WinRAR al­tern­at­ives: Comparing the best solutions

See the table for the 13 most important WinRAR al­tern­at­ives and their spe­cific­a­tions. It gives you a rough guide and in­form­a­tion on com­pat­ib­il­ity of the programs, com­pres­sion and ex­trac­tion options and costs.

Please see the following sections for detailed in­form­a­tion on the in­di­vidu­al solutions.

7-Zip is freeware for zipping and unzipping files and has been around since 1999. In 2007, the program won Source­Forge’s award as best open source project. The WinRAR al­tern­at­ive creates zip archives in the pro­pri­et­ary 7-Zip format, indicated by the file ending .7z. It is purely a container format with a modular and open structure. 7-Zip also allows users to zip and unzip files in the following file formats:

• .zip
• .bz2
• .tar
• .xz
• .wim
• .swm

7-Zip uses a powerful pro­pri­et­ary en­cryp­tion algorithm to compress files, sac­ri­fi­cing com­pres­sion speed for com­pres­sion quality. The zipping program can also unzip archives with the endings .arj, .cpio, .lzh, .lha and .rar. It can also extract program archives like Microsoft Cabinet, Windows Installer files and ap­plic­a­tion files.

If required, 7-Zip en­cryp­tion can be used for in­di­vidu­al files or entire directory struc­tures. Depending on the level at which the en­cryp­tion is applied, you may have to enter the de­cryp­tion password to show the folder and file names of the archived elements.

PeaZip is also a free WinRAR al­tern­at­ive for zipping and unzipping files. It lets you edit, save and restore archive layouts, as well as apply various filters to the contents of the archives. You can also split or join archives and delete files securely. The program is available for various Windows 32 and 64 bit versions (XP or better) and for Linux. PeaZip Portable is a version that does not have to be installed on a computer – it can simply be launched from external storage media like USB flash drives.

You can use PeaZip to zip and unzip the following archives:

• .7z
• .arc
• .bz2
• .gz
• .paq
• .pea
• .quad
• .split
• .tar
• .upx
• .zip

The com­pres­sion program can also unzip (only) archives in these formats: .ace, .arj, .bz, .cab, .chm, .cpio, ISO, Java, .lzh, .lha, .rar, .wim, .xpi, .taz.

This WinRAR al­tern­at­ive is available ex­clus­ively for macOS and Linux operating systems. The program is easy to operate and has an intuitive structure. You can use it to unzip many different file formats, but not to create any archives: It does not have its own com­pres­sion format, so you have to use other programs to zip files. As it only unzips, The Un­archiver naturally does not offer any en­cryp­tion options. You can extract the following files: .zip, .zipx, .rar, .7z, .tar, .gzip, .bz2, .lzma, .cab, .exe, .ffs, .xar, .rpm, .deb, .ar, .alzip, .warc, .nds.

IZArc2Go is a portable program for zipping and unzipping files. The freeware can be launched directly from data media like USB flash drives and external drives and is therefore perfect for business trav­el­lers who are always on the road. This WinRAR al­tern­at­ive can also protect files with Rijndael AES 256-bit en­cryp­tion. The tool also supports functions like splitting archives and comment functions. The software also has an in­teg­rated de­cryp­tion module for ZIP passwords. IZArc2Go only runs on Windows, and it zips and unzips the following formats: .7z, .arc, .arj, B64, .bh, .bin, .bz2, .c2d, .cab, .cdi, .cpio, .deb, .enc, .gca, .gz, .gza. .img, ISO, .jar, .tha, .lib, .lzh, .mdf, .mbf, .mim, .nrg, .pak, .pdi, .pk3, .rar, .rpm, .tar, .taz, .tbz, .tgz, .tz, .uue, .war, .xpi, .xxe, .yz1, .zip, .zoo.

Universal Extractor is freeware and, like the previous al­tern­at­ives, also unzips various file types. However, unlike many other programs, the WinRAR al­tern­at­ive also unzips ex­ecut­able files. The software only runs in Windows and offers a simple user interface. However, Universal Extractor has not been updated for a few years, which is why it is not a like-for-like re­place­ment for WinRAR or 7-Zip. While its de­velopers say it can unzip all con­ven­tion­al archives, you have to choose other programs – in par­tic­u­lar programs with regular updates – for par­tic­u­larly rare archives.

WinZip is one of the best-known tools for com­press­ing and ex­tract­ing files. This WinRAR al­tern­at­ive is available in standard and pro­fes­sion­al editions and runs on Windows and macOS operating systems. The Standard version of the program can now be down­loaded for $8.50, the Pro­fes­sion­al version costs approx. $35 to download or about $50 on a CD.

WinZip offers AES 128 and 256-bit en­cryp­tion and a con­fig­ur­able Microsoft Shell in­teg­ra­tion. It also supports arc archives and can write directly to DVD or CD if required. WinZip unzips all standard formats and zips .zip, .zipx and .lha files – depending on the software version. The software producer itself offers a detailed com­par­is­on between the standard and pro versions.

Bandizip is another good al­tern­at­ive to WinRAR, but not available free for Mac users (from approx. £17). The tool works under Windows and macOS, with the Windows version offering the same functions as the paid macOS version. Bandizip copies unzipped files directly to the target folder and supports unzipping of the following formats: .7z, .ace, .aes, .alz, .arj, .bh, .bin, .bz, .bz2, .cab, Compound(MSI), .egg, .gz, .img, ISO, .isz, .lha, .lz, .lzh, .lzma, .pma, .rar, .rar5, .sfx (.exe), .tar, .tbz, .tbz2, .tgz, .tlz, .txz, .udf, .wim, xpi, .xz, .zip, .zipx, .zpaq.

Bandizip encrypts files with the AES 256-bit standard, writing com­pressed archives in the following formats:

• .zip
• .7z(lzma2)
• .zipx(xz)
• .exe
• .tar
• .tgz
• .lzh(lh7)
• .ISO
• .gz, .xz

FreeArc is a free WinRAR al­tern­at­ive with its own format that offers a high file com­pres­sion rate. The tool runs under Windows and Linux, produces self-ex­tract­ing archives and works very quickly. Given its wide range of options and the fact that FreeArc can only zip and unzip its own eponymous .arc format, the program is aimed more at advanced users. En­cryp­tion is supported.

HaoZip is a free al­tern­at­ive to WinRAR that closely resembles the es­tab­lished original archival software. The tool can process a wide range of formats, has a search function and can produce virtual image files (version 3.0 and above). It can also encrypt data. The developer says that HaoZip unzips files 40 percent faster than other programs. The software is only available for Windows systems and is free of charge. HaoZip com­presses and extracts the following formats: .zip, .rar, .7z, .tar, ISO, .cab, .dmg, .hfs, .arj, .gz, .gzip, .tgz, .tpz, .xar, .rpm, .bz2, .tbz2, .tbz, .deb, .cpio, .taz, .jar, .zpi, .lzma, .lzma86, .lzh, .lha, 001, .wim, .swm, .uue, .ace, .isz, .split, .xz.

Ex­tract­Now is a free unzipper that allows users to unzip multiple archives sim­ul­tan­eously. The tool’s user interface is clear and simple and lets you process any number of files via drag-and-drop. Ex­tract­Now only unzips files and therefore cannot group files in archives. The software is only available for Windows. Ex­tract­Now supports the following formats, among others: .zip, .rar, .7z, ISO, .tar, .flv, .pe, .ace, .sit.

Zipeg unpacks ZIP files and some similar com­pres­sion formats. The tool is free for macOS and Windows and has a drag-and-drop function. You can also add files using a classic button interface. Zipeg can only unzip files (not zip them) and is very easy to use. The stream­lined al­tern­at­ive to WinRAR supports the following functions: .zip, .rar, .arj, .lha/.lzh, .7z, .tar, .gz, .tgz, .bz2, .cpio, .rpm, ISO, .chm, .cab, .ear, .war, .cbr, .cbz.

Ul­ti­mateZip is a free al­tern­at­ive to WinRAR that can both zip and unzip files. The tool in­teg­rates directly in Windows, encrypts files and works with a wide range of antivirus programs. Ul­ti­mateZip com­presses and sends files in e-mails in just one step, sup­port­ing the following formats: .zip, .rar, .ace, .bh, .cab, .jar, .lha, .gzip, .tar, .bz2, .arc, .arj, .xxe, .uue.

WinAce is another WinRAR al­tern­at­ive. This tool zips and unzips files in all standard formats. WinAce is available for download as a free test version (Windows only) and a paid full version for €30. This WinRAR al­tern­at­ive can also encrypt packed files with password pro­tec­tion and features a restore function. WinAce zips and unzips the following formats:

• ace
• zip
• lha
• ms-cab
• jar

The tool can only extract archives in the following formats .rar, .arc, .arj, .gzip, .tar and .zoo.