How to Speed up MacBook Pro: Easy & Quick Checklist

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Every time my MacBook Pro runs slowly, I typically found myself doing the same things over and over again, all to get the speed to a point that I am satisfied with.

So, I figured it would be a good idea to write a checklist on how to speed up a MacBook Pro, and that’s what I’m going to show you in this article —  a quick list that covers dozens of things you can do when it comes to improving your MacBook Pro’s performance.

There’s one thing I want to state before you embark on your journey: there is no single tactic that magically works.

For example, upgrading to SSD or adding extra RAM would help if you are using an old MacBook Pro; if you are using a shiny new MacBook with limited storage, you may find cleaning up the drive most useful.

If you can do everything on this list (very unlikely though :-)), that’s great. If you want to skip some, that’s okay too. After all, the goal is to speed up your Mac by making the most of your time and investment.

But in general, it’s close to impossible that you’ll be able to do all these things.

The Checklist to Speed up a MacBook Pro

Check off items as you go along. Not all of these may apply to your Mac.

Basic (require little time or money)

• Have you restarted your MacBook lately? Doing so on a regular basis helps clear system cache files and shuts down applications, which often results in better Mac performance.
• Slow Mac startup? Check out these simple fixes. Most likely you’ll need to manage Login Items, and remove some apps & services that automatically launch on startup.
• Have you cleaned up your hard drive? It’s the best yet easiest way to speed up your Mac with an almost full disk drive. You can save time by using a Mac cleaner app.
• Have you really quit unneeded applications or services? Hint: clicking the red “X” button sometimes does not quit an application — it just closes the window. Right click and select “Quit”.
• Is “System Data” taking too much disk space? macOS or Mac Operating System greyed out the section so you won’t be able to analyze further. However, you can use CleanMyMac (via the Space Lens feature) to figure out detailed info and consider deleting some of the unnecessary system files.
• Does your MacBook lag all of a sudden? Open “Activity Monitor” to figure out the culprit (resource-hungry application or process) — and kill it. Check out this Apple article for more.
• Have you closed unneeded tabs and windows on Safari, Chrome, or Firefox? This helps lighten your web browsers, thus making Internet surfing smooth.
• Have you disabled FileVault? Doing so usually resolves slow Mac boot issues. Note: we do not recommend disabling it if you think data encryption is more important than performance.
• Have you turned off visual effects? You may be impressed by the Magnification and Genie Effect, but the entertainment is a tradeoff for performance. Go to “Apple Menu” “System Preferences” -> “Dock” to change.
• Are you used to saving files and folders directly to the Desktop? If so, clear off the desktop clutters as it could result in your MacBook Pro running sluggishly.
• Have you uninstalled third-party applications you don’t really use? You can quickly identify and remove them with some uninstaller tools. Learn more.
• Have you emptied Trash on your MacBook Pro? It could help you free up much valuable disk space as well as ease your hard drive a little bit.
• Have you cleaned up web browser cookies, cache files, histories, and plugins? Over time these files may take up gigabytes (GBs) and slow down your Mac.
• Have you removed duplicate files on your Mac? These days it’s easy for us to save multiple copies of those precious media items (photos, movies, songs, etc). Getting rid of them may release a good amount of precious storage. You can use Gemini 2 to quickly locate and delete these duplicates.
• Have you removed unused widgets from Dashboard? Those widgets can take up quite a bit of system memory (RAM). Learn how to do this from this article.
• Have you disabled unneeded notifications? Constant notifications tax your system performance — plus, they are big distractions. This Apple support article shows how to turn them off.
• Have you removed unused system preferences panes? They can take up some valuable system resources, and make it harder for you to find those you often use.
• Have you changed the “New Finder windows” setting from “All My Files” to a specific folder? The new folder can be “Desktop” or “Documents”. This trick can speed up your Mac and the generation of a new Finder window. Learn how to do it here.
• Have you performed software updates for all Mac applications installed? An update tends to help you stay away from the application freezing issues.
• Have you tested your wireless network? Sometimes your Wi-Fi is the bottleneck rather than your MacBook. See common WiFi issues on MacBook and how to fix them.

Advanced (require some time, money, or technical skills)

• Is your MacBook Pro running the latest macOS version? Not only does a new version tends to be faster, but it’s also usually more secure and reliable.
• Have you waited till Spotlight finishes indexing? After a system upgrade, Spotlight indexing can take 24-48 hours. If you use your MacBook Pro during the time, it tends to be slow on everything.
• Do you regularly verify and repair disk permissions with Disk Utility? This ensures your Mac hard disk is error-free and runs dynamically. (Note: this option is only available on OS X Yosemite or earlier. There’s NO need to do so if your MacBook has updated to the latest version.)
• Have you fixed corrupted preferences files? A broken preference file can cause an application to run abnormally — e.g. unable to open, application crash/freezing.
• Have you reset SMC and/or NVRAM? This would help speed up your MacBook Pro’s overall performance, especially when there are hardware (battery, keyboard, etc.) issues that keep showing up.
• Have you tried to add extra memory (RAM)? This will help you run larger apps (e.g. video/photo editing) more smoothly, though it greatly depends on your Mac model.
• Are you using an old MacBook Pro, have you replaced your MacBook’s hard drive with a solid-state drive (SSD)? An SSD is much faster and more durable than a traditional HDD. You can learn more from our best SSD upgrade roundup.

Let us know if you find this list helpful, or if you have another awesome tip to add. Leave a comment below.

Eric currently uses a 15-inch MacBook Pro for both work and personal errands. He did all the research and testing to make sure all the fixes and optimization tips shared on the blog are relevant to Apple’s latest macOS updates as well as fact-checking.