In computer world, compressing is the process of packaging a file to save disk space or make the file size smaller for transfer/uploading. In simple they are softwares that compress huge files (not always) to make files smaller. As you might know, WinZip is the most commonly used basic compressor/extractor.
Most of the home users still think that WinZip is the one and only Packager for Windows. It is sold for about INR 1,735 but it is not worth that much. So today in this post, I am going to share the best 5 compressors (both free and paid) similar to WinZip.
Top 5 Compressors Similar to WinZip
7-Zip
7-Zip is an Open Source Software (source code is openly available) and it’s my first preference .7 zip can unpack Zip, RAR or 7z archives of Windows as well as Tar and GZ archives of Unix based systems. The interface looks pretty old but it is very simple to use. The best feature of 7zip is its ultra-compression method though it is a slow process and consumes more memory.
WinRAR
WinRAR is yet another popular compressor after WinZip. The compression quality is also better than WinZip and takes less time. Most of the compressed files online are in .RAR formats and preferred by many internet users. It is most downloaded Compression software according to cNet Downloads. Unlike 7Zip, WinRAR is paid software.
PeaZip
PeaZip is yet another open source file compressor. It is made for pure basic home users with a lot more basic interface. It opens quickly and doesn’t consume much memory. It does the compression similar to WinZip but PeaZip is a freeware program. The best thing is that it supports a huge number of archive formats ranging from .ACE to .DMG and .LHA . It supports over 150 file types for extracting.
KGB Archiver
KGB Archiver is referred to as the best compressor available by most of the blogs. Is it really true? Yes KGB Archiver’s compression quality is very powerful. Another advantage is that KGB Archiver uses AES-256 encryption, which is a top encryption method. But the disadvantage is that it takes nearly ages for compression- much more than 7Zip also. It is coded in C++ and is available for Microsoft Windows as well as UNIX based systems. It has 10 levels compression, greater than any other compressor. It is highly useful to compress file with huge file size like movies, operating systems or games.
AlZip
AlZip supports about 30 archive formats! Unlike the interface of above compression programs, it has a new look and easy to use interface. However this is not a freeware and it is sold for around 29.95$. It provides its own archived format known as .EGG and is Unicode supported. It also uses the AES-256 encryption. It can open ISO files as well as open virtual CD files.
Conclusion
I know that most of you will prefer WinRAR in place of WinZip. But I would suggest you to use 7Zip for its high compression feature and if you want to share large files then I would recommend you to use KGB Archiver. Nevertheless you can give PeaZip a try! However if you think there is a better program out of the above 5, please feel free to share with us.
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