There was a time that Windows didn't have decompression and archiving tools built into the OS, with many people resorting to tools like WinRAR and 7-Zip to unpack compressed files. Both apps are among the best file compression tools for Windows. But while I used to be a WinRAR devotee, 7-Zip has taken the crown as the best option, in my opinion.
Both tools feature more advanced controls than Windows' built-in archiving software. This includes encryption, faster compression algorithms, and more granular controls for archiving files. But if you compare the two tools to each other, I think 7-Zip has some clear benefits over WinRAR.
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4 7-Zip is free while WinRAR is trialware
WinRAR borders on nagware
One of the biggest benefits of 7-Zip is that it's free and open-source, making it a great free alternative to popular software like WinRAR. If you were under the impression that WinRAR is free too, it's likely because of the trial that the software offers.
Officially, this trial is 40 days, after which certain features get locked. But many people get by using the software just fine after its trial has expired. It's a long-running joke that WinRAR's trial period never seems to end.
The downside of using WinRAR though, is that the app frequently prompts you to upgrade to the paid version. In fact, the first time you open WinRAR, it tries to get you to buy the software.
This has led to some people calling WinRAR nagware. While it's easy to ignore the prompts, they can also be annoying for many people. With 7-Zip, there is only a free version, so you never get asked to upgrade.
Another benefit of 7-Zip being open-source is that you can find forks of the software that offer additional features.
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3 7-Zip supports more file formats for archiving
WinRAR is more limited
While the reality is that many of us aren't too concerned about which format we archive our files in, support for different types of archiving is necessary for power-users. Certain formats and compression algorithms are better suited to different file types and support different features.
Both apps support a range of formats for unpacking and extracting content. But when it comes to archiving content, 7-Zip allows you to use four different formats: 7z, TAR, WIM, and ZIP. Meanwhile, WinRAR supports two archiving formats: RAR and ZIP.
If you're optimizing your storage space on your PC, you may want access to the program that gives you access to more archiving formats.
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2 You can choose which compression algorithm you want to use
7-Zip is a bit more flexible
Both apps allow you to customize your archives in a variety of ways, including setting the dictionary size, compression level/speed, and block sizes. But 7-Zip also lets you choose which compression algorithm you want to use when creating an archive.
Specific formats will determine which algorithms you can use. For example, for 7z, you can choose between LZMA2, LZMA, PPMd, and BZip2. For creating a ZIP archive, you can change the default algorithm to the faster LZMA algorithm.
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1 7-Zip's default compression is faster
Benchmarks show much higher compression speeds
Both 7-Zip and WinRAR have built-in benchmarks you can use to see how fast the default algorithms are able to archive content. 7-Zip's benchmark also shows you how quickly the app can decompress files.
I ran both benchmarks separately, setting the apps to use all 12 threads of my CPU while running the test. I also checked in Task Manager that both apps were using all of the available threads.
The results showed that 7-Zip's default 7z format using the lossless LZMA algorithm was able to handle a lot more data more quickly than WinRAR. The 7-Zip benchmark ran through 10 passes, which took around 59 seconds. During the benchmark, the compressed 1923MB of data at 58244KB/s. It decompressed 19237MB at 929949KB/s.
The WinRAR benchmark doesn't have a set end point and needs to be manually stopped. I ran it for 59 seconds. The benchmark doesn't give separate results for compressing and decompressing, but gives a result for compression speed. According to WinRAR's help documents, the benchmark uses the default RAR algorithm set to normal compression levels.
The test showed that WinRAR processed 1048MB during the 59 seconds the benchmark ran. Its compression speed was 18679KB/s.
This means that in terms of default compression, 7-Zip is considerably faster than WinRAR (around three times faster). So if you're looking for a tool which has a faster compression speed by default, 7-Zip is the winner.
Your own results will depend on your RAM and CPU. 7-Zip's real-world performance for compressing archives to 7z may also be a bit faster, since you can use the LZMA2 algorithm, which is an improved version of LZMA.
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7-Zip has a variety of benefits
There's a reason that 7-Zip is such a popular archiving tool. It supports quick, lossless compression; a variety of archiving formats; and it is completely free to use. While most people get by just using Windows' built-in archiving tool, users looking for more customization and a faster algorithm should definitely consider 7-Zip.