Excel So Slow and Laggy on Your Mac? Try These 10 Fixes

Many Mac users like you enjoy using Microsoft Excel for Mac. It’s a powerful tool that can make your work and daily routine more productive. However, some users recently reported that even simple actions in Excel can result in significant lag. For example, you may enter a value in a cell and move to the next one, but often you can’t type in the next cell for 5 to 10 seconds.

This lag happens on nearly every spreadsheet and can occur regardless of file size. So you may wonder why Excel is so slow on your Mac. Don’t worry—this post covers several proven methods to fix Excel slowdowns. Keep reading to find 12 quick fixes.

Why Is Excel So Slow on My Mac?

Before fixing the issue, you may want to understand what triggers the lag. It’s not necessarily the file size, because the problem can occur with files of any size. Here are some common reasons why Excel may be slow on your Mac:

• Your workbook contains numerous complex formulas, especially across multiple sheets, pivot tables, charts, or large datasets.
• Your Mac doesn’t have enough RAM.
• A recent Excel update may have enabled certain options that cause lag.
• An older processor can slow down Excel’s performance.
• A nearly full disk or an HDD (instead of an SSD) can make your Mac run slowly.
• You’re running an outdated version of Excel.
• Your macOS version is outdated, affecting system performance.
• Third-party add-ins or extensions may interfere with Excel.
• Background processes may be consuming system resources.
• High-resolution displays can make Excel lag.
• Accessing Excel files stored on a network drive can slow down performance.
• Weak network connections can cause delays when using cloud services like OneDrive or Dropbox.
• Spotlight indexing may temporarily affect Excel’s performance.

10 Fixes for Slow Excel on Mac

If you notice lag during normal actions like copying, pasting, or filtering, try the solutions below.

Restart Excel

Start by restarting Excel. Closing the app clears temporary files and refreshes its memory—especially useful if Excel has been running for an extended period. It’s a simple action that can make a big difference.

Split Large Workbooks

Large workbooks with many sheets, complex formulas, or huge datasets can strain Excel. Splitting the workbook into smaller files reduces processing load and helps prevent crashes or freezes. It can also improve performance when opening, saving, and recalculating.

1. Open the large workbook.
2. Right-click on sheet tabs and move or copy them to a new workbook.
3. Open the new workbook to ensure it works properly.

Optimize Formulas

Complex formulas with many functions or large ranges take longer to calculate and use more memory. Simplifying formulas, breaking them into smaller parts, or using more efficient functions can reduce processing load.

For example, instead of a nested formula like:

=IF(A1>10, IF(B1>20, "High", "Medium"), "Low")

Break it into smaller steps:

• C1 = IF(A1>10, "High", "Low")
• D1 = IF(B1>20, "High", "Medium")
• E1 = IF(C1="High", D1, C1)

Clear Excel Cache on Your Mac

Like any app, Excel (including the web version) can accumulate cache and temporary files over time. These consume system resources and slow performance. Clearing the browser cache also clears Excel’s web app cache.

If you're using Google Chrome:

1. Open Chrome and click the three vertical dots.
2. Select Settings > Privacy and Security.
3. Click “Clear browsing data”.
4. Select cached images, files, cookies, and site data.
5. Click to delete the data.

To remove more cached files and redundant data, use BuhoCleaner. Its Flash Clean mode scans and removes temporary files, caches, and junk files to free up disk space and improve performance.

1. Free install BuhoCleaner and launch it.
2. Select Flash Clean from the left sidebar.
   

   

3. Scan for temporary, cached, and redundant files.
4. Review and delete them.

Free Up RAM

If your Mac doesn't have enough RAM, large workbooks can overload the system. BuhoCleaner can also free up RAM, helping Excel access more memory.

1. Open BuhoCleaner.
2. Go to Toolkit > Free Up RAM.
   

   

3. Click Start.

Close Unnecessary Applications

Running multiple apps at once consumes memory and CPU resources, leaving fewer resources for Excel. Closing unnecessary apps improves performance and reduces lag.

1. Open Activity Monitor via Spotlight.
2. Identify apps with high CPU usage.
3. Click the “X” button to quit them.

Update Software

macOS and Excel frequently receive updates that include performance improvements and bug fixes. To update Google Chrome:

1. Open Chrome.
2. Click the three dots > Settings > About Chrome.
3. Install available updates.

To update macOS:

1. Open System Settings > General.
2. Go to Software Update.

Check Add-ons and Extensions

Add-ons and extensions can boost Excel’s features, but outdated or incompatible ones can slow it down. Removing unnecessary add-ons frees up processing power and memory.

Check & Disable Excel Preferences

Some users noticed lag after installing the latest Excel update. New options, such as “Automatic Data Conversion”, may have been enabled automatically.

Disabling such options can instantly resolve lag without restarting Excel.

Adjust Display Settings

High-resolution displays and advanced graphics settings consume system resources. Reducing your display resolution or disabling demanding visual options can significantly improve Excel’s speed.

1. Open the Apple menu > System Settings.
2. Under Displays, adjust settings like Resolution and Brightness.

Conclusion

In this post, you’ve learned 10 ways to fix slow Excel on your Mac. In most cases, restarting or updating Excel solves the issue. However, if the problem persists, try the additional methods above to eliminate lag and improve performance.