Speed Up Safari: 12 Fixes That Actually Work

To speed up Safari, start by clearing your website data and disabling unnecessary extensions—these two steps resolve most slowdowns. If Safari still feels sluggish, check for low storage space, outdated macOS, or a misconfigured DNS setting. Below are the most effective fixes, ordered from simplest to most advanced, with exact steps for current versions of Safari on Mac and iPhone.

Formula

Average time per page = (total hours × 60) ÷ number of pages opened. This gives you the mean minutes spent on each page, which helps identify if you’re lingering on heavy sites or if Safari is stalling on load.

Worked Example

With defaults: (2 × 60) ÷ 50 = 120 ÷ 50 = 2.4 minutes per page. So if you spend 2 hours and open 50 pages, you average 2 minutes 24 seconds per page—useful for spotting abnormally long waits.

Why Safari Gets Slow

Safari slows down for a few common reasons: too many open tabs, accumulated cache and cookies, extensions that run on every page, or a nearly full hard drive. On iPhones, low storage and background app refresh also play a role. Unlike Chrome, Safari is tightly integrated with macOS and iOS, so system-level issues—like a pending OS update—can directly impact its performance.

Quick Fixes for Mac

1. Clear website data: Go to Safari → Settings → Privacy → Manage Website Data, then click Remove All. This wipes cached scripts and cookies that can bloat over time.
2. Disable extensions: Safari → Settings → Extensions, uncheck all. Re-enable one by one to find the culprit.
3. Close unused tabs: Each tab holds memory. Use Cmd+Shift+\ to see all tabs and close old ones.
4. Check storage: Apple menu → About This Mac → Storage. If the bar is red, free up space—Safari needs room for its cache.
5. Update macOS: System Settings → General → Software Update. Newer versions often include Safari performance patches.

Quick Fixes for iPhone/iPad

1. Clear history and website data: Settings → Safari → Clear History and Website Data. This is more thorough than just closing tabs.
2. Disable background app refresh: Settings → General → Background App Refresh, turn off for apps you don’t need—Safari doesn’t need it in the background.
3. Reduce motion and transparency: Settings → Accessibility → Motion → Reduce Motion, and Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Reduce Transparency. These make the UI lighter.
4. Restart the device: A simple reboot clears memory leaks.

Advanced Tweaks That Help

• Change DNS to a faster provider: Use a public DNS like Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8). On Mac: System Settings → Network → your connection → Details → DNS. On iPhone: Settings → Wi-Fi → tap the i icon → Configure DNS.
• Disable preloading top hit: Safari → Settings → Search → uncheck “Preload Top Hit.â€� This stops Safari from fetching pages before you click.
• Turn off automatic downloads: Safari → Settings → General → uncheck “Open safe files after downloading.â€� This prevents large files from loading automatically.
• Use a content blocker: Install a content blocker from the App Store to stop ads and trackers that slow page rendering.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Many users clear cache but forget to close background tabs on iPhone—they keep reloading. Others disable JavaScript entirely, which breaks most modern sites. Don’t do that. Also, avoid installing multiple “speed booster� apps; they often add more overhead than they save. And don’t confuse Safari’s private browsing mode with a performance boost—it still loads the same resources.

When to Reset Safari Completely

If nothing else works, you can reset Safari to its default state. On Mac, quit Safari, then in Finder press Cmd+Shift+G and go to ~/Library/Safari. Move the entire folder to the Desktop as a backup, then relaunch Safari—it will create a fresh folder. On iPhone, Settings → General → Transfer or Reset iPhone → Reset → Reset All Settings (this doesn’t delete data but resets Safari settings). This is a last resort because it logs you out of websites and removes saved passwords (though those are stored in iCloud Keychain, so they may return).

Frequently Asked Questions

Does clearing cache log me out of websites?

Yes, clearing website data removes cookies, so you’ll be logged out of most sites. You’ll need to sign in again, but passwords saved in iCloud Keychain will autofill.

Why is Safari slow on one website but fast on others?

That site likely has heavy scripts, autoplay videos, or ad trackers. Try a content blocker, or check if the site works better in a private window—if it does, the issue is cookies or extensions.

Does Safari use more RAM than Chrome?

It varies. Safari is generally more memory-efficient on Mac because it shares resources with the OS, but a single heavy tab can still consume gigabytes. Chrome uses more per tab but has better process isolation.

Will upgrading my Mac’s RAM speed up Safari?

If you’re constantly running out of memory (check Activity Monitor), more RAM helps. But if the slowdown is due to network or disk, RAM won’t fix it.

Is Safari slower than Chrome on Windows?

Safari is not available on Windows anymore, so this comparison is moot. On Mac, Safari is often faster for everyday browsing due to native optimization.

Does private browsing mode make Safari faster?

No, it doesn’t load pages faster. It just doesn’t save history or cookies. Performance is the same.

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in t | Time spent in Safari today | hours | 2 | 0
in p | Pages opened | count | 50 | 1
out avg | Average time per page | minutes | (t * 60) / p | 1