WinRAR Alternatives for Linux

There are many alternatives to WinRAR for Linux if you are looking for a replacement. The best Linux alternative is 7-Zip, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to WinRAR and many of them are available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Linux alternatives to WinRAR are PeaZip, FreeArc, p7zip and Ark.

filter to find the best alternatives

WinRAR alternatives are mainly File Archivers, but if you're looking for File Compressors or File Managers you can filter on that. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to WinRAR.
WinRAR iconWinRAR
  1158
  • ...

Compress and encrypt files with versatile software, supporting multiple formats for secure data transfer and offering efficient storage options.

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WinRAR alternatives page was last updated Apr 11, 2025
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  1. 7-Zip icon

    7-Zip

     4696 likes
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    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.

    110 7-Zip alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • RU flagRussia

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • PortableApps.com
    • ReactOS
    Main Window

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  User friendly
    3.  Security-focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  File Archiving
    3.  File Compression
    4.  Portable
    5.  AES Encryption
    6.  Works Offline
    7. File Explorer icon  Windows Explorer Extension
    8.  Shell integration
    9.  Built-in File Manager
    10.  Benchmark
    11.  Context Menu extension
    12.  Installer extraction

    7-Zip VS WinRAR

     
    Comments about 7-Zip as an Alternative to WinRAR
    Comment summary: 7-Zip, as an open-source alternative to WinRAR, receives praise for its faster compression, better compression algorithms (such as LZMA2), and broader format support. Users emphasize its simplicity, absence of ads, and free availability. It is particularly noted for delivering better performance with features such as self-extracting archives, solid compression, and a command-line interface. However, one noted downside is the lack of automatic file association within Windows Explorer.
    Top Positive Comment
    KuboFHromoslav
    May 15, 2017
    34

    7-Zip is highly efficient, open source archiver.

    Most Recent Comment
    Alex Rumbera
    Positive Oct 9, 2024
    0

    7-Zip offers open-source and free usage, better compression, wider format support, more features like self-extracting archives, solid compression, and a powerful command-line interface, and regular updates. 7-Zip often delivers better performance

    Jason Brown
    Positive Aug 22, 2023
    1

    Open-source. Huge eyes-on code audience. Much, much simpler for new users.

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    3 of 25 comments
    WinRAR Icon
    7-Zip icon

    • 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 Freemium and Proprietary
    • 7-Zip is LightweightWinRAR is not according to our users
  2. PeaZip icon

    PeaZip

     628 likes
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    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.

    95 PeaZip alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • IT flagItaly
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
    • BSD
    • Flathub
    • PortableApps.com
    PeaZip

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  File Compression
    2.  File Archiving
    3. File Explorer icon  Windows Explorer Extension
    4.  Drag and Drop
    5.  Built-in archiver
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  No Tracking
    8.  Dark Mode
    9.  No registration required
    10.  Works Offline
    11.  AES Encryption
    12.  Portable

    PeaZip VS WinRAR

     
    Comments about PeaZip as an Alternative to WinRAR
    Most Recent Comment
    don1
    Positive Feb 19, 2017
    3

    It is fast, has many file extensions and always updated.

    Ricky Santoso
    Positive Jul 5, 2018
    2

    I think the extract time faster than winrar, also support many file extensions. One of the lightest file manager & archiver that I use.

    G Downs
    Positive Feb 3, 2019
    0

    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...

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    3 of 4 comments
    WinRAR Icon
    PeaZip icon

    • Almost everyone thinks PeaZip is a great WinRAR alternative.

    • PeaZip is Free and Open SourceWinRAR is Freemium and Proprietary
    • PeaZip is LightweightWinRAR is not according to our users
  4. FreeArc icon

    FreeArc

     52 likes
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    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.

    83 FreeArc alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • RU flagRussia

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Main Window
    Discontinued

    Latest alpha version from August 2012 - http://freearc.org/history/changelog_full.htm

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    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. File Explorer icon  Windows Explorer Extension
    9.  Ad-free
    10.  Supports tar files
    11.  No Tracking
    12.  PNG Compression

    FreeArc VS WinRAR

     
  5. p7zip icon

    p7zip

     28 likes
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    p7zip is a port of the command line version of the 7-Zip file archiver to POSIX-conforming operating systems like Unix (Linux, Solaris, OpenBSD, FreeBSD, Cygwin, AIX, ...), MacOS X and also for BeOS and Amiga.

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    Discontinued

    The last update is from 2016.

    p7zip Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Supports Zip files

    p7zip VS WinRAR

     
  6. Ark icon

    Ark

     21 likes
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    Ark is a program for viewing, extracting, creating and modifying archives. Ark can handle various archive formats such as tar, gzip, bzip2, zip, rar, 7zip, xz, rpm, cab and deb (support for certain archive formats depend on the appropriate command-line programs being installed).

    38 Ark alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • KDE
    Ark screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  QT Based
    3.  AES Encryption

    Ark VS WinRAR

     
  7. File Roller icon

    File Roller

     83 likes
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    File Roller is the archive manager of the GNOME desktop environment. It can extract, view, create and modify archives. File Roller is only a graphical interface to archiving utilities such as tar and zip.

    85 File Roller alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
    File Roller screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  Supports Zip files

    File Roller VS WinRAR

     
    Comments about File Roller as an Alternative to WinRAR
    Guest
    Negative Nov 19, 2017
    7

    Can't even extract multi-part archives. Can't show CRC or anything at all. Suprised this poor app has that high votes.

    Guest
    Negative Jan 3, 2021
    0

    Capable of almost nothing, and certainly does not offer the feature range of winrar.

    WinRAR Icon
    File Roller icon

    • Some users think File Roller is a great WinRAR alternative, some don't.

    • File Roller is Free and Open SourceWinRAR is Freemium and Proprietary
    • File Roller is LightweightWinRAR is not according to our users
  9. Xarchiver icon

    Xarchiver

     28 likes
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    Xarchiver is a lightweight desktop independent archive manager built with the GTK+2 toolkit. It was developed with a simple GUI which that could be used with any desktop environment and would operate using the command line rather than API calls.

    89 Xarchiver alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Xfce
    Main window

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Supports tar files
    2.  Supports Zip files
    3.  Gtk

    Xarchiver VS WinRAR

     
7 of 20 WinRAR alternatives