How is rar different from zip? What to choose - WINRAR archive or ZIP archive

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If you spend most of your time downloading and uploading files from the internet, then you must have come across RAR and ZIP files. ZIP and RAR are the most popular and widely used file formats for archiving and compressing data. While both use the super-fast LZ77 compression algorithm to compress and decompress content, of course one has a bit of an edge over the other, maybe in terms of speed and efficiency.
Both are compression algorithms that effectively compress your files to reduce their size without affecting the content of the files. While a RAR file is an archive file created using WinRAR programs, which can be downloaded from the Internet as free software within a few days, ZIP file is a common file extension associated with several programs such as WinZIP, WinRAR and Freebyte Zip. This article explains the difference between ZIP and rar files.

What is ZIP?

The ZIP file format was actually created by Phil Katz and Gary Conway following a lawsuit against PKWARE filed by System Enhancement Associates (SEA). The lawsuit alleged that PKWARE archival products were taken from own system SEA ARC archiving. But the lawsuit was dropped, followed by a legal settlement. Katz released its first compression program that used new format ZIP file called PKZIP and subsequently released it to the public in 1989. Today, ZIP is a widely used format for lossless data compression and is supported by several software utilities, including the built-in ZIP support provided by Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X. The best thing is that ZIP files can be opened using any program that creates ZIP files.

Like other archive formats, ZIP files are data containers that contain one or more files in compressed format, using Zip compression. But ZIP archives are also capable of more than just file compression; they can encrypt files (password protected) and split archives in just a few clicks. Multiple files can be compressed or split using multiple methods such as LZMA, WavPack, PPMd, BZIP2, DEFLATE. Each file can be stored separately so they can be accessed in a random order and because they are archived individually, it makes it easy to retrieve them, or add new ones, without ever touching the entire archive. ZIP archives can also contain additional content that is not associated with the archive, making it a self-extracting archive.

What is RAR?

RAR stands for Roshal Archive Compressed file, which is a proprietary archive format named after its Russian-born creator Evgeniy Roshal. Like other archives, RAR contains one or more files or folders. If you think of RAR as a regular folder containing several programs or files, then, as opposed to regular folder located on the hard drive, rar files require a third-party software opened and extracted the contents of the archive. This is a native file format in WinRAR archiver that stores multiple files in a compressed form and all you need to do is decompress its contents to access the files. It uses a higher compression ratio than regular ZIP compression and includes a proprietary compression algorithm that handles lossless data compression, preserves the file extension, monitors errors for archive recovery, and more. Archives usually have the standard "Rar".

Difference between ZIP and RAR

ZIP and RAR Basics

ZIP is an Archive File Format created by Phil Katz as a standard format for lossless data compression that includes several compression algorithms to compress/decompress one or more files. RAR is a proprietary format archive files, developed by Russian software engineer Evgeniy Roshal.

Efficiency of ZIP and RAR

The RAR format can compress a file much better than the same when done with the ZIP format, meaning that the compression speed RAR is better than the ZIP format. RAR also archives files with smaller sizes compared to ZIP archives, which makes RAR the best alternative than ZIP.

Popularity of ZIP and RAR

The main advantage of using the ZIP format is its popularity. Since the ZIP file format was developed a long time ago, it has slight advantage above the RAR format and is still the most widely used archive type, still accounting for a significant number of archive files on the Internet.

Programs for ZIP and RAR

Third party software called WinRAR is required to open and extract the contents of a RAR archive, while ZIP is a widely used format that is supported by various commercial as well as open source source code tools and utilities.

Compression speed in ZIP and RAR

ZIP uses a less complex structured format for storing files. It uses old but popular compression methods and a data compression algorithm that is less efficient than newer compression methods that are not supported by any operating system by default. RAR uses a compression algorithm that is significantly better and more efficient than the DEFLATE compression method.

Security in ZIP and RAR

RAR is used special program called WinRAR is an archiver for compressing and decompressing file contents that comes with built-in support for password encryption which is great for security. But the default support in Windows and Macintosh operating systems does not have password protection function.

Summary

Both formats are compression algorithms that effectively compress your files to reduce their size without affecting the file content. ZIP is the most widely used file format used for lossless data compression and has been in use longer than RAR, and it still makes up a significant number of archive files on the Internet. However, RAR has better speed compression, better encryption and more low speed data loss. The ZIP format has been in use for quite a long period of time, which makes it a little more popular than RAR, but RAR certainly has an edge over the ZIP format when it comes to speed and efficiency.

Not even one owner of a modern PC or laptop can do without extremely useful application— an archiver capable of creating an archive from several files or compressing information intended for file exchange several times. The most common and versatile tools in this category are generally considered to be Zip archivers and Rar. We propose to compare their functionality and determine the degree of convenience of each program.

The fundamental difference between the Rar archiver is that it does not take up much space in the device’s memory. This program is quite easily restored in the event of its forced loss, it allows you to create both continuous or self-extracting archives, and multi-volume archives that include a lot of different components. The program provides opportunities to set a password for a particular information cell. In this case, it will simply be impossible to open the file without entering a code word or character set. Archiver Rar convenient as an internal file storage, but as a link in the file exchange chain it is no longer so effective, because files in audio or video formats are not very convenient to compress, and the compression speed of large text messages is far from ideal.

The latest versions of this archiver are very convenient dialog boxes, allowing you to divide all settings into several categories. This simplifies the process of working with the archive. WinRAR is also well equipped functionally. It supports file dearchiving feature in ISO formats, CAB, JAR, ARJ, BZ2, LZH, UUE, ACE, GZip, TAR, as well as standard RAR and ZIP (with the ability to create archives and other functions, of course). When working with this archiver, you can supplement the archive with comments, information explanations for recovery, set a lock on the function of making changes to archived files, and divide archives into volumes. In addition to this, in latest version the user can even create as an access test electronic signature, which the program will compare with the presented samples. However, this function works only in the full version after registering with the developer.

The WinRAR archiver is also different good abilities to compress small files, but archiving large files takes quite a long time. This is not very convenient during work. It is also inconvenient if files of one of the audio/video formats need to be compressed, since the process takes too long and the result does not always reach the required size.

The Zip archiver is one of the most common options for quickly and efficiently compressing a file in preparation for sending via e-mail. This program is pre-installed in the standard operating system package Windows systems, which means it is in most computers in the world. You don’t have to search for it and download it additionally, wasting time. The configuration interface in WinZip looks like a single dialog box. There is no path window to indicate the shortest path to the file, which is not always convenient.

This program is primarily focused on working with Zip files. She can create them, send them, and dearchive them. With other data formats, things are not so simple. It will only be possible to unpack files of the most common formatting categories, but there are all possibilities for working with UUE files. Of course, this is not the most frequently used format, but still some users prefer it over all others. The archiver also allows you to encrypt files or set a user password on archived data. Data security in this case is protected much more effectively than with simple encryption. Difficulties may arise when setting up the archive itself, as well as when working on creating self-extracting modules. However, not everyone uses them, and such archiving options are not needed very often.

But WinZip archiver copes well with its main responsibilities. It quickly and efficiently archives files in audio/video formats and easily copes with archiving text files and documents of any size. The resulting compression is also capable of satisfying even the most demanding user.

In fact, when comparing both archivers, it should be recognized that the purposes of their use are still somewhat different from each other. The Rar archiver is intended rather for intra-system work; it is convenient in scientific or journalistic activities where it is necessary to store information for a long time. Such a program will allow you to clearly classify files intended for saving, and additional functions, such as creating multi-volume archives, make it easy to find necessary information by the passage of time.

The Zip archiver certainly outperforms its counterpart in popularity and archiving work various files(Isn’t that why you need an archiver on your computer?). This program is certainly good at fulfilling its immediate responsibilities - it works quickly and accurately. The file can be sent via the Internet without leaving the archive. This is also very convenient, especially if you need to mass send the same document to many users. In general, the advantages are obvious. And external “beauty” and additional functions are unlikely to be needed by those who mainly download files themselves or exchange information on work. Here, the universal Zip will be much more convenient than the functionally expanded Rar.

The old man had two sons: the youngest with special needs, the eldest with quirks... In the role of the old man today is an archiver, for example, WinRar, in the role of sons - two data compression formats: RAR and ZIP. Each with characteristics and quirks. Why are we talking about WinRar? According to statistics, this is one of the most popular archivers today, working with many formats, including RAR and ZIP. And an inexperienced user has to constantly choose between them, sometimes wondering whether he made the right choice.

Definition

ZIP- a file archiving and information compression format with a final file extension of .zip. First published in 1989. ZIP is also a direct archiver program.

RAR- a file archiving and information compression format with a final file extension of .rar. Also, RAR is directly an archiver program.

Comparison

Let's see what the difference is between rar and zip as independent packed data formats. The first, and in some people’s eyes the most important, point is the developers. ZIP was created by American Phil Katz, and RAR was created by Russian citizen Evgeniy Roshal. Isn’t this a reason to be proud: the archiver and format have achieved worldwide popularity, and several years ago in Russia RAR was the most common archive format. The standard “stack of books” icon is known to most users even now, while the usual “folder with a lock” and “boxes in a vice” ZIP sometimes causes bewilderment for those who have recently sat down at the keyboard - there are no associations with a data archive.

If we talk about the process of working with archives and archiving itself, then ZIP is created somewhat faster than its rival format. True, you can notice this either on very slow systems, or when accessing a huge array of files. RAR compresses data more strongly, which saves disk space.

Creating multi-volume archives is a “bun” exclusively of RAR: for recording on small storage media, the archived file is divided into several volumes during the process. In this case, ZIP uses many disks (divides archives across disks) and “glues” them together into a single whole. In this case, an attempt to work with part of the archive will not be effective.

Significant differences lie in the functionality of the formats themselves. RAR allows you to add new files to an existing archive, as well as restore damaged ones using the archive itself. The function of setting a ban on changing data in the archive in order to avoid damage to files is also in demand. ZIP does not work with files larger than 2 GB, RAR can theoretically archive files up to 8 exabytes in size (over 8 million terabytes).

Another significant point is the prevalence of both formats. Currently, one of them cannot be considered more popular than the other, but operating system developers have adopted ZIP, integrating it into their builds by default. When installing a new OS, be it Linux or Windows, the user may not worry about the fact that the first thing he will need to do is download an archiver program to work with the software. Since ZIP opens by default, many people don't need to switch to RAR at all. Such forced distribution places the emphasis on ZIP in the process of exchanging file archives over the network: the absolute majority of users will unpack the archive.

Conclusions website

RAR format created Russian developer, ZIP - American.
The compression process in ZIP is slightly faster.
The compression ratio in RAR is higher.
RAR can create multi-volume archives.
RAR has the ability to repair a damaged file.
ZIP does not work with files larger than 2 GB.
ZIP is included by default with most desktop operating systems.

In 2018, the size of produced multimedia content amounts to tens of gigabytes: films and TV series in Ultra HD quality, advanced games, music Hi-End class. The capacity of a number of computer storage devices today reaches tens of terabytes, but handling large amounts of data, like twenty years ago, comes down to archiving.

An archiver is a program that packs files for ease of transfer and storage. In this case, the size of the resulting archive is smaller than the size of the original files separately.

The Internet rating showed that the most popular in 2018 are two archivers: WinRAR and 7Zip. Both of these utilities have gone through a decade and a half of improvements and revisions: the first versions were introduced in 1995 and 1999, respectively. Today it is impossible to say unequivocally which is better - WinRAR or 7 Zip without a comparative analysis.

What to choose: WinRAR archive or ZIP archive

The main difference between the archiver programs under consideration is the distribution method. If for full version WinRAR company RARLab requires $29, providing 40 days trial use, then 7Zip is initially positioned as free project open source.

The strength of WinRAR is its complete support for archive formats: RAR, ZIP, CAB, ARJ, LZH, ACE, TAR, GZip, UUE, ISO, BZIP2, Z and 7Zip. Its free competitor is left behind in this regard.

A significant argument in the choice of 7 Zip or WinRAR is the prevalence of formats. Thus, the ZIP format is included by default in most desktop and mobile operating systems (in particular, Windows and Android). The compression process in ZIP is faster than in RAR, and the archiver of the same name claims high degree support for this format. At the same time, ZIP files obtained using 7Zip take up 2–10% less disk space.

RAR archives are protected the best way. The ZIP format uses its own cryptographic algorithm, which is weaker than the 128-bit AES in the RAR format. In WinRAR, not only the file contents are available for encryption, but also its attributes: name, size, comments, etc. Information is also added to the archive to allow you to restore the damaged file.

WinRAR or 7Zip - which is better? The question comes down to the scope of application of the tools in question. If necessary, quickly transfer a set of non-critical files optimal choice there will be 7Zip. However, in the case where the data requires reliable protection from opening and damage, the RARLab product is better suited.

Hi all! Today we will talk: how zip and rar archives differ from each other; Let's look at how to convert rar to zip and vice versa; how to create and unpack zip folders and rar. I probably won’t write about the history of the creation of each of the formats, all this can be found you know where, but without further ado, I’ll get straight to the topic.

I had already written the entire article, when suddenly it turned out that some users do not know what an archive is. In the end, I decided to make an insert and tell it like this What same is an archive on a computer. For those who are in the know, go down a paragraph below, there is the main article. And so, an archive on a computer is a kind of file, like an ordinary folder, which can contain all kinds of files, sometimes other archives. The difference between it and a regular folder is that the archive, to save space, compresses the files placed in it. Thanks to this property, archives have become very popular among users, because it has become possible, with the same amount of computer memory, to store a significantly larger amount of information, as well as less clog of the channel when sending over networks (Internet, internal networks). Exist various formats archives – gzip, tar, 7z, ISO, but the most popular are still rar and zip (that’s what we’re talking about today). And now, the article itself.

Benefits of Zip

Zip– an archive format that is supported by many operating systems: Windows, Mac OS X, Dos, Linux and many others. etc. The main feature of the format is that it can be unpacked by default on all operating systems. In other words, in order to open this archive, a bare OS is enough, without installing archivers (programs for working with archives). And this is the big difference between zip and rar. After all, the latter cannot do its job without installing its own archiver. This is why zip is used in all builds installation files Operating Systems, as well as when working on almost all hosting sites, and in cases where files need to be transferred to multiple user computers.

Another difference between the zip format and rar is the speed at which files are compressed into an archive. Zip compresses faster. Although, in fairness, it is worth noting that this advantage becomes obvious only when large volumes compression (more than 1 GB). Well, or the user has outdated hardware, released at the beginning of the 2000s (although I don’t think there are any of those left).

But, despite the advantages, zip also has its disadvantages, which we will talk about in the Advantages of Rar section.

Benefits of Rar

Rar– like zip, it can compress files into an archive and is supported by all major operating systems, including mobile ones (Android and Mac), although to work with rar, as mentioned above, you need an archiver program. The most popular of them is probably WinRar. True, it's paid. But, for sure, everyone in our country called USSR, there is a cracked version of it. But, despite the need for additional software, rar is able to compress files much better than zip. You can compress files in rar with selective density. Although, it is worth considering that the more the archive is compressed, the longer it will take to compress.

The second difference between rar and zip is the ability to password-protect the archive. But, it is worth remembering that if you forget your password, it will be impossible to recover it. The password for rar archives is often used in ecommerce, when an archived product can be downloaded freely, but the password for the archive is sent to the client’s email only after payment.

Another advantage of rar over zip is the ability to archive any amount of information (over 8 million terabytes, however, only on disks with NTFS system). While zip has certain limitations (today it is 2 GB).

Also, rar can restore (using special .rev files) damaged or even missing archives, while zip cannot do this.

How to convert rar to zip and vice versa

In order to convert one format to another, there are several ways, and the first of them is:

Online zip and rar converters

There are a huge number of such converters on the Internet, but, unfortunately, most of them only convert rar to zip, and not vice versa. You can find them by request Convertrar inzip + online(+ online means that even without this word the issue search engine will be relevant (meet the search terms)) or something similar. Despite the fact that they obvious advantage is that there is no need to have a converter on your hardware; their disadvantage is more than significant - the limitation on the size of the converted file. As a rule, the threshold for conversion is set in the range of 50-100 MB (in my opinion, this is ridiculously low). And if you want to convert a file from heavy weight, then you will have to either pay or subscribe to the mailing list and start receiving spam by email (by the way, I wrote here. A very useful article. I advise everyone to read it). That is why none of online resources I won't advise you. I would advise you to take a closer look at the second method to convert rar to zip and vice versa:

Stationary ways to convert rar to zip and vice versa

How to convertrar inzip. For this there are various programs, both paid and free. I don’t see the need to spend my money here, and therefore I advise you to take a closer look at free options. There are plenty of them on the World Wide Web. Take at least the RAR to ZIP converter (link to the program’s official website).

And here, convertzip inrar a little more complicated. There are a few paid programs. But, unfortunately, I haven’t seen any free ones. Therefore, I can recommend a simple one, but effective way- unzip the zip and archive it in rar, using the same WinRar program or any other similar one. By the way, you can do the same to convert rar to zip.

But, in order to unzip or archive files, you need to know how to do it. Therefore, I propose to learn this now. For example, we will use the same WinRar program (it is assumed that it is installed on your computer).

How to archive files

For example, we will use a document in the format . PDF. Original size file 33,465 KB. And so, let's transgress. Getting started to create archives is the same for everyone. Let's get up on required file mouse and click right button. In the window that opens, select WinRAR, then Add to archive.

How to create an archivezip

If we want to create a zip archive, then select it by making the appropriate mark in the checkbox on the left side in the position Archive format. If desired, you can place marks in the checkboxes and on the right, in the field Archiving options.

Delete files after packaging means that the archived file will be deleted and will remain only in the created archive.
CreateSFX archive means that the archive will be in program format (.exe), and accordingly will be opened as a program, and not as an archive.
Test files after packaging means a regular check using the WinRAR program for errors during archiving.

Along with this, you can choose Compression method from Without compression before Maximum. The default value is Ordinary. The higher the compression level you choose, the more compressed the source file will be, but the longer it will take to archive. So, let's try to archive the test file High-speed method(method Without compression we will not use it, it is clear that there are differences from source file won't) and Maximum.

The high-speed method compressed the file to 28,918 KB. Thus, the difference from the control sample was 4,547 KB. Using the maximum method, we managed to compress the file to 28,696 KB. The difference from the control sample is 4,769 KB. The difference between the Maximum and High-Speed compression methods is 222Kb. But in terms of speed, I didn’t notice a visual difference, although, of course, there was one.

How to create a rar archive

Essentially everything is the same. In position Archive format check the RAR checkbox. But, in the field Archiving options There will be many more options to choose from. Items discussed in section creating zip archive, I won’t look at them, they are identical. I'll go through the rest of the positions.

Create a continuous archive– means that several files placed in the archive will be treated as one indivisible one.
Add an electronic signature– contains the name of the author who created the archive, the name of the archive, time last update and other parameters. Used to encrypt volumes.
Lock archive– sets a password. Perhaps this is worth stopping at.

How to create a password for an archiverar? Check the checkbox Lock archive.

Then go to the tab Additionally and press the button Set password.

A window opens Archiving with password. Enter your password into the appropriate positions, and then click OK.

Now, when you try to open a password-protected document, a window will pop up asking you to enter the password.

Let's talk about compression parameters rar archives. Let's try to archive the test file again High-speed method And Maximum.

The high-speed method compressed the file to 28,159 KB. Thus, the difference from the control sample was 5,306 KB. Using the maximum method, we managed to compress the file to 26,873 KB. The difference from the control sample is 6,592 KB. The difference between the Maximum and High-Speed compression methods is 1,286Kb. The time difference between the Maximum and Speed methods was just over one second.

And here is a graph of archiving comparisons between the zip and rar methods (based on the experiment conducted above).