Note: This article was published in 2013. Software versions, prices, settings, apps and services mentioned may have changed or been discontinued since then — please check current information before relying on it.

The Open Source software tool 7-Zip is a free file packing and unpacking application published under the GNU LGPL license. Specific code parts to unpack (unrar) file archives with *.rar extensions are restricted and published under a mixed licese. 7-Zip can be used free on personal as well as professional business computers for free. Registration or purchase of thise software is not necesarry. The file manager tool is available for free download.

Features of 7-Zip

The file manager supports almost all common compression algorithms and formats.

• Very high compression rate for 7z archive type
• Supported archive types for packing and unpacking are: 7z, ZIP, GZIP, TAR, WIM, XZ and BZIP2
• Supported unpacking formats: RAR, NTFS, ARJ, DMG, ISO, RPM, XAR, Z, VHD, MBR, LZH, CAB, CramFS, CHM, UDF
• 10% increased ratio for ZIP & GZIP format
• Advanced Windows Shell Integration
• AES encryption with 256 bit codec
• It is Free!

Compression ratio

7zip has a very efficient compression ratio using the *.7z archive type.

Download 7zip

7-zip works with every Windows version. The application is also available for Linux.

For Windows 32-bit: 7-Zip File Archiver Windows 32-bit

For Windows 64-bit: 7-Zip File Archiver Windows 64-bit

For Linux: p7zip_16.02_src_all.tar.bz2

For Mac: Keka-1.1.3.dmg.zip

7-Zip completely free of use and will be updated regularly.