diff --git a/packages/vitest/src/node/config.ts b/packages/vitest/src/node/config.ts
index b5ea7d19cd19..7fd5f78069fa 100644
--- a/packages/vitest/src/node/config.ts
+++ b/packages/vitest/src/node/config.ts
@@ -215,7 +215,7 @@ export function resolveConfig(
 
   resolved.experimentalVmWorkerMemoryLimit = stringToBytes(
     getWorkerMemoryLimit(resolved),
-    totalmem(),
+    resolved.watch ? totalmem() / 2 : totalmem(),
   )
 
   if (options.resolveSnapshotPath)