RAM requirements of 50 pro apps

Every figure below is copied from the vendor's own system requirements page, with the line it came from and the date we read it. Where a vendor states no figure, the cell says so. Nothing is estimated.

Read on 2026-10-20. 26 of 50 rows state both a minimum and a recommended figure. Vendors change these pages; check the source link before you buy.

Download CSV Download JSON Open the calculator

Free to use and share under CC BY 4.0. Credit "SizeMyLaptop, sizemylaptop.com/ram-requirements/".

The figures, group by group

Open "Quoted text" under a row to read the exact line and the page it came from.

Minimum is what the vendor says the app needs to run. Recommended is what the vendor says it should have for normal work. Some vendors list only one of the two; some list a separate higher figure for 4K and larger media, shown under the recommended figure.

Developer tools (1 of 3)

Vendor minimumVendor recommendation Gridlines are the RAM sizes Macs come in.

RAM requirements, Developer tools (1 of 3), from vendor pages
App	Platform	Minimum	Recommended	Source
MATLABMathWorks, Analytics	Windows	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text RAM Minimum: 8 GB Recommended: 16 GB Read 2026-10-20 from www.mathworks.com
Power BI DesktopMicrosoft, Analytics	Windows	2 GB	4 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Memory (RAM): At least 2 GB available, 4 GB or more recommended. Read 2026-10-20 from learn.microsoft.com
SQL Server 2022Microsoft, Database Express editions: 512 MB minimum, 1 GB recommended; the figures here are for all other editions.	Windows	1 GB	4 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Minimum memory - Express editions: 512 MB- All other editions: 1 GB Recommended memory - Express editions: 1 GB- All other editions: At least 4 GB Read 2026-10-20 from learn.microsoft.com
Android StudioGoogle, Developer Minimum is 8 GB for Studio alone and 16 GB for Studio plus the emulator.	macOS	8 GB	32 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Requirement Minimum Recommended OS macOS 12 Latest 64-bit version of macOS RAM Studio: 8 GBStudio & Emulator: 16GB 32 GB Read 2026-10-20 from developer.android.com
CLionJetBrains, Developer JetBrains lists one figure under System requirements: 8 GB total, 3 GB of it for the IDE.	macOS, Windows, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes Read 2026-10-20 from www.jetbrains.com
DataGripJetBrains, Developer JetBrains lists one figure under System requirements: 8 GB total, 3 GB of it for the IDE.	macOS, Windows, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes Read 2026-10-20 from www.jetbrains.com
Docker DesktopDocker, Developer Docker lists a single figure.	Linux	4 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text At least 4 GB of RAM. Read 2026-10-20 from docs.docker.com

Developer tools (2 of 3)

Vendor minimumVendor recommendation Gridlines are the RAM sizes Macs come in.

RAM requirements, Developer tools (2 of 3), from vendor pages
App	Platform	Minimum	Recommended	Source
Docker DesktopDocker, Developer Docker lists a single figure.	macOS	4 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text At least 4 GB of RAM. Read 2026-10-20 from docs.docker.com
Docker Desktop (WSL 2 backend)Docker, Developer Stated as a prerequisite for WSL 2 on Windows 10 or 11.	Windows	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text 8GB system RAM Read 2026-10-20 from docs.docker.com
GoLandJetBrains, Developer JetBrains lists one figure under System requirements: 8 GB total, 3 GB of it for the IDE.	macOS, Windows, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes Read 2026-10-20 from www.jetbrains.com
IntelliJ IDEAJetBrains, Developer JetBrains lists one figure under System requirements: 8 GB total, 3 GB of it for the IDE.	macOS, Windows, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes Read 2026-10-20 from www.jetbrains.com
minikubeKubernetes project, Developer 2 GB of free memory.	macOS, Windows, Linux	2 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text 2 CPUs or more 2GB of free memory Read 2026-10-20 from minikube.sigs.k8s.io
PyCharmJetBrains, Developer JetBrains lists one figure under System requirements: 8 GB total, 3 GB of it for the IDE.	macOS, Windows, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes Read 2026-10-20 from www.jetbrains.com
Rancher DesktopSUSE, Developer Also recommends 4 CPUs; says more may be needed depending on workloads.	macOS, Windows, Linux	Not stated	8 GB	Vendor page Quoted text It is also recommended to have: 8 GB of memory 4 CPU Read 2026-10-20 from docs.rancherdesktop.io

Developer tools (3 of 3)

Vendor minimumVendor recommendation Gridlines are the RAM sizes Macs come in.

RAM requirements, Developer tools (3 of 3), from vendor pages
App	Platform	Minimum	Recommended	Source
RiderJetBrains, Developer JetBrains lists one figure under System requirements: 8 GB total, 3 GB of it for the IDE.	macOS, Windows, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes Read 2026-10-20 from www.jetbrains.com
RubyMineJetBrains, Developer JetBrains lists one figure under System requirements: 8 GB total, 3 GB of it for the IDE.	macOS, Windows, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes Read 2026-10-20 from www.jetbrains.com
Visual Studio 2022Microsoft, Developer Microsoft recommends 16 GB for typical professional solutions.	Windows	4 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Minimum of 4 GB of RAM. Many factors impact resources used; we recommend 16 GB RAM for typical professional solutions Read 2026-10-20 from learn.microsoft.com
Visual Studio CodeMicrosoft, Developer Microsoft's own recommendation; heavy extensions and projects need more.	macOS, Windows, Linux	Not stated	1 GB	Vendor page Quoted text We recommend: 1.6 GHz or faster processor 1 GB of RAM Read 2026-10-20 from code.visualstudio.com
WebStormJetBrains, Developer JetBrains lists one figure under System requirements: 8 GB total, 3 GB of it for the IDE.	macOS, Windows, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM8 GB of total RAM; 3 GB available for the IDE processes Read 2026-10-20 from www.jetbrains.com
Parallels Desktop 27Parallels, Virtualisation The 16 GB column is headed Best Performance.	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Minimum Run most applications such as Microsoft Office, accounting software, trading software, and more Best Performance For graphics-intensive applications, software development, high loads, and running multiple virtual machines Processor[1] Any Apple silicon chip (M-series or A18 Pro) Any Apple silicon chip (M-series) Memory 8 GB of RAM 16 GB of RAM or more Read 2026-10-20 from kb.parallels.com

Video, photo and design (1 of 2)

Vendor minimumVendor recommendation Gridlines are the RAM sizes Macs come in.

RAM requirements, Video, photo and design (1 of 2), from vendor pages
App	Platform	Minimum	Recommended	Source
AuditionAdobe, Audio Adobe lists 16 GB for HD media and 32 GB or more for 4K and higher.	Windows	8 GB	16 GB32 GB for 4K and higher media	Vendor page Quoted text Memory 8 GB of RAM 16 GB of RAM for HD media 32 GB or more for 4K and higher Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
PhotoshopAdobe, Creative Windows table on the same page lists the same two figures.	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Minimum Recommended Processor Multicore Intel® or Apple Silicon processor ARM-based Apple Silicon processor Operating system macOS v26, v15.x, v14.x Cannot be installed on macOS 12.x.x (Monterey) or earlier macOS Sequoia (version 15.6.1) RAM 8 GB 16 GB or more Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
AnimateAdobe, Design	Windows	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text RAM 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended) Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
IllustratorAdobe, Design	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text macOS v15 (Sequoia) macOS v14 (Sonoma) macOS v13 (Ventura) RAM 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended) Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
InDesignAdobe, Design	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text RAM Minimum 8 GB of RAM (16 GB recommended) Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
LightroomAdobe, Photo The cloud-based Lightroom, not Lightroom Classic.	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text macOS Minimum Recommended Processor Multicore Intel® processor with 64-bit support or Apple silicon processor Operating system macOS Sonoma (version 14.x) or later RAM 8 GB of RAM 16 GB recommended Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
Lightroom ClassicAdobe, Photo Adobe says 16 GB of unified memory is needed for full GPU acceleration and AI features such as Denoise.	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text macOS Minimum Recommended Processor Multicore Intel processor (2 GHz or faster with SSE 4.2 or later, and 64-bit support) or Apple Silicon processor Operating system macOS Sonoma (version 14.x) or later RAM 8 GB 16 GB or more Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com

Video, photo and design (2 of 2)

Vendor minimumVendor recommendation Gridlines are the RAM sizes Macs come in.

RAM requirements, Video, photo and design (2 of 2), from vendor pages
App	Platform	Minimum	Recommended	Source
After EffectsAdobe, Video Adobe lists 16 GB for HD media and 32 GB or more for 4K and higher.	Windows	16 GB	16 GB32 GB for 4K and higher media	Vendor page Quoted text Memory 16 GB of RAM 16 GB of RAM for HD media 32 GB or more for 4K and higher Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
Final Cut ProApple, Video Apple lists a separate, higher figure for Apple Immersive Video (next row).	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Final Cut Pro for Mac requires macOS 15.6 or later, 8GB of memory (16GB recommended) Read 2026-10-20 from www.apple.com
Final Cut Pro, Apple Immersive VideoApple, Video A feature of Final Cut Pro, listed by Apple as its own requirement.	macOS	32 GB	64 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Apple Immersive Video processing requires 32GB of memory (64GB recommended) Read 2026-10-20 from www.apple.com
Media EncoderAdobe, Video Adobe lists 16 GB for HD media and 32 GB or more for 4K and higher.	Windows	8 GB	16 GB32 GB for 4K and higher media	Vendor page Quoted text Memory 8 GB of RAM 16GB for Windows on Arm 16 GB of RAM for HD media 32 GB or more for 4K and higher Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
MotionApple, Video	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Motion requires macOS 15.6 or later, 8GB of memory (16GB recommended) Read 2026-10-20 from www.apple.com
Premiere ProAdobe, Video Recommended is the HD figure; Adobe lists 32 GB or more for 4K and higher.	Windows	8 GB	16 GB32 GB for 4K and higher media	Vendor page Quoted text Memory 8 GB RAM Windows on Arm: 16 GB 16 GB RAM for HD media 32 GB or more for 4K and higher Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
Premiere ProAdobe, Video Recommended figure is for Apple silicon (unified memory).	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Requirement type Minimum specification Recommended specification Processor Intel® 8th Generation or newer CPU with AVX2 support Apple silicon A18 or later (Apple silicon used in MacBook Neo systems) Apple silicon M1 Pro, M1 Max, M1 Ultra, or newer Operating system macOS Sonoma (version 14) macOS Sonoma (version 14) and later Memory 8 GB RAM Apple silicon: 16 GB unified memory GPU Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com

CAD and 3D

Vendor minimumVendor recommendation Gridlines are the RAM sizes Macs come in.

RAM requirements, CAD and 3D, from vendor pages
App	Platform	Minimum	Recommended	Source
BlenderBlender Foundation, 3D	Windows	8 GB	32 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Windows MinimumRecommendedOSWindows 8.1 (64-bit)Windows 11CPU4 cores with SSE4.2 support8 coresRAM8 GB32 GB Read 2026-10-20 from www.blender.org
Godot Engine 4Godot, 3D Desktop editor figures; the web editor needs more.	Windows, macOS, Linux	4 GB	8 GB	Vendor page Quoted text RAM Native editor: 4 GB Web editor: 8 GB Storage 200 MB (used for the executable, project files and cache). ... RAM Native editor: 8 GB Web editor: 12 GB Read 2026-10-20 from docs.godotengine.org
Unity EditorUnity, 3D Unity says the RAM needed depends on project size.	Windows, macOS, Linux	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text a minimum of 8 GB RAM is recommended. However, the amount of RAM required to load and run your project depends on your project Read 2026-10-20 from docs.unity3d.com
Unreal Engine 5Epic Games, 3D Epic lists 32 GB under Recommended Hardware.	Windows	Not stated	32 GB	Vendor page Quoted text Recommended Hardware Operating SystemWindows 11ProcessorQuad-core Intel or AMD, 2.5 GHz or fasterMemory32 GB RAM Read 2026-10-20 from dev.epicgames.com
AutoCAD 2025Autodesk, CAD Autodesk also lists 32 GB or more for large datasets, point clouds and 3D modeling.	Windows	8 GB	32 GB	Vendor page Quoted text MemoryBasic: 8 GBRecommended: 32 GB Read 2026-10-20 from www.autodesk.com
AutoCAD 2025Autodesk, CAD	macOS	8 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text MemoryBasic: 8 GBRecommended: 16 GB or higher Read 2026-10-20 from www.autodesk.com
Rhino 8McNeel, CAD McNeel words it as at least 8 GB recommended.	Windows, macOS	Not stated	8 GB	Vendor page Quoted text At least 8 GB (RAM) memory is recommended Read 2026-10-20 from www.rhino3d.com
SketchUpTrimble, CAD	Windows	8 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text At least 8GB of RAM. Read 2026-10-20 from help.sketchup.com
SOLIDWORKSDassault Systèmes, CAD The same page lists 8 GB (16 GB recommended) for PDM Contributor/Viewer or Electrical Schematic.	Windows	16 GB	32 GB	Vendor page Quoted text RAM16 GB (32 GB recommended) Read 2026-10-20 from www.solidworks.com

Everything else

Vendor minimumVendor recommendation Gridlines are the RAM sizes Macs come in.

RAM requirements, Everything else, from vendor pages
App	Platform	Minimum	Recommended	Source
Microsoft TeamsMicrosoft, Communication Microsoft lists 4.0 GB.	Windows	4 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text Memory 4.0 GB RAM. Read 2026-10-20 from learn.microsoft.com
ZoomZoom, Communication	Windows, macOS	4 GB	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text ComponentMinimumRecommendedProcessorDual-core 2Ghz or higherQuad-core 2.5Ghz or higherRAM4 GB16 GB Read 2026-10-20 from support.zoom.com
LM StudioLM Studio, Local LLM Page says LLMs can consume a lot of RAM.	Windows	Not stated	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text RAM: LLMs can consume a lot of RAM. At least 16GB of RAM is recommended. Read 2026-10-20 from lmstudio.ai
LM StudioLM Studio, Local LLM The page says it may still work on 8 GB Macs with smaller models and modest context.	macOS	Not stated	16 GB	Vendor page Quoted text 16GB+ RAM recommended. You may still be able to use LM Studio on 8GB Macs, but stick to smaller models and modest context sizes. Read 2026-10-20 from lmstudio.ai
AcrobatAdobe, Office Adobe lists a single figure.	Windows	2 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM 2GB of RAM Read 2026-10-20 from helpx.adobe.com
Ubuntu DesktopCanonical, Operating system Usable as the figure for an Ubuntu virtual machine guest.	Linux	6 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text 2 GHz dual-core processor or better 6 GB system memory Read 2026-10-20 from ubuntu.com
Windows 11Microsoft, Operating system Also usable as the figure for a Windows 11 virtual machine guest.	Windows	4 GB	Not stated	Vendor page Quoted text RAM 4 gigabytes (GB) Read 2026-10-20 from www.microsoft.com

How to use these numbers

A vendor figure is a statement about one app on a whole machine, tested by the vendor. It is not what your machine uses while you also run a browser, a chat app and three other tools.

The calculator combines these figures into a low, likely and high range. To see what your own work needs, measure it: SizeMyLaptop records memory pressure and swap on your machine for a working fortnight and gives a verdict.

What is not in the table, and why

31 apps were tried and left out. A figure that could not be read from the vendor's own page is not typed in from memory.

Show the apps that were left out

Apps left out of the table, and why
App	Why it is not in the table	Page tried
Ableton Live	Page not found (404). Both URLs I tried returned 404; no source found.	help.ableton.com
Affinity	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	affinity.serif.com
Capture One	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	support.captureone.com
Cubase	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	www.steinberg.net
Figma	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	help.figma.com
Fusion 360	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	www.autodesk.com
Houdini	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	www.sidefx.com
Maya	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	www.autodesk.com
Microsoft 365 apps	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	learn.microsoft.com
OBS Studio	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	obsproject.com
Pro Tools	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	www.avid.com
Revit	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	www.autodesk.com
Substance 3D Designer	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	helpx.adobe.com
Substance 3D Painter	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	helpx.adobe.com
Tableau Desktop	Page not found (404). guessed URL returned 404, no source found	help.tableau.com
Adobe Dimension	Figure present but unlabelled or mixed. RAM is listed as 16 GB, 32 GB, 64 GB in columns the page text does not label.	helpx.adobe.com
Cinema 4D	Figure present but unlabelled or mixed. Memory is listed as 16 GB twice; the page text does not say which column is which.	www.maxon.net
Firefox	Figure present but unlabelled or mixed. One line mixes the 32-bit and 64-bit figures, and a browser is not a pro app.	www.mozilla.org
DxO PhotoLab	The site refused the fetch. The site answered 403 to the fetch; dropped, not worked around.	www.dxo.com
Foundry Nuke	The site refused the fetch. The page could not be fetched (HTTP error); dropped.	learn.foundry.com
PhpStorm	Held back to keep the table at 50. Kept out to hold the table at 50 rows. JetBrains states the same 8 GB for the other IDEs listed.	www.jetbrains.com
Compressor	Repeats another row. The page repeats the Final Cut Pro specs; it adds no figure of its own.	www.apple.com
Chrome and Safari	The page states no RAM figure. Neither vendor's requirements page states a RAM figure.	support.google.com
DaVinci Resolve	The page states no RAM figure. Blackmagic's product, tech specs and Studio pages state no RAM figure, and the readme and configuration-guide URLs I tried returned 404. A user's forum post quotes the readme; a user post is not used.	www.blackmagicdesign.com
Logic Pro	The page states no RAM figure. The specs page and Apple's support page state no memory figure.	www.apple.com
Ollama	The page states no RAM figure. Ollama's FAQ, Windows, Linux, macOS and GPU docs and its README state no RAM requirement. Model file sizes are in the separate model table.	docs.ollama.com
Slack	The page states no RAM figure. The minimum requirements page states no RAM figure.	slack.com
VMware Fusion	The page states no RAM figure. The fetched page carried no requirement text.	knowledge.broadcom.com
VirtualBox	The page states no RAM figure. The manual states no host RAM requirement, only an example of splitting 4 GB.	www.virtualbox.org
Xcode	The page states no RAM figure. The fetched Apple pages (system requirements, Xcode overview, support) state no RAM figure.	developer.apple.com
Topaz Photo AI	Not a vendor source. The only text found is a community forum post, not a vendor page.	community.topazlabs.com

Vendor numbers are a starting point. Measure your own two weeks.

Get SizeMyLaptop for Mac