Alternatives to WinZip
A commercial archiver for Windows and Mac that zips, unzips, encrypts and shares files. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
WinZip
A commercial archiver for Windows and Mac that zips, unzips, encrypts and shares files.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as WinZip.
7-Zip
The small, free archiver that opens practically every archive format and compresses better than ZIP.
7-Zip is free and open source with strong 7z compression and many formats, but has an older Windows interface and only console builds on macOS.
PowerArchiver
A commercial archive manager for Windows and macOS that opens over 60 formats and encrypts archives.
PowerArchiver is a paid archiver for Windows and macOS that opens over 60 formats, with FIPS 140-2 encryption in Enterprise and a command-line edition.
WinRAR
The archiver that created the RAR format, sold as shareware whose trial has never really expired.
WinRAR is also paid and closed source, adds RAR creation with recovery records, but its graphical version is Windows only.
PeaZip
A cross-platform archive manager that reads over two hundred formats and has a real file manager built in.
PeaZip is free and open source, reads over 200 formats on Windows, macOS and Linux, and offers multiple encryption standards without a trial period.
Bandizip
Fast archiver for Windows and macOS with strong Unicode handling.
Bandizip is a freemium archiver for Windows and macOS with strong Unicode handling, free with ads rather than bought after a trial.
NanaZip
A 7-Zip fork that adds the Windows 11 right-click menu and ships through the Microsoft Store.
NanaZip is a free MIT-licensed 7-Zip fork for Windows 10 and 11 that installs from the Store and updates itself, with no Mac version.
Zipware
A freeware Windows archiver that extracts ZIP, RAR, 7z and many other formats and creates ZIP and 7z archives.
Zipware is free Windows software, also for commercial use, that creates AES-256 encrypted ZIP and 7z archives, but it is Windows only.
Keka
macOS file archiver for 7z, ZIP, TAR and more, with password protection.
Keka is a free open-source macOS archiver for encrypted and split archives, paid only through the Mac App Store, with no Windows version.
Also worth comparing
These listings name WinZip as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
Archiver
A macOS app for extracting, creating, previewing and encrypting RAR, Zip, 7z and other archives.
WinZip is a paid commercial archiver with Windows and Mac editions that combines compression, encryption and backup, and needs purchase after a 21-day trial.
BetterZip
A macOS archive utility for opening, editing and creating ZIP, RAR, 7z, TAR and DMG files.
WinZip is a paid commercial archiver with Windows and Mac editions and built-in encryption and backup, needing purchase after a 21-day trial.
Explzh
A Windows archiver for LZH, ZIP, CAB, RAR, 7z and tar with Explorer integration and ZIP repair.
WinZip is a paid commercial archiver for Windows and Mac that combines compression with encryption and backup, and requires purchase after a 21-day trial.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
ZIP Extractor
A free web app for opening and creating ZIP files, with saving and extracting into Google Drive.
ezyZip
A browser-based tool for creating ZIP files and extracting ZIP, RAR, 7z and other archives.
The Unarchiver
macOS extractor that opens archive formats Finder cannot.
