14 Best Free Zip & Unzip Programs

7-Zip

7-Zip is likely one of the most widely known file archiving and extracting software, with support for a wide range of popular file formats.

Dozens of archive file types can be opened with 7-Zip, and you can create a new archive in a few popular formats. You can also create self-extracting files in the EXE format that can be launched and extracted without using any decompression software — this is great if you're sending an archive to someone, but you aren't sure if they have the proper software to extract files.

One thing I love about 7-Zip is that it integrates with File Explorer. This means I can very quickly pull files out of an archive by just right-clicking it.

Something else I like is that it doesn't try to install extra software or toolbars during setup. However, one downside is that there isn't a portable 7-Zip available from the developer.

PeaZip

PeaZip is a free file unzipper program that can extract content from over 200 archive file formats, some of which are common and others that are lesser-known.

In addition to decompressing files, PeaZip can create new archives in several formats. These can be password-protected and encrypted with 256-bit AES encryption, as well as secured with a keyfile for added protection.

Another reason I choose PeaZip is because of its advanced features, like scheduled archives and support for creating self-extracting files.

Unzip-Online

Unzip-Online is an online archive file decompressor. Upload a RAR, ZIP, 7Z, or TAR file to Unzip-Online, and it will show you the files inside.

You can't download all the files at once, which is unfortunate, so you must select each file individually to download. Also, password-protected files can't be extracted with Unzip-Online.

There is a max upload size limit of 200 MB per file, which is probably just fine for most archives. I had no problem extracting files from the dozens of archives I've uploaded to this site.

jZip

jZip is a free archive extractor that can decompress over 40 different file formats, like ones that have the 7Z, EXE, ISO, WIM, LZH, TBZ2, and ZIP file extension.

Password-protection is supported if you're creating a new archive, with either ZipCrypto or 256-bit AES encryption.

Drag and drop archives into jZip or just right-click a supported format and choose to extract the contents. It's really that easy to unzip an archive with jZip.

CAM UnZip

CAM UnZip is a free compressor and file extractor that works with ZIP files. It supports drag and drop to quickly open a ZIP file and can create password-protected archives.

There's an interesting feature I found where the program can be configured to automatically run a "setup.exe" file if one is extracted from a ZIP archive. This can greatly speed things up if you'll be extracting lots of setup files.

During setup, you're given the option to install CAM UnZip as a portable program that can be launched from a removable drive, or, of course, as a regular one that runs from your computer.

Zipeg

Zipeg is another free archive extractor similar to the others in this list that supports common formats like RAR, TAR, and ZIP, plus several others.

This program doesn't allow the creation of new archives, but it handles unzipping files just fine. When the app first opens, you get to choose which file extensions you want to be associated with the program so that you can be sure that Zipeg is the one that opens all of your archives.

One particular feature worth noting is the option to automatically open nested archives, meaning that Zipeg will open archives stored within the archive, automatically. While this isn't very common, it is helpful when you run into an archive like that.

While there isn't support for showing Zipeg in the right-click context menu, which makes unzipping files really easy, the software does support drag and drop into its program window.

RAR File Extractor

This is a free archive unzipper that (can you guess?) will extract RAR files.

There really isn't anything to this program except the initial screen, which lets you load a RAR file and choose where it should be extracted. Just select Extract to get the files.

Zipper

Zipper is another free archive decompressor that can open and create ZIP files.

Drag and drop is supported for opening a ZIP file in Zipper, but it can't open a 256-bit AES encrypted file.

The interface isn't nearly as easy to use as the other programs in this list, there isn't File Explorer integration, and it takes longer than it should to create your own ZIP file because you must use the built-in file explorer to select data.

Given the other programs in this list, Zipper really shouldn't be your preferred choice for a file unzipper. However, it is a working option and can do the job correctly, even if it's not the easiest to use or the most appealing program.

IZArc

IZArc is a free compression and extraction utility that works with 40+ archive file types, can repair broken archives, and supports scanning archives for viruses before opening them.

The program is easy to use because it can be integrated with the right-click context menu in Windows. You can use this menu to quickly open or extract any of the supported unpacking formats.

There's a really helpful feature that lets you convert between archive formats, such as RAR to ZIP and many other variations of all sorts of formats. This is also true for CD images, meaning that you could make an ISO file from a BIN, MDF, NRG, or NDI file.

Archives created with IZArc can be password-protected with 256-bit AES encryption or ZipCrypto.

A portable download called IZArc2Go is also available on the download page, plus a command line tool.

ZipGenius

Another free archive extractor and compressor for Windows only is ZipGenius.

Several formats are supported for both creating and extracting archives. You can password-protect new archives, automatically exclude particular file types when compressing files, and even split an archive into several smaller parts for easier web sharing or storage.

When extracting an archive with ZipGenius, you can set up one of the best antivirus programs to automatically scan the results to ensure you're not opening an infected archive.

ZipGenius also supports converting an archive to the ZIP format to easily change the file type to this popular one. There's also an option in the settings to set the priority of ZipGenius to control how many system resources can be allocated to it when compressing and decompressing files.

Free Zip Wizard

Free Zip Wizard is a clean and easy to use free file decompressor that supports ZIP files only.

In addition to opening and extracting ZIP files, Free Zip Wizard can create new ones that are password-protected and supports uploading a newly created ZIP file to an FTP server with the built-in FTP client.

When creating a new ZIP file, File Zip Wizard doesn't allow adding whole folders to the archive, but you can select more than one file at a time, which is helpful.

It's really easy to choose how much compression you wish to apply to the ZIP file with a slider setting — you can choose anywhere from no compression to maximum compression.

Something you might not like about Free Zip Wizard is that it shows an advertisement every time you close the program.

TUGZip

TUGZip is a free archive decompressor that integrates with Windows, making extracting archives much faster.

Like many other programs in this list, TUGZip can make self-extracting archives, but it also lets you add custom commands that run after the extraction completes.

You can add an installed free virus scanner to the settings to have it scan extracted files automatically, which is great to prevent a malicious file from an archive from infecting your computer.

TUGZip can also create batch archives, repair broken archives, and convert an archive to one of several formats like 7Z, CAB, RAR, or ZIP.

ALZip

ALZip is a free archive compressor and extractor for Windows and Mac. It can extract files from 40 archive formats and create new archives in over five different formats.

It supports scanning files right after they're extracted using your own antivirus program, which is super helpful if you're downloading lots of archives, since they may contain malware.

Some other things I like that ALZip includes are also supported in other programs: drag and drop to open archives and encryption when making a new one.

A really awesome feature I enjoyed using is the ability to preview the contents of an archive without opening it, called Peak in Archive. This works by simply right-clicking a supported archive (like a ZIP file) and viewing the file names in the context menu.