Starting this review with such a title, I realized that not all readers would agree with me. There are so many apps on the Mac Appstore that work with archives, why is BetterZip the only one? I'll try to explain my point of view.
When choosing an archiver for Mac, I was guided by the following criteria:
- Ability to archive and unpack all popular archive formats. Among the “desktop” ones, these are ZIP, RAR and 7Z. It would be desirable to be able to create archives of the less popular GZip and BZip. The ZIP format alone in the built-in archiver is no longer enough. Sometimes you need to work with RAR archives; it is often used on servers for incremental backup of files.
- View the contents of the archive without the need to unpack, as well as update files in the archive. This is generally already a de facto standard for archivers, to which many are accustomed using WinZip and WinRAR. It's not at all convenient without it.
- Finder context menu integration. First of all, archiving selected files from the context menu.
- Flexible settings for creating archives and compatibility of created archives with Windows. These include archiving profiles and ignoring OS X service files and folders (have you seen what an archive created by built-in tools looks like in Windows?).
- Application design. This is where I get really boring when I nitpick the design of Mac apps and their icons. I appreciate OS X for its unique design and ease of use, and I can't stand looking at programs that look like something straight out of the 90s. Perhaps this point is not critical for everyone, but I am sure that I am not the only one.
- Application support. Personally, I rarely use applications whose latest version was released 5 years ago.
Which archivers could have been included in this review, but were not included and why:
What BetterZip lacks is a library in Automator. It would be cool to be able to automate the process of creating or unpacking archives.
Let me remind you that BetterZip can be downloaded from the official website. It is possible to use the program for educational purposes. Cost today - $19.95 .
Thanks to Robert Rezabek for providing the BetterZip license.
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Write about archiving files and archivers for Mac OS suggested by one of the readers who asked me a question: are there archivers and dearchivers for Macs? I will try to describe what Mac OS has out of the box and what else can be delivered to make it comfortable to work with archives.
Archiving Utility - zip archives
One of the conveniences that I discovered after switching from Win to Mac was the built-in support for zip archives in Mac OS X - one of the most common formats that is supported in many operating systems. To create a zip archive, just select the file(s) in the Finder, right-click (or ctrl+click) and select “Compress” from the context menu. After which a zip file is created with a copy of the files and with the name “Archive.zip”, if there is more than one file to be archived, or if there is only one file, then the name of the archive will coincide with the name of the original file.
Unpacking zip files is just as easy as archiving. By default, the “Archive Utility” is launched automatically by double-clicking on a zip archive, which leads to unpacking the contents of the archive into a folder of the same name if there is more than one file. In addition, the original zip file remains untouched, that is, when unpacking, a copy of the archive contents is created.
The built-in zip support also manifests itself when downloading files from the Web in Safari. After the zip is downloaded, it will be automatically unpacked by the same “Archiving Utility”. In most cases, this default behavior is “just right,” but sometimes it’s annoying.
Working with archives from the Mac OS X Terminal
More experienced users can create archives from the Terminal. There are several utilities for this in Mac OS X, for example, gzip, bzip2, tar. Moreover, if the first two are archivers, then tar is a “packer” of files - it archives a group of files into one without compression. tar is used in conjunction with gzip and bzip2, which, according to the “Unix tradition”, can only compress one file: they perform one function, but well. Therefore, they usually first pack files or folders with files into a tar archive, and then compress the resulting file with gzip or bzip2.
You can read more about these archivers on Wikipedia: , . Many, of course, will not want to bother with the Terminal for archiving files. But it is worth noting that bzip2, for example, compresses better than standard zip or gzip, although it is slower. In addition, gzip is used by Mac OS itself to archive logs, for example.
I often make manual backups of files using the tar utility, which correctly saves information about files and folders (permissions, creation time, etc.). In addition, tar can be "asked" to compress the tar archive into bzip2. As a result, with one command, with the appropriate keys, we get a .tbz file in which the files are correctly packed (tar) and well compressed (bz2).
Non-standard method - .dmg
Among the standard set of Mac OS programs is Disk Utility, which is not intended for archiving files, but in principle this can be achieved from it. The idea is simple - creating compressed dmg images. To do this, you need to go to Disk Utility to the address “File–>New–>Disk image from folder...” (shortcut Command+Shift+N) and select the folder with the files in the dialog that appears. Next, in the next dialog for saving the dmg image, select the name and format of the image - “compressed”. If I understand everything correctly, the content will be compressed with the same zip.
I even once tested the compression ratio in dmg and zip. It turns out approximately the same - compressed dmg images are slightly (10%–15%) larger than a zip archive.
I took different types of files with a total size of 100 MB:
Third Party Archivers
The main reason why people reach out to install some kind of program for working with archives is the need to unpack rar files. Historically, rar was widely used on “one sixth of the landmass.” This, in my opinion, is due to the ability to split a rar archive into volumes (parts), a higher compression ratio than zip, and a set of all sorts of gadgets such as setting passwords for the archive and the like. The level of compression was important 5 years ago, when the price per gigabyte of hard drive space was high, recording to DVD was also expensive, and you couldn’t invest much in email.
As a result, many people on Windows continue to use rar as the main archiver, and there are still a lot of files packed in rar on the Internet.
Stuffit Expander
The program is what is called a “must have”. The main advantages are that it is free and the ability to unpack a bunch of formats, including rar. Stuffit Expander cannot archive at all; for this purpose there is its older (and paid) brother Stuffit Deluxe.
I won’t be mistaken if I say that in 99.9% of cases, for a happy mac life, Archiving Utility + Stuffit Expander is enough.
Stuffit Deluxe
This archiver costs $79, but it can do much more than Stuffit Expander. Firstly, it can compress into more than 20 archive formats, including rar, sitx, cab and all the formats mentioned above in the text. To be honest, I don’t use it, but if you often need to download something exotic on a Mac, or need to split archives into volumes for uploading to file storage (hello Varez :), then Stuffit Deluxe will certainly come in handy.
A good alternative to Stuffit Expander, and the built-in archiver in Mac OS, may be The Unarchiver. From the name it is already clear that the software is designed for unpacking files. The Unarchiver supports many archiving formats (including sitx from the developers of Stuffit), integrates with Finder, does not confuse non-English file names, etc. The Unarchiver is free and open-source.
There is nothing like WinRAR for Mac yet. The developers of the rar format have just waited for command-line utilities. It is distributed free of charge as a 40-day version (then you have to pay, although I don’t know how they control it), and if sometimes you need to download it in rar and are friends with the Terminal, then nothing else is needed for normal work and a carefree life.
BetterZip
Not very expensive ($19.95) and quite a popular archiver (thanks for the tip in the comments). Supports a lot of formats: IP, SIT, TAR, GZip, BZip2, RAR, 7-Zip, CPIO, ARJ, LZH/LHA, JAR, WAR, CAB, ISO, CHM, RPM, DEB, NSIS, BIN, HQX, DD. In addition, there is support for quick preview of the archive via Quick Look. To do this, you need to download a special plugin.
It is also worth paying attention to this archiver ($26). Like BetterZip, iArchiver is written in the best traditions of Mac-Usability. Supports not many formats: clamps - Zip, DMG, 7-zip, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, Z and CPIO; unpacks: Zip, RAR, 7-zip, StuffIt, Gzip, Bzip2, ARJ, Z, LhA, DMG, hqx, rpm and so on. In addition, it can convert rar archives to zip. In general, it is simple and understandable.
Containing a tool for working with archives, macOS is also initially equipped with one. True, the capabilities of the built-in archiver are very limited - Archive Utility, integrated into the Apple OS, allows you to work only with ZIP and GZIP (GZ) formats. Naturally, this is not enough for most users, so in this article we will talk about software tools for working with archives on macOS, which are much more functional than the basic solution.
This archiver is a comprehensive solution for working with archives in the macOS environment. BetterZip provides the ability to decompress all common formats used for data compression, with the possible exception of SITX. With its help, you can create archives in ZIP, 7ZIP, TAR.GZ, BZIP, and if you install the console version of WinRAR, then the program will also support RAR files. The latter can be downloaded from the developer’s official website, the link to which you will find in.
Like any advanced archiver, BetterZip can encrypt compressed data and can split large files into fragments (volumes). It has a useful search function inside the archive, which works without the need for unpacking. In a similar way, you can extract individual files without unpacking all the contents at once. Unfortunately, BetterZip is distributed on a paid basis, and after the trial period ends, it can only be used to unpack archives, but not to create them.
StuffIt Expander
Like BetterZip, this archiver supports all common data compression formats (25 types) and is even slightly superior to its competitor. StuffIt Expander has full support for RAR, for which you don’t even need to install third-party utilities, and it also works with SIT and SITX files, which the previous application also cannot boast of. Among other things, this software works not only with regular, but also with password-protected archives.
StuffIt Expander is presented in two versions - free and paid, and it is logical that the capabilities of the second are much wider. For example, it can be used to create self-extracting archives and work with data on optical and hard drives. The program includes tools for creating disk images and backing up information contained on drives. Moreover, you can set your own schedule to create a backup of files and directories.
WinZip Mac
Hamster Free Archiver
A minimalistic archiver for macOS in appearance and functionality, very simple and easy to use. Hamster Free Archiver uses the ZIP format to compress data, and it allows you to open and unpack not only the mentioned ZIP, but also 7ZIP, as well as RAR. Yes, this is significantly less than the solutions discussed above, but for many users this will be enough. If desired, it can be designated as the default tool for working with archives, for which you just need to go to the application settings.
As the name implies, Hamster Free Archiver is distributed free of charge, which undoubtedly sets it apart from other similar programs. According to the developers, their archiver provides a fairly high degree of compression. In addition to the usual compression and decompression of data, it allows you to specify the path to save it or place it in the folder with the source file. This is where the hamster's functionality ends.
Keka
Another free archiver for macOS, which, moreover, is in many ways not inferior to its paid competitors. With Keka you can view and extract files contained in RAR, TAR, ZIP, 7ZIP, ISO, EXE, CAB and many more archives. You can pack data in ZIP, TAR and variations of these formats. Large files can be divided into parts, which will significantly simplify their use and, for example, uploading to the Internet.
There are few settings in Keka, but each of them is really necessary. So, by accessing the main menu of the application, you can specify a single path for saving all extracted data, select an acceptable degree of file compression when packing, assign it as the default archiver, and set associations with file formats.
The Unarchiver
This application can only be called an archiver with a slight stretch. Unarchiver is more of a compressed data viewer whose only option is to decompress it. Like all of the above programs, it supports common formats (more than 30), including ZIP, 7ZIP, GZIP, RAR, TAR. Allows you to open them, regardless of what program they were compressed in, how much and what encoding was applied.
The Unarchiver is distributed free of charge, and for this you can safely forgive its functional “modesty”. It will be of interest to those users who often have to work with archives, but only in one direction - solely for viewing and extracting packed files onto their computer, nothing more.
Conclusion
In this short article, we looked at the main features of six archivers for macOS. Half of them are paid, half are free, but, in addition, each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and which one to choose is up to you. We hope this material was useful to you.
So, here is an archive in RAR format. You’ve never dealt with it before, and you also weren’t able to unzip the files in it with one click. What to do? Now we'll tell you!
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What is RAR?
The RAR file format is similar to the more familiar ZIP file. Both of them are “archives”, i.e. contain several other files in compressed form. Thanks to archives, you can, for example, send a friend or colleague by email not thousands of files separately, but just one file with the entire archive.
RAR is an abbreviation for Roshal ARchive, i.e. "Roshal Archive". Its creator is the famous Russian programmer Evgeny Roshal. “People” know Evgeniy Lazarevich mainly for his other popular product - FAR Manager. He created the RAR format to correct the shortcomings of ZIP. As a result, RAR archives “weigh” less, making it possible to divide them into several parts and correct errors that occur.
Now even more effective solutions have already been developed, such as the 7-Zip format. But RAR is still very popular, and it will be a long time before it retires. So the ability to manage it will be very useful in the near future.
RAR is a proprietary format, so it's not surprising that macOS doesn't have programs to work with it by default. But there is nothing “that” here - you can easily solve this problem by installing a third-party application, for example, the free Keka archiver for Mac.
The application does exactly what a program of this kind should do - opens any archive in RAR format. All you need to do is download and install Keka, and then double-click on the RAR archive with the left mouse button (or right-click once and select Keka from the Open menu).
Keka has two disadvantages - firstly, you will not be able to see the contents of the archive before unpacking it, as you are used to doing in Windows. This probably won’t stop 99% of users; everyone else is advised to find another program for themselves. Secondly, Keka cannot create RAR archives; in this regard, the choice is limited to ZIP, 7-Zip, TAR, GZIP and BZIP2.
A program such as an archiver is a working tool for the user of any operating system, be it Windows, Linux or Mac OS. Often the data that needs to be sent over the Internet to a colleague or interlocutor is of an unacceptable size, probably most often this concerns mail, and then a file archiver comes to the rescue, using different compression algorithms to reduce the file size to an acceptable one. The degree of compression of files by the archiver depends largely on the contents of the file, namely on its extension, txt or jpeg, for example.
And to put it even simpler, an archiver is a container-press where your files are placed (the archiving process), and in it they are compressed and stored until you unzip them (the unzipping process), and all the files will remain in that the form in which you placed them there.
In other cases, the archiver simply adds convenience when you need to send several files of different formats. And in this case, the user can archive several files (put them in a container) receiving one archive, and send just one archived file, and not a whole bunch of files that will have to be downloaded one by one, which takes time and is inconvenient. Likewise, the party receiving your file will download one archive instead of many different files, convenient, isn’t it?!
You also need to highlight one feature of archiving - the ability to set a password for the archive (the container with your files), and this means nothing more than that only knowing the password can you access the archived data, is it safe, right?!
The most popular archiving formats today are: Zip, RAR, Tar-GZip, Tar-BZip2, 7-zip.
How to use The Unarchiver archiver
1. After installation, run The Unarchiver archiver: 
2. Check the boxes for at least Zip, RAR and 7-zip formats. 
3. The minimum configuration of the archiver is now complete. Now, to unzip files, you just need to double-click on the archive and it will be unzipped to the same folder on the computer where the archive itself is located.