Alternatives to Keka
macOS file archiver for 7z, ZIP, TAR and more, with password protection. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Keka
macOS file archiver for 7z, ZIP, TAR and more, with password protection.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Keka.
PeaZip
A cross-platform archive manager that reads over two hundred formats and has a real file manager built in.
PeaZip is also free and open source but runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, reading over 200 formats, though its macOS build sees less testing.
Bandizip
Fast archiver for Windows and macOS with strong Unicode handling.
Bandizip runs on macOS and Windows with multi-core compression and strong Unicode handling, but it is closed source and the free edition shows ads.
WinRAR
The archiver that created the RAR format, sold as shareware whose trial has never really expired.
WinRAR can create RAR archives, which Keka cannot, but it is paid, closed source, and offers only a command-line build on macOS.
p7zip
Command-line port of 7-Zip's compression tools for POSIX systems.
p7zip brings 7-Zip compression to macOS and Linux from the command line only, with no graphical interface or Dock drag-and-drop.
7-Zip
The small, free archiver that opens practically every archive format and compresses better than ZIP.
7-Zip offers the 7z format with high compression, but on macOS it is only a console version without a graphical app.
BetterZip
A macOS archive utility for opening, editing and creating ZIP, RAR, 7z, TAR and DMG files.
BetterZip is a paid, closed source macOS utility that edits archives in place, opens over 30 formats and integrates with Quick Look, Spotlight and Shortcuts.
Archiver
A macOS app for extracting, creating, previewing and encrypting RAR, Zip, 7z and other archives.
Archiver is a paid macOS app that previews archives, extracts selected files and creates AES-256 encrypted archives, but version 5 requires macOS 26.
The Unarchiver
macOS extractor that opens archive formats Finder cannot.
The Unarchiver is a free macOS extractor that opens almost any format and handles legacy filename encodings, but it cannot create archives.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Keka as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
WinZip
A commercial archiver for Windows and Mac that zips, unzips, encrypts and shares files.
Keka is a free open-source macOS archiver for encrypted and split archives, paid only through the Mac App Store, with no Windows version.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
ouch
Command-line tool that compresses and extracts archives without format-specific flags.
XZ Utils
The standard command-line tool for creating and reading .xz files.
Zstandard
Meta's compression tool that hits near-zlib ratios at far higher speed, now used across Linux and modern filesystems.
Commander One
A dual-pane file manager for macOS with FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, cloud storage and archive support.
