Winzip and Winrar are the most popular file compression software for
handling archive formats like zip, iso, rar, tar and others. Both of
these are paid software. But there are many free alternatives available
that can easily zip files, and unzip them that does the same thing as
WinRar and WinZip and some do it even better.
Here are the best of free
Alternatives to Winzip and Winrar :
1. 7 Zip
7 Zip is a free and open source file archiver. 7-Zip operates with the
7z archive format, but can read and write several other archive formats.
It's my favorite tool to zip and unzip file.
7 -Zip supported formats:
- Packing / unpacking: 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM
- Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DEB, DMG, FAT, HFS,
ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, RAR, RPM,
SquashFS, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR and Z.
Visit 7-Zip Website
here
2. PeaZip
PeaZip is a free file and archive manager, based on solid and proven
Open Source technology of 7-Zipextract 7z files for handling mainstream
archive formats, and other great Open Source tools (like FreeARC, PAQ,
UPX...) for supporting additional file formats and features, in order to
provide an all purpose zip utility featuring a powerful unified GUI
that, unlike most of other classic file archivers like i.e. WinZip and
WinRar, is natively portable and cross-platform.
PeaZip supported formats (150+ archive formats supported):
- Create: 7Z, ARC, BZ2, GZ, *PAQ, PEA, QUAD/BALZ, TAR, UPX, WIM, XZ, ZIP
- Extract: ACE, ARJ, CAB, DMG, ISO, LHA, RAR, UDF, ZIPX and more...
Visit PeaZip Website
here
3. IZArc
IZArc is a freeware archive utility supporting many archive formats
like: 7-ZIP, A, ACE, ARC, ARJ, B64, BH, BIN, BZ2, BZA, C2D, CAB, CDI,
CPIO, DEB, ENC, GCA, GZ, GZA, HA, IMG, ISO, JAR, LHA, LIB, LZH, MDF,
MBF, MIM, NRG, PAK, PDI, PK3, RAR, RPM, TAR, TAZ, TBZ, TGZ, TZ, UUE,
WAR, XXE, YZ1, Z, ZIP, ZOO. With IZArc you can drag and drop files from
and to Windows Explorer, create and extract archives directly in Windows
Explorer, create multiple archives spanning disks, creating
self-extracting archives, repair damaged zip archives, converting from
one archive type to another, view and write comments and many more.
Visit IZArc Website
here
5. jZip
jZip is based on proven 7-Zip technology, it is an easy to use and fast
archiving software that can create, open and extract Zip, TAR, GZip and
7-Zip. Open and extract from RAR and ISO.
Visit jZip website
here
6. Universal Extractor
Universal Extractor is a program to extract files from any type of
archive, whether it's a simple zip file, an installation program, or
even a Windows Installer (.msi) package.
Download Universal Extractor
here
7. ArcThemAll
ArcThemALL is a completely free open source software. It supports files
and folders multi-compression (UPX, ZIP, 7Z) and archives extraction (33
archives formats. There is also portable version of ArcThemAll that can
be stored on an external device (like a USB flash drive) and run on any
computer.
Visit ArcThemAll website
here
8. TugZip
TUGZip is a powerful freeware archiving utility for Windows that
provides support for a wide range of compressed, encoded and disc-image
files, as well as very powerful features; all through an easy to use
application interface and Windows Explorer integration, for example drag
& drop, shell context menu and drop handlers.
Visit TugZip Website
here