Microsoft Word Running Slow on Mac

Why is Microsoft Office slow on Mac

If Microsoft Word is running slow on your Mac, the issue could stem from the app itself. However, its performance can also suffer if your Mac’s resources are overburdened.

Other common causes include:

• Outdated Microsoft Word or macOS: Running old versions of Word or macOS can cause compatibility issues and performance lags.
• Large or corrupted templates: Word documents or default templates that are too big or broken can slow things down when you try to open or edit files.
• Bloated cache and temporary files: Over time, Word can accumulate cache data that can slow down performance.
• System memory pressure: If your Mac is running too many apps at once, it may not have enough available RAM to support Word efficiently.
• Poor document optimization: Heavily formatted or large file-size documents can take longer to respond, especially on older Macs.
• Too many Word add-ins or plugins: Extensions can conflict with the app and eat up system resources.
• Background apps using up memory: Applications running in the background may reduce the memory available for Word, causing it to lag or freeze.
• Low disk space: If your hard drive is nearly full, both Word and your system can suffer from performance delays.

Slowness isn’t the only issue Word users face, as lost work is another common frustration. In case you ever find yourself in this dreaded situation, we recommend checking out our guide on how to recover unsaved Word documents on Mac.

App-related vs. Mac system-related Issues

All reasons behind a slow Mac can be subdivided into two categories, and here’s our comparison of app vs system issues:

A note from our experts: 

 

If Microsoft Word is lagging too much, the most common reason is likely that your Mac is being overworked. We recommend utilizing MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner tool to free up your RAM and help your apps run more smoothly.

 

Here’s how to use MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner:

1. Download MacKeeper.
2. Go to the Memory Clean tool and press Open.
3. You can look through your Apps & Processes, then click on Clean Memory.

How to speed up Word on Mac

You can speed up Word on Mac with just a few quick adjustments—we’ll walk you through the most effective ways to fix lags and improve performance:

1. Install latest updates of Microsoft Word.
2. Update your macOS.
3. Delete temporary files.
4. Update transitions templates.
5. Optimize Mac performance.
6. Delete and reinstall Microsoft Office.
7. Reset Word to default settings.
8. Optimize documents to reduce load time.

Our top tip: 

 

Before you start adjusting app settings or updating your device software, there’s one quick fix worth trying first. We recommend you stop Microsoft AutoUpdates on your Mac to halt all unnecessary processes, hopefully improving performance speed.

1. Install latest updates of Microsoft Word

Updating Word can fix bugs and improve speed, especially if it’s been a while since your last update. It’s a quick way to enhance its performance without needing to change any settings:

Here’s how to check and install Microsoft Word updates:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. In the menu bar, click on Help > Check for Updates.
3. If an update is available, follow the on-screen installation instructions.

2. Update your macOS

After you've installed any pending Microsoft Word updates, we now recommend checking for macOS Software Updates. If your system is outdated, Word might struggle.

Here’s how to check for macOS updates:

1. Click on the Apple icon and choose System Settings.
2. Go to General > Software Update.
3. If an update is available, click Update Now.

3. Delete temporary files

Another common reason for Microsoft Word running slowly on Mac is down to the accumulation of temporary or cache files. Our advice is to clear them out to save space and help Word run more efficiently.

Here’s how to delete the cache manually in Finder:

1. Open Finder and click Go > Go to Folder in the menu bar.
2. Type in the following path: ~/Library/Caches.
3. Look for any folders titled Microsoft or Office and delete all unnecessary files.
4. Then right-click the Bin icon and press Empty Bin.

4. Update transitions templates

Are you still having no luck with Microsoft Word? The culprit could be outdated templates (like Normal.dotm). This can then cause lagging when you’re trying to work; that’s why we recommend you update them to see if it improves startup speed.

Here’s how to update or remove transition templates in Word:

1. Open Finder and click on Go > Go to Folder.
2. Enter the path: ~/Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office/User Templates/
3. Look for the file named Normal. dotm and press Move to Bin.
4. When you next reopen Word, your templates should be refreshed and up-to-date.

5. Optimize Mac performance

Sometimes slowness is not the app’s fault, but in fact, it’s your system that could need a tune-up. Here are our best pieces of advice to help your MacBook's performance go from sluggish to snappy:

• Quit apps you're not using by right-clicking on their icons in the Dock and pressing Quit.
• Open Activity Monitor from the Utilities folder, and look for demanding processes.
• Use MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner to quickly free up RAM and boost performance.

6. Delete and reinstall Microsoft Office

In our experience, if none of your efforts have improved the speed of Word, then we now suggest you delete and reinstall Office.

We’ll show you how to delete and reinstall Office below:

1. Open Finder and go to Applications.
2. Drag all Office-related apps (including Word, Excel, and Outlook) to your Bin.
3. Right-click on your Bin and press Empty Bin.
4. Open office.com to sign in and redownload your apps.
5. Once downloaded, install and reopen Word to sign back in.

Hopefully, this will fix any slowness and help if Word keeps crashing on Mac, as a fresh installation should remove any glitches causing repeated crashes or freezes.

An extra recommendation from us: 

 

No longer have an active subscription or access to the desktop version of Word? The good news is you can get Microsoft Word on Mac for free, so long as you're happy to work online. We’ve put together a step-by-step guide to show you how to get started.

7. Reset Word to default settings

Not sure if you need to delete and reinstall Office just to fix Word? Alternatively, you could try resetting the app back to its default settings to see if that helps, but this method is risky as you might accidentally remove important files, so proceed with caution.

Here’s how we’d reset Word:

1. In Finder, open Go to Folder and enter: ~/Library.
2. Look for Microsoft Word files that end in .plist or Normal. dotm.
3. Right-click Word files and select Move to Bin.

8. Optimize documents to reduce load time

If you've already tried updating macOS, reinstalling Word, or optimizing your Mac’s performance, but Word is still lagging on Mac, the problem might be the documents themselves. When files are packed with images or complex formatting, Word can struggle to keep up. To make processing faster, our advice is to compress images or simplify document layouts.

Fixing Microsoft Word slowness with MacKeeper’s help

We understand all too well how nothing disrupts your workflow more than apps lagging when you need them most, whether for urgent tasks or assignments. The good news is that most slowdowns are fixable with simple steps like decluttering the cache or updating software.

For an extra hand, you can rely on MacKeeper’s Memory Cleaner to help keep your RAM optimized in real-time. That way, you’ll be able to stay productive and not get distracted by slowdowns or constant interruptions when frequently using apps like Microsoft Word.