force-quit the process.

Method 2. Close the Startup Apps

Every time during the login or during the boost up of the Mac, there will be a lot of unnecessary apps running in the background hindering the desired speed. To stop the occurrence of such startup apps and speed up the Mac performance, follow the given below instructions:

1. Click on the Apple Menu icon.
2. Go to System Preferences > Users & Groups.
3. Select the current user account and click on Login Items.
4. Uncheck any applications which are not needed or you don't want to start when you log in.
5. Click the "–" button below.

Method 3. Reduce Transparency

Transparency and animations show neat effects on Mac. However, as there are a lot of transparency effects in macOS, the Mac might slow down due to the heavy load or distraction from the main task. The system has a chance to reach the desired speed if the transparency is reduced and here is how to do it.

1. Open the System Preferences window.
2. Click the "Accessibility" icon.
3. Check the "Reduce transparency" option.

Method 4. Back up Data

A proper backup system will keep all the digital files safe and secure. Therefore, a backup system is mandatory to protect the valuable data residing on the system. In Mac, setting up the backup procedure is simple and is a one-time process.

1. Connect an external hard drive that's two to four times the size of the drive you're backing up to your Mac.
2. Go to System Preferences > Time Machine.
3. Toggle the switch from "Off" to "On."
4. Click on "Select Disk" to select the volume or drive preferable.
5. Enter a password to encrypt the backup files.

Method 5. Clear up the Disk Space

One of the most common reasons for a Mac to slow down is the bottleneck usage of disk space. In such cases, cleaning the required amount of disk space will ensure the improved performance of the previous slowly running Mac.

1. Click the Apple menu.
2. Select "About This Mac."
3. Next click on the Storage tab,
4. Click on the Manage button
5. A tab with the option - Store in iCloud, Optimize Storage, Empty Trash Automatically, and Reduce Clutter will appear. Click on the files to see more options about these file types and choose accordingly.

Method 6. Check the Hardware

Caches, logs, apps, widgets, language packs, plugins, hidden trash, and large files will become the reason for slow Mac performance most of the time. To increase the speed of the Mac, the cleaning of the hard drive is the most preferred option.

The task of cleaning the old files, organizing the desktop, and finding the files you no longer need is quite a task. If you are patient enough then hardware can be cleaned by cleaning out the download folder, deleting not needed apps, checking for duplicate iPhoto libraries, and deleting them. However, it is not as easy as it sounds. Therefore, using a Mac cleanup tool like CleanMyMac 3 will fasten the tedious task. It is safe and knows what to delete, where to delete, and helps speed up the Mac.

Method 7. Update Mac

An old version of the software will also slow down the Mac. Hence, it is safe to perform a software update for Mac OS X and all the apps installed on Mac.

1. Click the Apple icon in the menu bar.
2. Choose Software Update. After the update, you should also make sure that the Mac keeps itself up to date.
3. Click on System Preferences > App Store
4. Check the "Automatically Check for Updates" and "Install App Updates".

Method 8. Reset SMC

Any sort of problem is bound to get solved when your Mac is set to reset. The problem is that many of the users would fail to think of this resort. Resetting the System Management Controller will get the system running perfectly.

1. Plug in the power source to the laptop.
2. Press and hold: Control + Shift + Option + Power at a time.
3. Release the keys and turn on the power button to reset your SMC.

Method 9. Reinstall Mac

Reinstalling the Mac is the last resort that can be tried within the power of the Mac user. By reinstalling the Mac, there is a fair chance that the old Mac is back and running like ever before. Here is what to do.

1. Select your startup drive on the left
2. Switch to the Erase tab
3. Choose Mac OS Extended from the Format drop-down menu
4. Select Erase
5. Quit out of the Disk Utility app
6. Choose Reinstall OS X

Method 10. Find Apple Store for help

Before deciding what to do with your old Mac and being adamant in buying a new one, never forget to get help from a nearby Apple store. This method is the ultimate answer to have the slow performance of the Mac fixed by all means.

One of the above methods is bound to get your Mac back to you just as it was in all its previous glory. The main part is that it does not just run fast but run without the viruses, spam, crashes, and constant need for support, reboots, and upgrades. There is always a way and all you need to do is find which of the above will best suit you.