If you use Google Chrome on your Mac, you may want to rethink that choice. A developer has found out how bad the browser is on memory usage under OS X Mavericks, consuming over 400 MB RAM, even with just one single open tab.

Google’s Chrome web browser has long been known to be fairly resource intensive when it comes to memory consumption.

However, in 2013, Apple launched OS X Mavericks, an update that brought along with it a rewritten version of Safari for Mac machines, which promised better JavaScript performance and energy efficiency by using far less memory than its predecessor.

In fact, the beta versions used to use around 40% less compared to Mountain Lion.

Granted, the newer versions of macOS, such as Big Sur, may not have those same issues; it’s still something a lot of us Mac users are having trouble with.

While RAM consideration may not be atop your list, Chrome may give you a hard time launching in the first place, and in this post, we’re going to tackle just that.

Chrome Won’t Open on Mac [Fixed]

Go to the top left-hand corner of your screen and click on the Apple Icon. This is your Force Quit utility. Select Force Quit Applications, then select Google Chrome. You can also press the Option, Command, and Esc keys together for this step. Next, you will want to try reopening Chrome by double-clicking its icon in your app drawer or in Launchpad.

If Chrome still doesn’t open or starts acting funny, try the more in-depth solutions below:

1- Restart Your Mac

Sometimes a simple computer restart can help solve many issues with Google Chrome on Mac. After restarting, click the Chrome app to see if it launches normally. If you still have no luck, continue with the next step:

2- Reset Your User Preferences:

Reset all user preferences and delete any preference files that might be causing problems for Chrome by doing the following: Open Finder→Library→Preferences folder each preference file window search for “Google Chrome”, delete any you find. If you are using the built-in Mac OS X “Parental Controls” to restrict access to certain features of Google Chrome, reset your preferences in the following way:

1. Open Finder→Go, then hold down Shift+Option and click Library.
2. A new window will appear showing hidden files inside of your Library.
3. Locate the file called “GoogleChrome” (or similar) in ~/Library/Application
4. Delete this file

3- Make Sure Chrome isn’t Running in the Background

One solution is to try and force quit Google Chrome when it’s already open in the background. If you’re not sure if it’s running, go to your dock and check if there is an icon for Google Chrome there. If there isn’t one, then it should be safe to force quit.

Press command+option+esc on your keyboard at the same time to open up the force quit window.

Once this is open, find Google Chrome in your list of running applications and click on it. Click on “Force Quit” button to close it.

4- Launch Google Chrome from Terminal on Mac

Launching Google Chrome from Terminal is pretty easy:

1. Go to Finder→Applications→Utilities→Terminal
2. At the prompt type: open -a “Google Chrome”
3. Press Enter

5- Reinstall Google Chrome on Your Mac

1. First, you should make sure to delete Google Chrome from your computer by dragging and dropping the application into your Trash bin.
2. Once that’s done, download Google Chrome’s installer from the official Google website, then double-click on the installer file.
3. When asked which type of installation you want, choose “Custom”.
4. Uncheck all options except for “Bookmarks”, Leave that box checked
5. Select your installation path.
6. Press “Install”.
7. When finished, press “Exit”.

6- Delete any Suspicious Software

We’ve all done it before; seeing that useful cleaner program that promises to make your computer run 50% faster may be too tempting for most of us to resist, but many programs can actually compromise your system, which is why you should delete suspicious programs from your Mac operating system.

Even then, adware, trojan horses, or other types of “viruses”, can actually make Google Chrome not work properly on your Mac computer, or not start in the first place, and deleting these may not be as straightforward; you’d need a reliable antivirus software.

When buying Antivirus software, you should consider a few things, such as how it will protect your device against viruses and ransomware, as well as ease of use, and of course, pricing.

In my opinion, these are important considerations that anyone looking to buy antivirus software should think about before purchasing.

Before we get into specifics around which programs I recommend, let’s review why you need antivirus software in the first place.

Why You Need an Antivirus Software for Your Mac

Computer viruses and other types of malware (short for “malicious software”) don’t discriminate; they can infect computers running both Microsoft Windows and macOS.

Even if you’re the most careful computer user in the world, there’s no 100 percent guarantee that all types of viruses will be able to be avoided.

Antivirus software is designed to act as a first line of defense against these types of attacks. Using tools like heuristics, antivirus apps, monitor your system looking for suspicious activity which could indicate infection or data leaks.

When identified, they can quarantine or remove anything deemed an issue with little to no impact on your user experience.

In fact, many antivirus utilities won’t even show up in your list of active programs when they run and go about their business silently in the background; well, sort of, you’ll still hear the fans ramping up if you have a lot of data on your computer.

It may seem strange or worrisome at first, but this is actually a good thing, as any true problems will be flagged and can then be dealt with accordingly.

Which Antivirus Software You Should Get for Your Mac

Kaspersky is what I use, it has some of the most powerful malware protection on the market, along with additional features like password managers and system tune-up utilities that will make it worth your money.

You’ll get sophisticated protection against all types of malware, ransomware, spyware, and adware, browser hijackers, and more.

Plus, there are useful extras like website filters to block p*** sites or shopping scams.

It’s got great user support too, with help forums you can tap into whenever you need them.

You can get it for around $40 per year, and there’s also a free trial to try before you buy.

It’s easy to use and even has some features that Apple doesn’t offer in its own Security app!

Alternatives to Using Google Chrome on Mac

Though Chrome is often praised for its features and speed, but it does have a few problems from time to time. Sometimes the browser will perform slowly or even give the dreaded spinning wheel of doom, which means that it is working hard but not actually going anywhere.

I’ve experienced this problem many times while browsing the web on my MacBook Pro. While I love Firefox and Safari, both of them can be slow at times too, almost as if they need a little nudge to get going.

To be fair to Chrome, Google engineers are always updating the browser, and it does get faster all the time.

However, you might want to try something else that works well on Macs while still delivering some of the features of Chrome. Let’s take a look at some alternative options, shall we?

Opera Browser for Mac

Opera is an ideal option if you are looking for something fast but don’t need all of the power-user features that Firefox offers.

It doesn’t have tons of additional add-ons or extensions, but it has all the basic necessities built right in.

The best part about Opera is its speed, which can be attributed to its proprietary Turbo technology.

What this means is that when your computer isn’t as powerful as you’d like, Opera can compensate for it and make browsing a little smoother.

Safari Browser for Mac

As I’ve mentioned before, Safari is the default Mac browser, so you already know that it’s going to be easily accessible and easy to use.

Another huge advantage of using Safari is that it doesn’t hog your system resources like Chrome does sometimes.

If you’re not into installing any new browsers or making any changes whatsoever, then Safari will work just fine for your needs.

Just keep in mind that if something goes wrong with Safari (commonly known as “Safari Crashes” ), there isn’t much else to fall back on other than reinstalling OS X.

Firefox Browser for Mac

Firefox has been around since the internet was new and has been steadily introducing new features to stay on top of its competitors.

For me, Firefox is the best alternative to Chrome because it’s fast, offers up a lot of customization options, and doesn’t make you wait a long time for a website to load. It does have some nice extensions available, but not as many as Chrome.

Still, if you want lots of browser options minus all the extra bloatware that comes with Chrome or Opera, then Mozilla Firefox might be your best bet.

So, there you go! Those are just some alternatives to Google Chrome for Mac users out there. Don’t let slow browsing ruin your day — try one of these browsers instead, that is, if none of the above fixes worked for you.

Do you have another option that I didn’t mention here? Let me know in the comments below.