PeaZip is less streamlined than 7-Zip but it’s packed with powerful, advanced security features. 7-Zip is also available worldwide and offers at least 79 languages for its users.Īlso Read: PowerISO Vs UltraISO 2. The software integrates with Windows, making it a stronger option than the native compression tool in the operating system besides offering more features. You can also split packaged archives into volumes, which comes in handy when you want to share large archives. Plus, you get AES-256 bit encryption to encrypt file names and apply password protection to packaged archives. You can also unpack your compressed files into many common formats including ZIP and TAR, plus others like CPIO, CAB, DEB, ARJ, DMG, and CHM. On top of that, the software has a 7z format for high compression, which lets you compress gigantic files. The tool’s interface may not be well-designed, but you can still find files that you want to archive by dragging and dropping them into the main window or through its Windows Explorer-style file tree.

The software is small in size so it won’t take up any significant space on your device and can pack or unpack any compressed file archive you want. Unlike WinZip, which only offers a free trial and is expensive, 7-Zip is open-source and completely free, even for commercial use. The free compression tool offers some neat features that let you create compressed files in multiple formats, with an impressive compression ratio and decent compression speeds.

7-Zipħ-Zip is a free utility first released in 1999 that lets you extract compressed files. If you’re looking for a free WinZip alternative with impressive compression ratios and speeds, supports a wide range of archive formats, and still provides plenty of other features, here are some options to try. However, WinZip is not a cheap compression utility even though you can download and use it for a short evaluation period before committing to a purchase. However, you still need a program that can handle more than one type of file compression. The ZIP format is the most commonly used for compression, but you can still find others like it. Not only that, but compression software also reduces files and offers plenty of extra features including file encryption and protecting them with a password. File compression software makes it easy and simple to compress your files for easier storage, sharing via email, sending to a remote cloud server, and archiving the files.

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