7‑Zip

Bandizip

Bandizip is a file compression and extraction tool for Windows and macOS that supports creating archives in formats like ZIP and 7Z and extracting more than 40 archive formats, including RAR, TAR, and ISO. It emphasizes speed with multi-core compression, and can handle multi-volume and 4GB-plus archives without extra plugins. A free edition covers everyday compression and extraction needs, while the Professional Edition adds a password manager, archive repair, password recovery, image preview inside archives, and built-in antimalware scanning during extraction. It is also distributed as a portable version and through the Microsoft Store.

The Unarchiver

The Unarchiver is a free macOS application that extracts a wide range of archive formats beyond what Apple's built-in Archive Utility supports, including RAR, 7z, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, CAB, and many legacy formats like StuffIt, ARJ, and LZH. It can be set as the default handler for these formats so double-clicking any supported archive just works. The app also handles archives with foreign-language filenames, encrypted and multi-volume archives, and can extract files from self-extracting Windows EXE installers. A companion iOS app called Archives brings similar extraction capability to iPhone and iPad.

NanaZip

NanaZip is an open-source file archiver forked from 7-Zip and rebuilt for the modern Windows experience, adding native dark mode, Mica window effects, and clean Windows 11 context-menu integration. It supports the same broad set of archive formats as 7-Zip plus additional codecs like Zstandard, Brotli, and LZ4, all packaged through MSIX for clean installs and automatic updates.

WinRAR

WinRAR is a desktop compression utility that creates and extracts RAR and ZIP archives with high speed and strong encryption. It also supports a wide range of other formats such as CAB, GZIP, TAR, ISO and more. The program offers a user‑friendly interface, command‑line options, and integration with Windows Explorer, making it suitable for both casual users and IT professionals who need robust file archiving and backup capabilities.

Keka

Keka is a native macOS file archiving utility built around drag-and-drop simplicity. Users drop files or folders onto the Keka window or dock icon to compress them into 7z, ZIP, TAR, DMG, ISO, and other formats, with optional AES-256 password encryption for sensitive data. It can also split large archives into smaller chunks for easier transfer or storage on removable media. On the extraction side, Keka handles more than 30 archive formats including RAR, WIM, and APK, so Mac users are not limited to whatever format a file happened to arrive in. The app is distributed free directly from the developer's website, with an optional paid copy available on the Mac App Store as a way to support development, and its core engine is open source on GitHub.

PeaZip

PeaZip is a free and open-source file archiving utility that can open and extract over 200 archive formats, including ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, and GZ, and create archives in its own formats plus common ones like ZIP and 7Z. It ships as a portable, no-install option as well as a standard installer across Windows, Linux, macOS, and BSD. Beyond basic compression, PeaZip includes AES-256 encryption with optional two-factor authentication for password-protected archives, secure file deletion, checksum/hash verification, and archive splitting and joining for large files. Its GUI wraps several open-source compression backends (7-Zip, FreeArc, PAQ, and others) behind a single consistent interface, and it is licensed under LGPLv3.