WinRAR is a 32-bit Windows version of the RAR archiver, the powerful archiver and archive manager. WinRAR compresses up to 30% better than ZIP. It provides complete support for RAR and ZIP archives and is also able to unpack CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZ, ACE, UUE, BZ2, JAR, ISO, Z and 7-Zip archives.
When you purchase a WinRAR license you are buying a license to the complete technology and there is no need to purchase add-ons to create self-extracting files. It's all included. One price, one payment, one time.
You may try WinRAR before buy, its trial version is available in downloads .
WinRAR 3.70 vs. WinZIP 9.0 comparisn
WinRAR 3.70
WinZIP 9.0
.Distribution
Graphical user interface
ZIP command line interface
( , extra addon)
RAR optimized console (text mode) version
Size of the Distribution
1.11 MB
2.26 MB
Shareware Trial period
40 days
21 days
change WinRAR's look by installing interface themes
configurable context menu
(Windows 32 bit)
configurable context menu
(Windows 64 bit)
SFX Module
Advanced SFX Module
Basic Zip SFX Function
.Multilanguage Support
Language versions
~45
3
Unicode Support
.Multi OS Support
RAR is available for Windows, DOS, OS/2, Linux, FreeBSD and MacOSX
Only on Windows
.Compression Features
Standard ZIP compression
Standard RAR compression
Solid compression
.Compression Options
Add and replace files
Add and update files
Freshen existing files only
Synchronize archive contents
Use High precision modification time
Extract archives with "keep broken files"
.Average Compression Rates (in % of original size)
Text
15 - 30%
20 - 45%
Word files
22%
29%
English text
14,8%
26,8%
Bitmap file
19%
29,5%
3D CAD files
26%
38%
.User Interface
Wizard
Drag & Drop support
File management mode
Archive management mode
Search Archive Content
Creating compression profiles
.Security Options
Protecting archives from damage
Reconstruction of missing split archives
Protect archives against accidental modification
Add authenticity information
Integration with virus scanners
Blocking of suspect file types
advanced options
only warning for .exe files (SR-1)
Does not allow to run *.pif" files
asks
Does not run files having 5 or more continuous spaces
asks
.Supported Archive Types
Extract
RAR, ZIP CAB, ARJ, LZH, TAR, GZIP, ACE, UUE, BZIP2, JAR, ISO, Z, 7-ZIP
and other MIME-types
ZIP, CAB, TAR, GZIP, UUE, JAR, Z
Compress
RAR, ZIP
ZIP
Additional file name extensions for archive formats supported