Comparison of file archivers explained

The following tables compare general and technical information for a number of file archivers. Please see the individual products' articles for further information. They are neither all-inclusive nor are some entries necessarily up to date. Unless otherwise specified in the footnotes section, comparisons are based on the stable versions—without add-ons, extensions or external programs.

General information

Basic general information about the archivers.

Legend:

File archivers	Developer	Initial release	Platform	Latest release version	Latest release date	Status	License	Cost (USD)
7-Zip	Igor Pavlov	1999-01-02	Cross-platform			Active
ALZip	ESTsoft	1999	Cross-platform			Active
Archive Manager (File Roller)	Paolo Bacchilega	2001-05-12	Cross-platform			Active
Archive Utility	Apple	2003-10-24	macOS			Active
Ark	KDE team	1997	Cross-platform			Active
B1 Free Archiver	Adam Buyer	2011-08	Cross-platform	(Android), (Linux), (macOS), (Windows)	(Android), (Linux), (macOS), (Windows)	Active
BetterZip	MacItBetter	2006-05	macOS			Active
Commander One	Eltima Software	2015-08-04	macOS			Active
Compressed Folders	Microsoft	1998-06-25	Windows	Windows 8.1	2013-08-27	Active
Disk ARchiver	Denis Corbin	2002	Cross-platform			Active
Expander	Haiku	2002	Haiku			Active
Filzip	Philipp Engel		Windows			Inactive
FreeArc	Bulat Ziganshin	2007-11-01	Cross-platform			Active
iArchiver	Dare to be Creative Ltd.	2007-10-21	macOS	1.4.1	2008-10-30	Inactive
Info-ZIP (Wzip)	Samuel Smith	1989-03	Cross-platform	6.0	2009-04-29	Active
KGB Archiver	Tomasz Pawlak	2006-04-01	Cross-platform			Inactive
PeaZip	Giorgio Tani	2006-04-19	Cross-platform			Active
PKZIP	Phil Katz	1989	Cross-platform	12.4^[1]	2009-09	Active
PowerArchiver	ConexWare	1999-03	macOS	(macOS), (Windows)	(macOS), (Windows)	Active
StuffIt	Smith Micro Software	1987	Cross-platform	15.0.7^[2]	2011-12-01	Inactive

Notes and References

1. Web site: Latest Product Updates - Support Center - PKWARE Support Site. 2 July 2016. 30 May 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100530055049/http://www.pkware.com/support-desktop/product-updates. dead.
2. Web site: StuffIt Updates . Smith Micro Software . 2015-03-15 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111206080544/http://www.stuffit.com/support/updates.html . 2011-12-06 . dead .