I Tried Replacing 7-Zip With This Open-Source Alternative, Here’s How It Went

7-ZIP is one of the best archive managers for Windows, offering a long list of features. However, I recently came across Peazip, an open source archive manager, and I find it very similar to 7-Zip. Let’s compare the two tools so that you can determine which one to use on your computer.

User interface

The very first thing you look at whenever you open an application is its user interface, and I must say that the Peazip user interface is the best of all the archive managers that I used to get out. Instead of a traditional archive manager look, the Peazip user interface gives the atmosphere you use a file manager. In fact, if possible, I would certainly replace the Windows file manager by Peazip.

At the top, you will find three main options – to add, convert and extract. Selecting the Add option allows you to archive files, the converted option allows you to convert a file format and the extraction option allows you to extract an archive file. All these options support the drag and drop installation.

You will also find the test and secure the deletion options at the top. The first option allows you to check the integrity of an archive file and detect the problem that prevents extraction or successful archiving of the file. The second option, however, allows you to permanently delete a file or folder from your computer.

7-ZIP has a very typical archive manager look. The very first thought that came to my mind when I used 7-zip is that I used an application of the Windows 95 era. The pimples, the fonts and everything else give it the appearance of a retro application, and that is perhaps what makes 7-Zip unique compared to all other modern archive managers.

Similar to Peazip, you will find the Add options, extract, test and delete at the top of 7-Zip. In addition to these four options, there are also two others – copying and displacement – and both are explicit. The drag and drop functionality is missing in 7-Zip. I really hope that the developers will add this soon, as it makes it easier to add files faster.

Supported file formats

An archive manager will not be of any use if he is unable to convert the file to the format you want. This is why it is important to be aware of all formats that an archive manager supports before choosing one. Fortunately, 7-Zip and Peazip support a long list of formats.

You can use the 7-Zip archive manager to create archives in 7Z, Bzip2, Tar, Wim, Gzip and Zip. Regarding unpacking, 7-ZIP allows you to extract more than 30 file formats, including those popular such as ISO, RAR, FAT, EXT and NTFS.

Peazip allows you to create archives in 10 formats, including 7Z, Arc, Brotli, Bz2, Gz, Pea, Tar, Wim, Zstandard and Zip. Surprisingly, you can extract more than 200 types of archive files using Peazip.

Security

Security is often the most ignored aspect of an archive manager, but given the number of data violations that occur these days, it is important to use an archive manager who is delivered with the latest security features. 7-ZIP offers solid AES-256 encryption in 7Z and Zip formats. To increase safety, you also have the possibility of encrypting both the file data and its name.

Peazip has a 7-Zip advantage in terms of security. In addition to AES-256 encryption, Peazip supports additional encryption models such as Twofish and Serpent. In addition, it offers some other safety features, including a carrier -sized password manager and 2FA protection for files.

Advanced features

In addition to compression and decompression features, archive managers also offer many other features. Peazip Archive Manager can be used to divide and join files. There is a secure deletion option that you can use to permanently delete your computer files. You can use the password manager to secure files safely, and there is also an option to compress or extract several files at a time.

Unfortunately, 7-ZIP offers no additional feature like Peazip. The only currency of this software is to help you compress and extract files.

So which archive manager should you use? This is one of those questions that depends on your use. However, if you ask me, I would recommend 7-zip. He has the best compression report among all the archive managers I used. I am also faced with any difficulty in terms of supported formats, because my work mainly revolves around Zip files, 7Z and RAR. In addition, 7-Zip is very easy on the CPU because of its minimalist design.

However, if you work with a variety of archive files and want advanced security features, Peazip could be an excellent alternative to 7 Zip.