Seven-Zip offers a wide range of useful features. It is one of Windows’ best archive managers. PeaZip is an open-source archives manager that I found to be very similar. Compare the two tools to determine which you should use.
User Interface
When you first open an application, you’re looking at its interface. I think PeaZip has the best UI of any archive manager I have ever used. PeaZip has a different look than a typical archive manager. It looks more like a regular file manager. PeaZip is so good that I’d replace Windows File Manager if possible. You will see three options at the top: Add, Convert and Extract. The Add option lets you archive files. Convert allows you convert file formats. Extract allows you extract archived files. Drag-and-drop is supported by all these options. The top of the page also has the Test option and the Secure Delete. First, you can verify an archive’s integrity and identify the problem that prevents the extraction or archiving. Second, you can permanently remove a folder or file from your computer.
The look of 7-Zip is very similar to that of an archive manager. When I first used 7-Zip, I thought I was still using a Windows 95 application. Its buttons, fonts and other features give the app a retro look. This is what sets 7-Zip apart from all of the modern archive managers. You’ll see the same options as in PeaZip: Add, Extract and Test. There are also two other options: Copy and Move. Both are easy to understand. In 7-Zip, the drag-and drop functionality is not available. It would be great if developers added this feature soon as it will make adding files faster.
File Formats Supported
A file archiver is useless if it can’t convert your files into the desired format. It’s therefore important to know all of the file formats that an archive manager can support before selecting one. Both 7-Zip & PeaZip offer a wide range of supported formats. The 7-Zip Archive Manager allows you to create archives for 7z, GZIP and ZIP. Unpacking files with 7-Zip is possible in more than 30 formats including ISO, RAR and popular file types such as FAT, EXT, NTFS, FAT32, EXT64, EXT44, EXT45, EXT46, EXT48, EXT49, EXT50, EXT51, EXT52, EXT53, EXT54, EXT55, EXT56, EXT55, a PeaZip
allows you to archive in 10 different formats including 7z. ARC, Brotli. BZ2, PEA. TAR. WIM. Zstandard. ZIP. PeaZip can be used to extract over 200 different types of archives.
Security
The security of archive managers is usually the least considered aspect. However, with all the data breaches that are occurring today, it’s vital to choose an archive manager which has the latest features. 7-Zip provides strong AES-256 cryptography in both 7z and Zip formats. You can also encrypt the name of the file and the data to increase the security. PeaZip is more secure than 7-Zip
. PeaZip also supports other encryption models, such as Twofish or Serpent. It also offers other features such as an encrypted password manager, and two-factor authentication protection.
Archive managers have many advanced features
Besides compression and decompression, they also offer many additional functions. PeaZip can split or join files. You can permanently delete files using the secure delete feature. The password manager can be used to store your files securely. You also have the option of compressing or extracting multiple files all at once. 7-Zip does not offer the same extra features as PeaZip. This software’s sole purpose is to compress and extract your files. Which archive manager do you recommend? This is a question that will depend on how you use it. If you asked me to recommend a program, 7-Zip would be my choice. The best archive manager I’ve used has the highest compression ratio. Since my main work revolves around RAR, ZIP and 7z files, I don’t have any problems with the formats that are supported. 7-Zip’s minimalistic design is also very friendly to the CPU. PeaZip is a good alternative to 7-Zip if you have a lot of archives and need advanced security.