7-Zip

7-Zip is a file archiver with a high compression ratio.

Download 7-Zip 9.20 (2010-11-18) for Windows:

Link Type Windows Size
Download .exe 32-bit x86 1 MB
Download .msi 64-bit x64 1 MB

The download links above redirect you to download pages on SourceForge.net

License

7-Zip is open source software. Most of the source code is under the GNU LGPL license. The unRAR code is under a mixed license: GNU LGPL + unRAR restrictions. Check license information here: 7-Zip license.

You can use 7-Zip on any computer, including a computer in a commercial organization. You don't need to register or pay for 7-Zip.

The main features of 7-Zip

  • High compression ratio in 7z format with LZMA and LZMA2 compression
  • Supported formats:
    • Packing / unpacking: 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR, ZIP and WIM
    • Unpacking only: ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DEB, DMG, FAT, HFS, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, VHD, WIM, XAR and Z.
  • For ZIP and GZIP formats, 7-Zip provides a compression ratio that is 2-10 % better than the ratio provided by PKZip and WinZip
  • Strong AES-256 encryption in 7z and ZIP formats
  • Self-extracting capability for 7z format
  • Integration with Windows Shell
  • Powerful File Manager
  • Powerful command line version
  • Plugin for FAR Manager
  • Localizations for 79 languages
7-Zip

7-Zip works in Windows 7 / Vista / XP / 2008 / 2003 / 2000 / NT / ME / 98. There is a port of the command line version to Linux/Unix.

On 7-Zip's Source Forge Page you can find a forum, bug reports, and feature request systems.

Compression ratio

We compared 7-Zip with some of the leading archivers.

FILE SETS: Mozilla Firefox 1.0.7 for Windows and Google Earth 3.0.0616 for Windows after full installation.

Archiver Mozilla Firefox Google Earth
161 files
15,684,168 bytes
115 files
23,530,652 bytes
Compressed size Ratio Compressed size Ratio
7-Zip 4.23 (7z format) 4621135 100% 6109183 100%
WinRAR 3.50 5021556 109% 6824892 112%
CABARC 5.1 5131393 111% 7434325 122%
WinZip 10.0 beta (maximum-PPMd) 5277118 114% 8200708 134%
7-Zip 4.23 (zip format) 6222627 135% 8909446 146%
WinZip 10.0 beta (maximum-portable) 6448666 140% 9153898 150%

Compression ratio results are very dependent upon the data used for the tests. Usually, 7-Zip compresses to 7z format 30-70% better than to zip format. And 7-Zip compresses to zip format 2-10% better than most of other zip compatible programs.



7-Zip 9.26 2012-04-20

Next version is expected to be released in April 2012


7-Zip 9.25 alpha 2011-09-16
Forum: 7-Zip 9.25 alpha
Download 7-Zip 32-bit
Download 7-Zip x64

7-Zip 9.22 beta 2011-04-18
7-Zip 9.22 beta


7-Zip 9.20 2010-11-18
History of 7-zip changes

Copyright (C) 2012 Igor Pavlov.