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User Reviews

7-Zip
7-Zip

7Zip is an open-source file archiver, that offers a the highest compression ratio, using the new f 7z format, which delivers compression results that are usually 30-50% better than standard ZIP. We t ...

Average of 17 user ratings: 4


  • Jun 25, 2008
  • For version:
  • 4.42

quote  Lean and mean  quote

  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

If you want a no-nonsense compression tool this is it. I used to use another freeware compression tool (which was very good) until I found it choked on larger files. 7-zip handles large files beautifully. It may not have the eye candy of some other programs, but it doesn't have the bloat either.

user Review by: Rustyboy (10)
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  • Apr 09, 2008
  • For version:
  • 4.42

quote  Simple, reliable, and uncomplicated  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

No bells and whistles to complicate a simple task. It just does what it is supposed to do and it does it well.

user Review by: gusimio (26)
Read all 26 reviews by gusimio


  • Jun 20, 2007
  • For version:
  • 4.32

quote  Does the job nicely  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

This product has certainly improved and is now definitely a contender. I have moved from Power Archiver to IZarc and now to 7zip and find it works very well. Certainly something to try, by default it does NOT take over associations, you can do that in the options.

user Review by: drfung (8)
Read all 8 reviews by drfung


  • Nov 11, 2006
  • For version:
  • 4.32

quote  Open source and one of the best...  quote

  • Interface: 3
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

Nice SFX options with AES encryption. There is a beta that supports ZIP-AES that should be coming soon. The GUI is a little rough, but overall it is functional and not too confusing for some of my non-tech friends and family. Command line interface is easy and I have implemented it at the office for some automated tasks. Well worth a look and a donation for future development and enhancements.

user Review by: SithTracy (18)
Read all 18 reviews by SithTracy


  • Oct 25, 2006
  • For version:
  • 4.32

quote  Unnecessary difficult interface  quote

  • Interface: 1
  • Features: 3
  • Ease of use: 1
  • Value: 1
  • Overall: 1

When an interface is made so that you need to read the help files to understand how to create a new archive name, it must be a disaster of a program. This one makes it. Useless interface.

user Review by: Tan1954
First post


  • May 25, 2006
  • For version:
  • 4.32

quote  Great archiver alternative  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

For those who have clicked away a million nag popups in programs like WinZip or WinRAR, 7-Zip is a welcome alternative. The functions and interface are similar to both aforementioned programs, though a bit more plain. Plenty of features and compression options, a wide array of supported archive formats, and shell integration make it quite useful and effective.

user Review by: mdlong (2)
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  • Mar 15, 2006
  • For version:
  • 4.32

quote  It's good to have both  quote

  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

Although I use Winzip 9.0 mainly. I do like this program as well, as other well known extraction utility too. Because this one has support for other file extension that you won't see within winzip. So my recommendation about this nice program is a thumbs up. Well done to the developer of this software.

user Review by: Fortra (11)
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  • Dec 29, 2005
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  A great extraction tool.  quote

  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

I have tried many unzipping programmes, and this one would have to be the best, with its ease of use, it is quick and reliable, with no frills to confuse the un-initiated. It has not yet failed to open any files of various types. A great product. Congratulations. Thanks, Pondejim.

user Review by: Pondejim (8)
Read all 8 reviews by Pondejim


  • Oct 13, 2005
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  Nice zipper tool  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

I've been using this tool for years and it provided me all the best results compared to a known commercial software. This is more handy than [..] for it is associated in the windows explorer once you unzip a file. I have no problems in zipping files as well. 7zip is a good tool to try.

user Review by: pcfreak (14)
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  • Jul 20, 2005
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  Excellent open source file compression tool  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

Continually being refined 7-Zip has quickly become a favorite tool for me. I work with a lot of zipped files daily and 7-Zip has yet to fail me. I have tried other free compression tools and have stuck with 7-zip. The interface may be plain Jane but who really care what it looks like as long as it does it's job.

user Review by: Questdelsangraal (4)
Read all 4 reviews by Questdelsangraal


  • May 31, 2005
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  Shouldn't complain about free software. ...  quote

  • Interface: 2
  • Features: 3
  • Ease of use: 2
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 3

Shouldn't complain about free software. This is one of the better ones, but sometimes it failed on rar files. Not sure if it was due to this program or the wrapping. Also the UI is a bit clumsy. One benefit is is quick.

user Review by: dranconius (3)
Read all 3 reviews by dranconius


  • Jan 13, 2005
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  Superb compression... but the best?  quote

  • Interface: 2
  • Features: 2
  • Ease of use: 3
  • Value: 4
  • Overall: 3

The interface is pretty basic compared to others in this category. And when you consider that the download size is roughly the same size as WinRAR's (shareware), then its interface and feature set are *VERY* basic indeed. Compression ratios rival that of RAR, but overall, they're both about the same, with each having the advantage over the other, depending on file types being compressed (LZMA really shines when compressing large numbers of small files and subfolders). Also, I've found the self-extractor stub "overhead" to be rather large (may have something to do with the complexity of the LZMA SFX algorithm). I'm recommending this app, but barely... right up until IZArc's author can implement a self-extract option for the 7z format... Then it's a non-recommendation.

user Review by: EM_745 (32)
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  • Dec 30, 2004
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  Compression lies  quote

  • Interface: 1
  • Features: 1
  • Ease of use: 1
  • Value: 1
  • Overall: 1

This program "Claims" to produce 30 to 50% Higher compression ratios than Winzip. What a crock !!!!!!! I compressed the Exact same 4 files with both Winzip and 7-Zip, and the 7-Zip file was 1 mg LARGER than the Winzip file. And yes I set it to maxium compression. I HATE to be lied to ! [Editor's note: Compression results vary based on file type. 7-zip is known to offer better results with text based files like log files, html etc.]

user Review by: freewaretester101
First post


  • Nov 04, 2004
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  The best zip utility around!  quote

  • Interface: 5
  • Features: 5
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 5

I like freeware that is compact and powerful. 7zip does not have a glitzy interface. It quietly integrates into the windows explorer context menu giving you all the extraction options you need. You can create self-extracting archives. After testing a lot of .zip utilities, I like this one the best.

user Review by: jenglish2 (2)
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  • Sep 15, 2004
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  Poor command line support  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 4
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

As it can not use absolute paths (e.g.: c:data), it is almost unusable from command line, so forget those tricky compressing batch files... :(

user Review by: OFFice
First post


  • Sep 04, 2004
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  Using it for unzipping files  quote

  • Interface: 4
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 5
  • Overall: 4

I find it useful for me to unzip files from various formats like zip, rar, tar etc. It only zips file to 7z format and not to regular zip format which is not so good for common use. Anyway it works well to unzip files.

user Review by: free2nm (70)
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  • May 24, 2004
  • For version:
  • 3.13

quote  The real compressor  quote

  • Interface: 2
  • Features: 4
  • Ease of use: 5
  • Value: 4
  • Overall: 4

7-Zip not only proposes its own compression format, it recognizes a lot of others. I adopted it because of its efficiency while zipping files and its wonderful quickness in unzipping (trying to unzip the full javadoc with different archiver is for me a good test that 7-Zip passed easily). Its interface is cheap but I mainly use it through the contextual menu. And I love its icons: perfectly readable. A must have.

user Review by: free4real4U (5)
Read all 5 reviews by free4real4U