The Best Free File Compression Software 2023

admin April 17, 2022September 27, 2023

Technological advancement has not only contributed to the mass production of software, videos, music, documents, and applications but has also led to a steep increment in the quality of content. Undoubtedly, this is a positive change towards taking a qualitative leap But the highly detailed files have also posed a major hurdle to be dealt with. A photo shot from a high-resolution camera, music recorded with tons of detail, and software developed with numerous features have stark differences in content but there’s something which is common in all of them. This common element is a resulting file with a considerably large size. The more detailed a multimedia file and the more feature-rich the software you need, the more space you need to give it on your device. Hence, comes the dire need for a compressing mechanism that not only archives your data but also works efficiently without bugs. Luckily, we are bestowed with a number of file compression software and most of them are available for free to the users.

Using or playing the file can’t be done alongside its compression, but if it needs to be stored passively then it can be stored in a compressed format.
Moreover, file compressors also help in reducing the file sharing time as it reduces its volume.
The ability to compress a file in numerous formats is not an obligatory feature, but it must be equipped with the ability to decompress all the major formats.

Top Best File Compression Software of 2023

To compress files efficiently in the desired manner, it is important to possess knowledge about the archiving utilities and their features to choose the best free file compression software for 2023.

WinRAR

WinRAR is a trialware file archive software for Windows. Developed by Russian software engineer Eugene Roshal, this utility has the ability to archive files in RAR or ZIP formats. The latest version of the software available is 5.70, which is roughly 3 MB in size. It was released 23 years ago, back in 1995, and was written in the C++ computer language. Since its release, it has undergone a number of phases of development and has managed to include a fair amount of features in its minute size. As mentioned above the utility can compress files only in two formats, while, it can unpack numerous archive file formats. Furthermore, it also supports multi-thread CPU compression and decompression. While WinRAR is available exclusively for Windows operating systems, OS like Mac and Linux are serviced by similar utility packages like the command-line utilities”RAR” and “UNRAR”.

WinZip Best File Compression Software

Just like WinRAR, WinZip is also a trialware file compressor for Android, Windows, MacOS, and iOS. Developed by WinZip Computing, this compressor can archive files only in Zip format and can decompress a few formats. The utility’s latest version is 23.0.13300, which is 57.13 MB in size. The large size is accompanied by the inclusion of a plethora of features. It can write archives directly to CD/DVD, has the ability to create backups, and comes with integrated FTP upload support. Moreover, its history dates back to 1991, which is the year of its initial release, and at first, it was exclusively developed for Windows.

7-Zip

7-Zip is a free and open-source file compressor developed by Igor Pavlov. Unlike WinRAR and WinZip, which are trialware, this utility is completely free. The word ‘free’ means not only to use freely but also includes the license to copy, study, and change the software. This software also has its native 7z archive format to compress files. Nonetheless, it possesses the ability to unpack numerous archive formats. Only 1.7 MB in size, the 7-Zip is rich with a surfeit of features. It supports a Graphical user interface, Command-line interface, Multiple-core CPU threading, and the ability to unpack archives with corrupted file names. This software is available for popular operating systems like Windows, Linux, MacOS, and ReactOS.

PeaZip

Just like the 7-Zip, PeaZip is also a free and open-source file archiver. It was developed by Giorgio Tani and supports its own PEA archive format along with other popular formats. Besides compression, it is also a file manager that makes it able to view and manage user files. The latest version (6.7.1) of the utility is 7.15 MB in size for Windows and around 9.48-20.02 MB for Linux OS. Notable features of the utility include file splitting and joining, secure file deletion, archive encryption, and system benchmarking. However, PeaZip lacks the ability to edit files inside archives.

Conclusion

The decision to choose the best file explorer is somehow subjective. The availability of numerous compressing software on the internet has made it easier for users to compress large files. If one needs only a basic file archiver, then WinRAR and 7-Zip are the best options to go for. Not only do they allow the user to compress volumes but also support unpacking of a wide range of archive formats. On the other hand, if someone needs a multi-utility and feature-rich archiver that can fix corrupt file names and even offer the option to manage the content of the device, then one can choose(depending on the availability of the desired feature) the WinZip and PeaZip.