How to Fix the Out of Memory Error in Google Chrome

You’re mid-session — several tabs open, maybe a Google Doc in one, a YouTube video paused in another — and suddenly Chrome crashes with that dreaded message: “Aw, Snap! Error Code: Out of Memory.” It’s one of the most common and frustrating Chrome errors, and it doesn’t mean your computer is broken. It means Chrome has run out of RAM to handle what you’re throwing at it. The good news: there are real, actionable fixes, and most of them take less than two minutes to apply.

This guide walks you through every effective method to fix the out of memory error in Google Chrome, from quick wins you can try right now to deeper configuration changes that prevent the problem from returning.

What Causes the Out of Memory Error in Google Chrome?

Chrome is notorious for its RAM appetite. Unlike some browsers that share a single process, Chrome runs each tab, extension, and plugin in its own isolated process. This is great for stability — a crashing tab doesn’t take down the whole browser — but it means memory usage multiplies fast.

The out of memory error typically appears when one or more of the following conditions are true:

• Too many tabs open at once, each holding its own memory allocation
• Extensions running in the background, consuming RAM even on tabs you’re not actively using
• A bloated or corrupted browser cache filling up memory headroom
• Memory leaks on specific web pages — poorly optimized JavaScript that never releases memory it has claimed
• Running the 32-bit version of Chrome, which is hard-capped at a lower memory ceiling than the 64-bit version
• Insufficient system RAM overall, especially if other apps are competing for the same resources

Understanding the root cause helps you prioritize fixes. If the error appears only on one specific website, a memory leak on that page is likely to blame. If it happens constantly across sessions, the problem is probably systemic — too many extensions, an outdated Chrome build, or not enough RAM for your workload.

Fix 1: Close Unnecessary Tabs and Restart Chrome

This sounds obvious, but it’s the fastest fix and often overlooked. Every open tab in Chrome holds a memory allocation — even tabs you haven’t visited in hours. Close anything you don’t actively need, then do a full Chrome restart (not just closing the window, but quitting the application entirely and reopening it).

1. Close all non-essential tabs — right-click any tab and select “Close other tabs” if you want to nuke everything except your current one.
2. Quit Chrome fully — on Windows, use Alt + F4 or right-click the taskbar icon and select “Close window.” On macOS, press Cmd + Q.
3. Relaunch Chrome and only open the tabs you actually need for your current task.

If the error returns immediately after opening just one or two tabs, the issue is more specific — continue with the fixes below.

Fix 2: Enable Chrome’s Memory Saver Mode

Chrome’s built-in Memory Saver is arguably the most useful tool for chronic out-of-memory problems, and it’s underused because many people don’t know it exists. Google’s Chrome performance settings document this feature in detail, but here’s how to enable it right now:

1. Click the three-dot menu (⋮) in the top-right corner of Chrome.
2. Go to Settings.
3. In the left sidebar, click Performance.
4. Toggle Memory Saver to the on position.
5. Choose your preferred level: Moderate, Balanced (recommended), or Maximum.

When Memory Saver is active, Chrome deactivates tabs you aren’t currently using to free up memory for active tabs and other apps. When you access an inactive tab, it automatically reloads. The tab title and favicon stay visible — the page just isn’t consuming RAM in the background.

If you have specific sites that must stay active (a web app, a live dashboard, a music player), you can whitelist them. Under the Memory Saver toggle, click Add and enter the domain. You can use wildcards like *.openai.com to cover an entire range of subdomains at once.

Fix 3: Clear Chrome’s Cache and Cookies

A bloated cache doesn’t just slow down page loads — it can contribute to memory pressure by forcing Chrome to manage large volumes of cached data alongside active tab memory. Clearing it regularly is good maintenance, and it’s one of the first things to try when memory errors become frequent. Understanding browser cache and website performance can help you think about this more strategically.

1. In Chrome, press Ctrl + Shift + Delete (Windows/Linux) or Cmd + Shift + Delete (macOS).
2. In the time range dropdown, select All time.
3. Check Cached images and files and Cookies and other site data.
4. Click Clear data.
5. Restart Chrome after the process completes.

Note that clearing cookies will log you out of most websites. If you’d rather preserve your sessions, just clear cached images and files on their own — this still frees up a meaningful amount of disk and memory overhead.

Fix 4: Disable or Remove Unused Extensions

Extensions are one of the most common hidden causes of Chrome memory errors. Each extension runs its own process and consumes RAM — and many extensions continue to run even on pages where they serve no purpose. If you’ve accumulated a dozen extensions over the years, the memory hit adds up fast.

1. Navigate to chrome://extensions/ in the address bar.
2. Review every installed extension and toggle off anything you don’t actively use.
3. For extensions you never use anymore, click Remove to uninstall them entirely.
4. Restart Chrome and check if the memory error returns.

A useful diagnostic here: open Chrome in Incognito mode (Ctrl + Shift + N / Cmd + Shift + N). Incognito disables all extensions by default. If the out of memory error disappears in incognito, an extension is almost certainly the cause. Re-enable them one at a time in normal mode to find the offender.

Fix 5: Update Google Chrome to the Latest Version

Outdated Chrome builds can carry known memory management bugs that have already been patched in newer versions. Google releases Chrome updates frequently, and memory handling improvements are a regular part of those updates.

1. Click the three-dot menu → Help → About Google Chrome.
2. Chrome will automatically check for updates and install any available version.
3. Click Relaunch to apply the update.

While you’re on the About page, also verify you’re running the 64-bit version of Chrome. The version string will show something like Version 124.0.6367.82 (Official Build) (64-bit). If it says 32-bit, the fix is to download and install the 64-bit version directly from the official Chrome download page. The 32-bit version has a hard memory ceiling that the 64-bit build does not.

Fix 6: Disable Hardware Acceleration

Hardware acceleration offloads rendering tasks to your GPU, which can boost performance — but it can also conflict with certain GPU drivers and cause Chrome to mismanage memory. If you’re seeing the out of memory error alongside visual glitches or tab crashes, disabling hardware acceleration is worth trying.

1. Go to Settings → System (scroll to the bottom of the main settings page).
2. Toggle off Use hardware acceleration when available.
3. Click Relaunch to apply the change.

This is particularly relevant on machines with older or integrated graphics. If disabling it resolves the error, consider updating your GPU drivers before re-enabling — outdated drivers are a common cause of this specific conflict.

Fix 7: Reset Chrome Flags to Default

Chrome’s experimental flags (chrome://flags) let you enable features before they’re officially released. If you’ve been experimenting with flags — or if some were enabled automatically during a browser update — some of these can interfere with memory management.

1. Type chrome://flags in the address bar and press Enter.
2. Click the Reset all button at the top right of the page.
3. Restart Chrome when prompted.

This resets every flag to its default state, which is safe to do. If a flag you intentionally enabled was useful, you can re-enable it manually afterwards.

Fix 8: Create a New Chrome Profile

A corrupted Chrome profile can cause persistent memory errors that survive cache clears, extension removals, and updates. If nothing else works, creating a fresh profile often resolves it. Your bookmarks and passwords are synced to your Google account, so you won’t lose that data.

1. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner of Chrome.
2. Select Add at the bottom of the profile panel.
3. Set up the new profile — you can sign into your Google account to sync your data.
4. Test whether the out of memory error appears in this fresh profile.

If the error is gone with the new profile, your old profile data had become corrupted. You can continue using the new profile and gradually re-add any extensions you need.

Fix 9: Increase Virtual Memory (Windows)

If your machine is genuinely low on RAM — typically 4GB or less — Chrome will hit system-level memory limits regardless of in-browser optimizations. On Windows, increasing the virtual memory (paging file) size gives the OS more room to manage memory-hungry applications, including Chrome.

1. Press Win + R, type sysdm.cpl, and press Enter to open System Properties.
2. Go to the Advanced tab → click Settings under Performance.
3. Click the Advanced tab → click Change under Virtual memory.
4. Uncheck Automatically manage paging file size.
5. Select your system drive (usually C:), choose Custom size, and set the Initial size to 1.5× your RAM and the Maximum size to 3× your RAM (e.g., for 8GB RAM: Initial 12288 MB, Maximum 24576 MB).
6. Click Set → OK → restart your computer.

This is a workaround for low-RAM systems, not a long-term fix. If your machine has 4GB or less of physical RAM and you use Chrome heavily, upgrading your RAM is the most effective permanent solution.

Fix 10: Run Chrome’s Built-In Cleanup Tool

On Windows, Chrome ships with a built-in cleanup tool that scans for software interfering with the browser — including adware or browser hijackers that can cause memory leaks and unexpected crashes.

1. Navigate to chrome://settings/cleanUpComputer in the address bar.
2. Click Find to start the scan.
3. If Chrome detects any harmful software, follow the prompts to remove it.
4. Restart Chrome after the cleanup completes.

This tool only runs on Windows. macOS and Linux users can run a full system malware scan using their platform’s respective tools.

Why Chrome Uses So Much Memory — And What Google Is Doing About It

Chrome’s process-per-tab architecture is a deliberate design choice that prioritizes stability and security over memory efficiency. Each tab being isolated means a malicious or buggy page can’t directly access the memory of other tabs. The tradeoff is higher RAM usage.

Google has been actively working to address this. Chrome’s Memory Saver mode proactively discards tabs that have been unused in the background for some time, freeing up memory for active tabs and other applications. The Chrome developer blog on Memory Saver explains the technical implementation in detail, including how tab discards behave differently from browser crashes — discarded tabs retain their title and favicon and reload cleanly when you return to them.

Understanding memory management is also useful if you run other resource-intensive local processes alongside Chrome. If you’re running local AI workloads or services alongside heavy browser sessions, you may want to look at how to manage memory limits and leaks at the system level for a more complete picture of what’s consuming your RAM.

When the Error Is Caused by a Specific Website

If the out of memory error only appears on one or two specific URLs, the problem is almost certainly a memory leak on those pages rather than a Chrome configuration issue. Some websites — particularly those built with unoptimized JavaScript frameworks or heavy real-time data — continuously allocate memory without releasing it.

Your options in this case are:

• Report the issue to the website’s developers — a memory leak on their end is their bug to fix.
• Use the site in a separate Chrome window rather than mixed with other tabs, so a crash affects only that window.
• Try the page in a different browser — Firefox and Edge have different memory management approaches and may handle the leak more gracefully.
• Use Chrome’s task manager to watch the memory footprint grow in real time, and close the tab before it crashes Chrome entirely.

The pattern of debugging memory leaks in long-running processes follows similar logic — identify what’s growing, isolate the source, and either fix it or contain it.

Summary: Which Fix to Try First

Final Thoughts

The out of memory error in Google Chrome is annoying but almost always fixable. Start with the quickest wins — close excess tabs, enable Memory Saver, clear your cache, and audit your extensions. These four steps alone resolve the issue for the majority of users. If the error persists, work through the deeper fixes: checking your Chrome build version, resetting flags, creating a fresh profile, or adjusting virtual memory on low-RAM systems.

Chrome’s memory management has improved significantly in recent years, and keeping the browser updated ensures you’re benefiting from Google’s ongoing optimizations. If you’ve found a fix that worked for you or encountered a scenario not covered here, the comments are open — Chrome’s memory behavior can vary meaningfully across hardware and OS configurations, and real-world experience helps fill in the gaps.