How to check apps high memory usage on Windows 11, 10

Here are two easy ways to determine the apps using the most memory on Windows 11 (and 10).

Task Manager app memory usage
Task Manager app memory usage
  • To check the app memory usage on Windows 11, open Task Manager > Processes, and click the “Memory” header to sort and determine the apps using the most RAM.
  • Alternatively, open Resource Monitor > Memory and click the “Commit (KB)” header to check the apps using the most memory.

On Windows 11 (or 10), you have multiple ways to determine which app uses the most Random Access Memory (RAM), and in this guide, you will learn how.

It doesn’t matter the version of Windows or the hardware configuration. At one point or another, the system will slow down, causing the experience to feel sluggish and apps to become unresponsive. When this happens, the problem could be that device has maxed out the available memory due to an application taking most of the resources.

Although when the system runs out of memory, it’s a sign that you may need to upgrade the memory, sometimes, terminating the application or restarting the computer can resolve the issue.

If you have to find the memory usage for your applications on Windows 11 (or 10), you can perform this task with the Task Manager and Resource Monitor.

This guide will teach you the steps to figure out the apps using the most memory on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

Check app memory usage on Windows 11

On Windows 11, you can use the Task Manager or Resource Monitor to check the system memory usage. Here’s how.

Task Manager method

To check the amount of memory an app is using on Windows 11, use these steps:

  1. Open Start on Windows 11.

  2. Search for Task Manager and click the top result to open the app.

  3. Click on Processes.

  4. Click the Memory column header to sort the apps by memory usage.

    Task Manager memory usage

  5. Confirm the top apps using the most memory on Windows 11.

  6. (Optional) Select the app using the most RAM and click the End task button to terminate.

Once you complete the steps, you will know the apps using the most memory on Windows 11.

Resource Monitor method

To check how apps are using the system memory with Resource Monitor, use these steps:

  1. Open Control Panel.

  2. Click on System and Security.

  3. Click on Windows Tools.

    Windows Tools

  4. Open Resource Monitor.

    Resource Monitor

  5. Click the Memory tab 

  6. Click the Commit (KB) column header to sort the apps by memory usage.

    Resource Monitor app memory usage

  7. Confirm the top apps using the most memory on Windows 11.

    Quick note: The information available through the Resource Monitor is in Kilobytes.
  8. (Optional) Right-click the app using the most memory and select the End task button to terminate.

After you complete the steps, the tool will show you the memory usage for each application.

While Task Manager can display a friendly name of each application, Resource Monitor shows the process’s name. Although the names are self-explanatory, you can also right-click an item and select the “Search Online” option to figure out the name of the application on the web.

Check app memory usage on Windows 10

If you use Windows 10, you will be using the same tools, but the steps will be slightly different. Here’s how.

Task Manager method

To use Task Manager to determine apps memory usage on Windows 10, use these steps:

  1. Open Start on Windows 10.

  2. Search for Task Manager and click the top result to open the app.

  3. Click the “More details” button (if applicable).

  4. Click on Processes.

  5. Click the Memory column header to sort the apps by memory usage.

    Windows 10 Task Manager app memory usage

  6. Confirm the top apps using the most memory on Windows 10.

  7. (Optional) Select the app using the most RAM and click the End task button to terminate.

Once you complete the steps, you will be able to identify the apps using the most memory on the computer.

Resource Monitor method

To use Resource Monitor to check the apps utilizing the most RAM, use these steps:

  1. Open Control Panel.

  2. Click on System and Security.

  3. Click on Administrative Tools.

    Administrative Tools

  4. Open Resource Monitor.

    Windows 10 Resource Monitor

  5. Click the Memory tab 

  6. Click the Commit (KB) column header to sort the apps by memory usage.

    Resource Monitor check app memory usage

  7. Confirm the top apps using the most memory on Windows 10.

  8. (Optional) Right-click the app using the most memory and select the End task button to terminate.

After you complete the steps, the Resource Monitor will display how the processes are using the system memory.

About the author

Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 15 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 21 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].