Quick overview:
Whether you’re downloading files, sending and receiving emails, or archiving data—even in an age of massive hard drives and online storage services like Dropbox—compression programs remain an indispensable tool. While Windows itself can compress and decompress files in ZIP format, that’s about all it can do. All other file formats are left out. Using a compression program therefore still offers significant advantages. Here are the best programs.
1. Winzip
The classic! The latest version of WinZip, 16.5 (starting at €35.50), offers—as usual—a range of features that go beyond those of a simple archiving program—such as data encryption and the ability to burn files directly to CD, DVD, or Blu-ray disc. Compressing and extracting files is extremely convenient. WinZip can create only three formats (Zip, ZipX, LHA), but it can read many more formats (e.g., RAR, 7Z).
2. WinRAR
The WinRAR archiver has also been on the market for a long time. The software (current version 4.20) still stands out for having one of the most effective compression methods. One minor drawback: WinRAR can only create RAR and ZIP files. On the other hand, it supports a very wide range of formats for reading and extracting files. WinRAR is shareware—you can try it for free for 40 days, after which you must purchase a license (starting at approximately €35). You can download WinRAR here, for example.
3. Power Archiver
The Power Archiver program can do much more than just compress and decompress files. In the current 2012 version (starting at €19.95), the software can compress files into four different archive formats (including Zip, ZipX, and RAR) and open 20 additional formats. Power Archiver also offers comprehensive support for file archiving, such as creating and burning ISO files and editing Blu-ray media. The built-in multicore support for modern processors significantly speeds up compression—and allows multiple files to be processed simultaneously.
4. 7-Zip
One of the best-known archiving programs in the freeware scene is 7Zip. It offers its own file format, 7z, but also supports a large number of other formats, both for compressing (Zip, WIM, GZip) and for decompressing (ARJ, CAB, DMG, FAT, RAR …) of files. As the term “freeware” suggests, installing and using 7Zip is free; however, the user interface is rather sparse.
5. TugZip
TugZip is a free, lightweight, and therefore extremely fast archiving program that can handle many formats (including Zip, 7z, and RAR) and is intuitive to use. The program features an interface similar to Windows Explorer, making it easy for users to get started. Although TugZip hasn’t been updated for some time (the latest version is 3.5), it’s still one of the best freeware archiving programs.
6. PeaZip
Another free archiving program—and one that comes in several versions: PeaZip is available in 32-bit and 64-bit versions, for Linux computers, and as a portable version for anyone who doesn’t want to install software on their computer. The current version, 4.7.2, supports a wide range of formats (Zip, 7z, WIM, ARC, Tar). If desired, PeaZip can protect the created archives with a password.
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It's great that the programs are presented and the pros and cons are listed, but a conclusion at the end as to which device has the edge would have been very cool.
7-ZIP is of course at the front. Even my university has installed it in the computer pool.