WinZip vs. 7-Zip running on Win10 64-bit version?

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I have been a long time WinZip user but over the years I’ve noticed that although the main function of the program (i.e. to zip and unzip files) remains the same, WinZip keeps adding functionality to their program which some would call bloat. Today, I received yet another notice from WinZip announcing WinZip 20 which again seems to be more bloat and I’m contemplating getting off the upgrade treadmill.. So, is there anyone out there that can provide me with an honest comparison of 7-Zip against WinZip running on a Windows 10 64-bit machine? In addition if there’s anyone that can provide me with any info on the 7-Zip beta (i.e. features, potential release dates for a GA version, etc.) then that would be helpful as well.

My primary concern is that WinZip keeps asking me to purchase upgrade protection and it seems to me that what I’m getting in the upgrades is not adding any functionality that I need. My need is to zip and unzip files and folders and sometimes create a password protected zip file and if 7-Zip can do everything that WinZip can do in that regard then I may either keep my copy of WinZip 19 or switch to 7-Zip if someone can give me a reason to do so. Since there is a 7-Zip beta though, I would like to know more about that if someone has any details. Thanks.

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WinZip190 is 116 MBs 7Zip is 1 MB to download, you want to avoid bloat the answer should be obvious. It does all I need. Try it You’ll like it. And if not dump it. Make sure any encrypted files are usable w/ 7Zip before uninstalling WinZip.You can try the stand alone version http://www.7-zip.org/a/7z1510-extra.7z:cheers:

🍻

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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I haven’t used Winzip for about 10 years. Instead I’ve used the stable 32-bit version of 7-Zip and, more recently, the 64-bit beta version. We also used the 32-bit stable version of 7-Zip on 6000+ devices at work for both un-encrypted and encrypted zip files. I’ve never had an issue with either version and suspect the 7-Zip author is just being exceedingly cautious with the beta version.

Hope this helps…

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One thing I needed several years ago with the WinZip program that free ones and some cheaper ones didn’t have was the ability to create .exe files that could be double-clicked and self-decompress to a Folder, quite useful when sharing files with folks that had problems working with the .zip format.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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… free ones and some cheaper ones didn’t have was the ability to create .exe files that could be double-clicked and self-decompress…

No problem creating self-extracting exe’s in 7-zip, in Add to Archive dialog just select 7z format and check the “create SFX archive” box.

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No problem creating self-extracting exe’s in 7-zip, in Add to Archive dialog just select 7z format and check the “create SFX archive” box.

I did mention “several years ago” in my reply so the same old thing applies, time changes things and there needs to be an awareness of that.

Before you wonder "Am I doing things right," ask "Am I doing the right things?"

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Thanks for that tip. When I tested this procedure, it created the .exe file nicely. Then, when I moved the .exe file to a different folder and double-clicked it, the PC just kept cranking, and never extracted the test files. I tried it several times. Finally, I right-clicked it, and selected “Extract here.” That extracted the files successfully. I will try again on a different PC, and also on another one that does not have 7-Zip installed.

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No problem creating self-extracting exe’s in 7-zip, in Add to Archive dialog just select 7z format and check the “create SFX archive” box.

Thanks for that tip. When I tested this procedure, it created the .exe file nicely. Then, when I moved the .exe file to a different folder and double-clicked it, the PC just kept cranking, and never extracted the test files. I tried it several times. Finally, I right-clicked it, and selected “Extract here.” That extracted the files successfully. I will try again on a different PC, and also on another one that does not have 7-Zip installed.

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I still have winzip 18 and refuse to upgrade any further since I have seen nothing in the upgrades to produce more security. I thought about 7-zip but there were a lot of cautions on the info page so I decided to stick with winzip.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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My need is to zip and unzip files and folders and sometimes create a password protected zip file and if 7-Zip can do everything that WinZip can do in that regard then I may either keep my copy of WinZip 19 or switch to 7-Zip if someone can give me a reason to do so. Since there is a 7-Zip beta though, I would like to know more about that if someone has any details. Thanks.

I’m using the 15.09 7-Zip beta and it works fine, as have the other betas from 7-Zip that I’ve used.
I don’t know of any features that I am missing for my needs, which are as described above by yourself.

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I’m using the 15.09 7-Zip beta and it works fine, as have the other betas from 7-Zip that I’ve used.

Trev,

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if you could tell me what is different between the beta version and the 9.20 stable version of 7-ZIP? I’m curious as there a significant difference between the 15.10 version and the 9.20 version which leads me to believe that this is a pretty major release of the product. Anything you can tell me will be very helpful. Also from your personal experience, have you noted any issues with the beta and Windows 10?

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Trev,

Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if you could tell me what is different between the beta version and the 9.20 stable version of 7-ZIP? I’m curious as there a significant difference between the 15.10 version and the 9.20 version which leads me to believe that this is a pretty major release of the product. Anything you can tell me will be very helpful. Also from your personal experience, have you noted any issues with the beta and Windows 10?

I don’t know what the differences are, but have used betas with Windows 10 with no issues so far.

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Windows does almost all the Zipping I need.
If I need to create a zip with a password I use 7-Zip.
7-Zip also creates a self extractor if you use the 7z format and it can open lots of other archive types, even ISO.
Where 7-Zip falls down is use, it is not intuitive for me and I usually have to think carefully about what I want to do.

cheers, Paul

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Comparison, no I don’t have that.

However I abandoned WinZip years ago because it kept bothering me for more money to upgrade. And good quality free alternatives were available. I’ve been using 7-Zip for years now and am quite happy with it. On the plus side:

– 7-Zip never fails silently or in the middle of a job. If 7-Zip has a problem, it tells you right up front;
– Scalability does not seem to be a problem. I’ve thrown some really big jobs at it;
– Proper support for multi-core systems;
– Really good format file support, literally everything I’ve ever heard of.

Weaknesses:

– Every once in a while, an “obvious” interface action will fail. I think this is mostly when I attempt to add a file to an existing archive, using drag-and-drop. 7-Zip doesn’t allow this sequence for some reason;
– I’ve sometimes tinkered with alternate compression schemes in 7-Zip and discovered astonishing improvements in compression ratios. The issue here is, why require the user to find that out? Most will never fool around with these values;
– The .7z file format. It’s proprietary, no one else uses it. IMO it’s a waste of time pushing yet another compression format that a huge potential audience will just have trouble using.

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Moondoggy451 – I’m curious why you aren’t directing your queries about the beta version to 7-Zip’s developer. He appears to be quite active on SourceForge…

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Moondoggy451 – I’m curious why you aren’t directing your queries about the beta version to 7-Zip’s developer. He appears to be quite active on SourceForge…

I’ve read the developer’s DEVLOG on his beta and alpha versions and some of it seems kind of “Techie” and really didn’t address anything regarding the user interface or ease of use. As a former developer I find that most developers feel that that the “what” “when”, “why” and “how” of their development is what they feel is most important and not necessarily what someone else might believe. Most of the time my greatest insight into a product is to hear how the product works from someone that is not the developers but an end user so that’s why I’m seeking that first hand experience from someone that’s using the current Beta. Some have suggested that I simply install the product myself and try it out and if I don’t like it uninstall it. Unfortunately, when my system was Windows 7 I installed and uninstalled stuff all the time and in the end when I went to upgrade to Windows 10 my machine was pretty much an unstable mess. So, after performing a Windows 10 reset and reinstalling my core apps, I’m trying to restrict myself and be a bit more careful of what I install and uninstall so I can keep this version in top running condition. Note that I’ve run 7-zip on my work PC before I retired and I found it adequate for my needs then but that has been several years ago and a lot might have changed in that timeframe.

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Most of the time my greatest insight into a product is to hear how the product works from someone that is not the developers but an end user so that’s why I’m seeking that first hand experience from someone that’s using the current Beta.

There should be more people like you. Have as many babies as you can 😀

7zip is well thought of, and quite lightweight; I’m not a fan, but I only tried an old version many years ago and I found it hard to use, having been a long-time Winzip user. But hey, that’s just me, so don’t let it put you off; it’s bound to have changed since then.

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I am still using Winzip 14.5 Pro. Winzip Pro makes scripting offsite backups by its built-in ftp very simple. All of the Winzip versions I know also make scripting specialized local backups very easy. But these features don’t seem to interest you.

I find the OLD Winzip “classical” GUI much more convenient than 7-Zip, but it is no longer available in the lateat versions of Winzip in any case. It has been replaced by a ribbon-based GUI, which I hate.

My 2 cents: it’s best not to get on upgrade merry-go-rounds. Whenever an update becomes available, I decide whether the changes offered are worth it to ME, and on that basis decide whether to update. I don’t update just to make the vendor richer. That’s why I’m still on WZ 14.5.

Good luck.
C.

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I am still using Winzip 14.5 Pro.

Oh my, I use WinZip 11 once & awhile, but I find that WinRAR and 7-zip do everything I’ve ever needed to do. WinZip’s constant nags about upgrades and bloated size simply have been lost on me.

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If you’re a registered user of Winzip, and you’re happy with it, why not just keep it without upgrading? Many old versions, including the self-extractor files, are available here.

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If you’re a registered user of Winzip, and you’re happy with it, why not just keep it without upgrading? Many old versions, including the self-extractor files, are available here.

I’ve thought of that and keeping my current version of WinZip is certainly an option but sometimes you find that the version you have has hooked itself into the OS and/or other apps you have installed and that and that in doing so it consumes unnecessary resources and takes up a lot of space on your system. In my experience, I find that sometimes when you remove a bloated app you can sometimes gain a little back in the way of OS and/or application performance and/or stability assuming that what you put back is not also bloat-ware with a lot of application hooks. For example I used to run Raxco’s PerfectDisk defragger on my Windows 7 system and it became terribly bloated and Woody Leonard suggested that I could get just as good or better disk compression out of the Windows built-in defragger. After removing PerfectDisk I noted a marked improvement in boot and system speed so taking something off can help. Also, I don’t see that going backward is a good option as an older version might not be compatible with Windows 10. This is one reason why I’m focused in 7-Zip as it’s my understanding that it’s not bloated and as long as it’s Windows 10 compatible, it might be the best solution available.

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i’ve been using IZARC for years, and have it installed on all my user’s PCs.

It’s completely free with no nags.
Never found a single issue.
It handles every zip format I’ve heard of and many I haven’t.
Works and looks like winzip.

Oh, and it’s completely free with no nags.

Also, it’s completely free with no nags. 🙂

Go to:

http://www.izarc.org/

You’re welcome.

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i’ve been using IZARC for years, and have it installed on all my user’s PCs.

It’s completely free with no nags.
Never found a single issue.
It handles every zip format I’ve heard of and many I haven’t.
Works and looks like winzip.

Oh, and it’s completely free with no nags.

Also, it’s completely free with no nags. 🙂

Go to:

http://www.izarc.org/

You’re welcome.

Several reviews on the web indicate that the latest version contains spyware/malware.

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Long ago, I had a 100 user license for WinZip, that the original creator said would be good for lifetime updates. When the current publisher of WinZip, Corel, took over, the first thing they did was try to charge me for every version upgrade. That pretty much soured me on ever giving them money again. I’ve switched to 7-Zip and am extremely happy with it. As mentioned by an earlier poster, the one thing 7-Zip appears to not have, and I miss, is the ability to create self-extracting “.exe” files. For that, I keep one copy of WinZip ver. 8.0 on an old PC. LOL

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As mentioned by an earlier poster, the one thing 7-Zip appears to not have, and I miss, is the ability to create self-extracting “.exe” files

You missed this one: http://windowssecrets.com/forums/showthread//172576-WinZip-vs-7-Zip-running-on-Win10-64-bit-version?p=1029229&viewfull=1#post1029229

cheers, Paul

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7-Zip 15.2 final released
http://www.pcauthority.com.au/News/412112,7-zip-152-final-released.aspx?utm_source=feed&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=PC+%26+Tech+Authority++-+Latest+Articles

It’s been a long wait, but if you’re still using the latest stable build – 9.20 – then there are plenty of reasons to upgrade.

There’s support for unpacking many more containers: UEFI BIOS files, WIM files, RAR5 archives, ext2/ ext3/ ext4 images, GPT, VMDK, and single file QCOW2 and VDI images.

The release also has wider support for existing formats, for example correctly handling files larger than 4GB in ISOs, and opening more “unusual” 7z files created by third-party apps.

Don't take yourself so seriously, no one else does 🙂
All W10 Pro at 22H2,(2 Desktops, 1 Laptop).

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I always used WinRar and it is always fit according to my requirements

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