7-Zip download for free
7-Zip is a powerful file and data compression software developed by Igor Pavlov (initially in 1999). The software has also been ported onto other operating systems such as GNU/Linux thanks to porting programs. The ported console version of 7-Zip is named p7zip. 7-Zip has been praised for being ad-free and effective and has even been endorsed by governmental agenies. For example, is included in the list of free software recommended by the French State as part of its modernization of its information systems sector. The program runs using the command line or with a GUI translated into 79 languages.
Is 7-Zip really free?
7-Zip is a free software in the public domain, thanks to the generosity of Igor Pavlov. It is distributed under the LGPL license, and the software’s code is available for the public to see. Specifically, he LZMA code is in the public domain, the AES code is under BSD license and the unRAR code is under mixed license (LGPL + unRAR restrictions). The software can be legally and safely downloaded for free, with no restrictions on its use.
What file formats does 7-Zip support?
7-Zip supports the following file formats:
- Archiving (without compression): TAR
- Compression / Decompression: 7z, BZIP2, GZIP, WIM, XZ and ZIP;
- Decompression: APM, ARJ, CAB, CHM, Cpio, CramFS disk image, DEB, DMG, HFS disk image, ISO image (ISO 9660), LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS disk image, RAR, RPM, UDF , VHD, XAR and Z.
The technical aspects
7-Zip also supports 256-bit AES encryption and the creation of self-extracting archives. The native 7z and XZ formats are open modular formats that allow storage of compressed files using different algorithms, with Unicode filenames. By default, the software creates files in the 7z archive format (with the .7z extension) using the LZMA or LZMA2 compression algorithms, which allow the creation of more compact archives than formats such as ZIP, or even RAR or ACE, when the files to be compressed are not multimedia type (images or music).
How well does 7-Zip compress files?
The designer claims that its program compresses better than WinRAR (3.50) and WinZip (10.0) in 7z format, and produces ZIP files better compressed than any other compressor while being compatible with all existing decompressors.
Authors |
Igor Pavlov |
License |
Free |
User rating |
Platforms |
Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10 |
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