File compression software is a type of program that can reduce the size of files by applying various algorithms and techniques. File compression can help you save disk space, bandwidth, and time when transferring, storing, or sharing files. In this article, we will introduce some of the most popular and useful file compression software for Windows, Linux, and macOS users, and explain their features, advantages, and disadvantages.
What is File Compression?
File compression is the process of encoding data in a way that reduces the number of bits or bytes required to represent it. There are two main types of file compression: lossless and lossy.
Lossless compression preserves the original quality and information of the file, and allows you to restore it exactly as it was before compression. Lossless compression is suitable for files that contain text, numbers, or other precise data, such as documents, spreadsheets, or archives.
Lossy compression discards some of the less important or redundant data in the file, and results in a lower quality or resolution than the original. Lossy compression is suitable for files that contain images, audio, or video, where some degree of degradation is acceptable or imperceptible to human perception.
The amount of compression that can be achieved depends on the type and content of the file, as well as the algorithm and settings used by the compression software. Some files are more compressible than others, and some formats are already compressed by default. For example, a plain text file can be compressed significantly by removing spaces or repeating characters, while a JPEG image file is already compressed using a lossy algorithm.
Why Use File Compression Software?
File compression software can offer several benefits for users who deal with large or numerous files on a regular basis. Some of the main reasons to use file compression software are:
- To save disk space: Compressing files can reduce their size and free up more space on your hard drive or external storage device. This can help you optimize your storage capacity and performance, as well as avoid running out of space when you need it most.
- To save bandwidth: Compressing files can reduce their size and speed up their upload or download time over the internet. This can help you save data usage and costs, as well as improve your network efficiency and reliability.
- To save time: Compressing files can reduce their size and shorten their transfer or backup time between devices or locations. This can help you save time and energy, as well as avoid errors or interruptions during the process.
- To protect data: Compressing files can also encrypt them with a password or a keyfile, adding an extra layer of security to your data. This can help you protect your data from unauthorized access or modification, as well as comply with privacy or confidentiality regulations.
How to Use File Compression Software?
File compression software usually provides a graphical user interface (GUI) or a command line interface (CLI) that allows you to perform various operations on files or folders. Some common operations are:
- Compress: This operation creates a compressed file (also known as an archive) from one or more input files or folders. You can choose the output format, compression level, encryption method, password, split size, and other options depending on the software and your preferences.
- Extract: This operation extracts the original files or folders from a compressed file (also known as an archive). You can choose the output location, overwrite mode, password, and other options depending on the software and your preferences.
- Test: This operation verifies the integrity and validity of a compressed file (also known as an archive). It checks if the file is corrupted or damaged, and if it matches the expected checksum or hash value.
- Convert: This operation converts a compressed file (also known as an archive) from one format to another. You can choose the output format, compression level, encryption method, password, split size, and other options depending on the software and your preferences.
- Browse: This operation allows you to view the contents of a compressed file (also known as an archive) without extracting it. You can preview, open, edit, copy, move, delete, rename, search, or extract individual files or folders within the archive.
What are the Best File Compression Software?
There are many file compression software available for different operating systems and platforms. Some of them are free and open source, while others are paid and proprietary. Some of them support only one or a few formats, while others support dozens or hundreds of formats. Some of them have simple and intuitive interfaces, while others have advanced and customizable features.
The best file compression software for you depends on your needs and preferences. However, here are some of the most popular and useful file compression software that we recommend for Windows, Linux, and macOS users:
7Zip
7Zip is one of the most widely used file compression software in the world. It is free and open source software that supports many formats such as ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZIP, and more. It has a high compression ratio, especially for the 7Z format, which can compress files up to 40% more than ZIP. It also supports strong AES-256 encryption, self-extracting capability, integration with Windows Shell, powerful file manager, powerful command line version, plugin for FAR Manager, and localizations for 87 languages. It works in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP / 2022 / 2019 / 2016 / 2012 / 2008 / 2003 / 2000, and has a port for Linux/Posix called p7zip.
PeaZip
PeaZip is another popular file compression software that is based on open source technologies of 7Zip / p7zip archiver, Facebook Zstandard compressor, FreeArc, Google Brotli compressor, PAQ family of compressors, PEA (archiving and encryption) project, and other free software file compression tools. It supports over 200 formats such as ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZIP, Brotli, Zstandard, and more. It also supports two factor authentication (password + keyfile), multiple file management features such as verification, find duplicates, convert archives, search in archives, bookmarks, tabbed browsing, etc. It is cross-platform and cross-architecture, and provides a full featured GUI application on Linux, macOS, and Windows. It is also available as a portable application that can be used from removable devices or shared on a network or cloud.
WinRAR
WinRAR is one of the most well-known and widely used file compression software in the world. It is a paid and proprietary software that supports many formats such as ZIP, RAR, 7Z, TAR, GZIP, and more. It has a high compression ratio, especially for the RAR format, which can compress files up to 30% more than ZIP. It also supports strong AES-256 encryption, self-extracting capability, integration with Windows Shell, powerful file manager, powerful command line version, and localizations for over 40 languages. It works in Windows 11 / 10 / 8 / 7 / Vista / XP / 2022 / 2019 / 2016 / 2012 / 2008 / 2003 / 2000.
NanaZip
NanaZip is a new file compression software that is intended for the modern Windows experience. It is an open source software that is forked from the source code of 7Zip. It inherits all the features from 7Zip such as high compression ratio, strong AES-256 encryption, self-extracting capability, integration with Windows Shell, powerful file manager, powerful command line version, plugin for FAR Manager, and localizations for 87 languages. It also adds some new features such as packaging with MSIX for modern deployment experience, support for the context menu in Windows 10/11 File Explorer, enable NSIS script decompiling support for the NSIS archives, provide 7Zip execution alias for helping users to migrate to NanaZip, support for the Brotli, Fast-LZMA2, Lizard, LZ4, LZ5 and Zstandard codecs, support for the Per-Monitor DPI-Aware for all GUI components, support for the i18n for GUI edition of Self Extracting Executable, integrate many HASH algorithms from RHash and xxHash, enable Control Flow Guard (CFG) to all target binaries for mitigating ROP attacks, mark all x86 and x64 target binaries as compatible with Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) Shadow Stack, strict handle checks at runtime to block the use of invalid handles, disable dynamic code generation in Release builds prevents generating malicious code at runtime, block loading unexpected libraries from remote sources at runtime, enable Package Integrity Check, enable EH Continuation Metadata, enable Signed Returns. It works in Windows 11 / 10.
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