The Best WinRAR AlternativesTop File Archivers & File Compressors like WinRAR

WinRAR is described as 'With over 500 million users worldwide, WinRAR is the world’s most popular compression tool!' and is a leading File Archiver in the file management category. There are more than 50 alternatives to WinRAR for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, BSD and Android apps. The best WinRAR alternative is 7-Zip, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like WinRAR are PeaZip, Bandizip, WinZip and NanaZip.

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WinRAR alternatives are mainly File Archivers but may also be File Compressors or File Managers. Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of WinRAR.

WinRAR

1152

File Archiver
Paid • Proprietary

With over 500 million users worldwide, WinRAR is the world’s most popular compression tool!

More about WinRAR

WinRAR alternatives page was last updated Jun 21, 2024

7-Zip
Feature-rich archiving software with top-tier compression in 7z, integration in Windows Shell, AES-256 encryption, and multi-format support, including TAR, ZIP, RAR. Offers strong file management tools and a command line version for Linux/Unix systems.
109 7-Zip alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- File Archiver
- File Compressor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
- ReactOS
Top 7-Zip Features
1. Lightweight
2. Ad-free
3. File Archiving
4. File Compression
5. Portable
6. AES Encryption
7. User friendly
8. Works Offline
9. Windows Explorer Extension
10. Shell integration
11. Built-in File Manager
12. Context Menu extension
Show all NaN 7-Zip features ▾
7-Zip VS WinRAR
Is 7-Zip a good alternative to WinRAR?
Comments about 7-Zip as an Alternative to WinRAR

KuboFHromoslav
7-Zip is highly efficient, open source archiver.
Top positive comment •May 15, 2017
33
jasonbrown1965journo
Open-source. Huge eyes-on code audience. Much, much simpler for new users.
Top positive comment •Aug 22, 2023
1
Guest
does not override windows explorer zip multi platform supports many archive and compression types
Positive comment •Apr 11, 2023
1
RemovedUser
It is free and Open Source!
Positive comment •May 3, 2022
1
Guest
I prefer 7zip because it has much more feature than winrar but stays really simple to use
Positive comment •Oct 20, 2021
1
Show more comments
5 of 24 comments
- Almost everyone thinks 7-Zip is a great WinRAR alternative.
- 7-Zip is the most popular Windows, Mac & Linux alternative to WinRAR.
- 7-Zip is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to WinRAR.
- 7-Zip is Free and Open SourceWinRAR is Paid and Proprietary

PeaZip
PeaZip is free file archiver utility, based on Open Source technologies of 7-Zip, p7zip, FreeArc, PAQ, and PEA projects, for Linux, macOS and Windows.
94 PeaZip alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- File Archiver
- File Compressor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- BSD
- PortableApps.com
- Flathub
- Chrome OS
+4
Top PeaZip Features
1. File Compression
2. File Archiving
3. Windows Explorer Extension
4. Drag and Drop
5. Ad-free
6. Built-in archiver
7. Lightweight
8. No Tracking
9. No registration required
10. Works Offline
11. Portable
12. Two-factor Authentication
Show all NaN PeaZip features ▾
PeaZip VS WinRAR
Is PeaZip a good alternative to WinRAR?
Comments about PeaZip as an Alternative to WinRAR

don1
It is fast, has many file extensions and always updated.
Positive comment •Feb 19, 2017
3
Ricky Santoso
I think the extract time faster than winrar, also support many file extensions. One of the lightest file manager & archiver that I use.
Positive comment •Jul 5, 2018
2
G Downs
I've been using PeaZip for about 8 years and during that time I've found it to be rock-solid. I've tried 7Zip and a few others during that time but keep coming back to PeaZip. On installation, PeaZip is vastly customizable and covers all the major archive formats that most people are going to use...
Positive comment •Feb 3, 2019
0
Guest
Its basically a de-uglified 7-zip, support various compression formats and has its own compression format PEA (pack encrypt and autenticate) the only cons it has are 1. it takes longer than other apps to open (its not the compression time thats slow its the app opening) 2.it sometimes gives you an error when extracting files and 3. you have to delete ALL of its related files in regedit otherwise it will still be classified as an option to open archived files even after deleting
Positive comment •Sep 25, 2019
-1
- Almost everyone thinks PeaZip is a great WinRAR alternative.
- PeaZip is Free and Open SourceWinRAR is Paid and Proprietary

Bandizip
Bandizip is a powerful archiver which provides an ultrafast processing speed and convenient features. Available free of charge, and its paid editions support a variety of advanced features.
91 Bandizip alternatives
License model
- Freemium • Proprietary
Application types
- File Archiver
- File Compressor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
+9
Top Bandizip Features
1. File Compression
2. Fast speed
3. Command line interface
4. Windows Explorer Extension
5. Lightweight
6. Supports Zip files
7. Supports tar files
8. Supports RAR files
9. No Tracking
10. Works Offline
11. Portable
12. No registration required
Show all NaN Bandizip features ▾
Bandizip VS WinRAR
Is Bandizip a good alternative to WinRAR?
Comments about Bandizip as an Alternative to WinRAR

ichimitch
Supports compressing and decompressing a wide variety of formats and itegrates with the Windows context menu
Positive comment •Nov 14, 2021
0
yarko
Fast, modern, with cool features and FREE! Highly reccomended!
Positive comment •Dec 23, 2018
1
Guest
Really fasttttttt to compress
Positive comment •Nov 11, 2019
0
Guest
Tottaly free, support basically every type of compressed file, is customizable, multi language, always updating, and have other cool things to help you
Positive comment •Jul 20, 2019
-3
- Most users think Bandizip is a great WinRAR alternative.
- Bandizip is Freemium and ProprietaryWinRAR is Paid and Proprietary

Ad
WinZip
The world's best file compressor in the world. Start saving your time with the world's #1 compression software. Zip, protect, manage and share all your files quickly and easily.
103 WinZip alternatives
License model
- Paid • Proprietary
Application types
- File Archiver
- File Compressor
Platforms
- Mac
- Windows
- Android
- iPhone
- Android Tablet
- iPad
- ReactOS
WinZip Features
Supports Zip files
Show all NaN WinZip features ▾
WinZip VS WinRAR
Is WinZip a good alternative to WinRAR?
Comments about WinZip as an Alternative to WinRAR

Guest
similar and friendly interface.. cool!
Positive comment •Jan 17, 2020
1
Guest
The most similar interface to WinRar.
Positive comment •Nov 22, 2019
0
- Most users think WinZip is a great WinRAR alternative.
- WinZip is the most popular Android, iPhone, iPad & Android Tablet alternative to WinRAR.
- WinZip is the most popular commercial alternative to WinRAR.
- WinZip is Paid and ProprietaryWinRAR is also Paid and Proprietary

NanaZip
NanaZip is an open-source file archiver intended for the modern Windows experience.
89 NanaZip alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- File Archiver
- File Compressor
Platforms
- Windows
+3
Top NanaZip Features
1. File Compression
2. File Archiving
3. Ad-free
4. Context Menu extension
5. Lightweight
6. Checksums verification
7. Works Offline
8. No registration required
9. Windows Explorer Extension
10. Dark Mode
11. No Tracking
12. Supports Zip files
Show all NaN NanaZip features ▾
NanaZip VS WinRAR
Is NanaZip a good alternative to WinRAR?

The Unarchiver
The Unarchiver is a small and easy to use program that can unarchive many different kinds of archive files. It will open common formats such as Zip, RAR (including v5), 7-zip, Tar, Gzip and Bzip2. It will also open many older formats, such as StuffIt, DiskDoubler, LZH, ARJ and...
94 The Unarchiver alternatives
License model
- Free • Proprietary
Application type
- File Archiver
Platforms
- Mac
The Unarchiver Features
Supports tar files
Show all NaN The Unarchiver features ▾
The Unarchiver VS WinRAR
Is The Unarchiver a good alternative to WinRAR?
Comments about The Unarchiver as an Alternative to WinRAR

Guest
Simple. In Winrar, you can see in the program, and copy files inside. You can only take out files with this.
Negative comment •Feb 12, 2016
10
maurosoft391
not compatible with Windows
Negative comment •Jul 15, 2023
0
Guest
Unarchiver does not show you the files without extracting them.
Negative comment •Feb 29, 2020
1
- Some users think The Unarchiver is a great WinRAR alternative, some don't.
- The Unarchiver is Free and ProprietaryWinRAR is Paid and Proprietary

FreeArc
FreeArc is a free and open source file archiver developed by Bulat Ziganshin. It uses LZMA, PPMD, TrueAudio and GRzip algorithms with automatic switching by file type, and also uses set of filters—for instance it can remove repetitions from text.
82 FreeArc alternatives
License model
- Free • Open Source
Application types
- File Archiver
- File Compressor
Platforms
- Windows
- Linux
Top FreeArc Features
1. Data Compression
2. Lossless Compression
3. Supports Zip files
4. No registration required
5. Supports RAR files
6. Works Offline
7. Portable
8. Windows Explorer Extension
9. Lightweight
10. Ad-free
11. Supports tar files
12. No Tracking
Show all NaN FreeArc features ▾
Discontinued
Latest alpha version from August 2012 - http://freearc.org/history/changelog_full.htm

FreeArc VS WinRAR
Is FreeArc a good alternative to WinRAR?