Alternatives to The Unarchiver
Extracts everything on macOS
The Unarchiver ranks #8 of 8 in Compression tools, with an Alt Score of 30. It is free from Free and available on macOS. 2 of 9 checklist rows are verified against a public source.
Mac users who regularly download or receive archives in formats macOS's built-in Archive Utility can't open, such as RAR, 7z, or older/regional archive types.
Extraction support for a much wider range of formats than the native tool, including Zip, Zipx, RAR, 7z, Tar, Gzip, Bzip2, LZMA, XZ, ISO/BIN disc images, CAB, DEB, RPM, and many legacy formats via libxad. It handles multi-part/multi-volume archives, password-protected files, and non-Latin filename encodings that often trip up other extractors. It's free, with no paid tiers or in-app purchases.
Double-click an archive to extract it, or set The Unarchiver as the default handler via Finder's Get Info > Open With > Change All so it takes over from Archive Utility for supported formats going forward.
Why people leave The Unarchiver
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Ranked alternatives
Ordered by Alt Score. Click any score to see the breakdown.
Feature comparison
How The Unarchiver compares with its alternatives, feature by feature.
| Compression tools checklist | The Unarchiver | PeaZip | 7-Zip | Bandizip | NanaZip | WinRAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | ||||||
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| License | ||||||
| Platforms | ||||||
| Format support (7z, rar, zip) | ||||||
| Compression ratio | ||||||
| Encryption (AES-256) | ||||||
| Split archives | ||||||
| Context-menu integration | ||||||
| Open source | ||||||
| Free for commercial use | ||||||
| Repair damaged archives | ||||||
| Speed |
Every fact and feature listed for The Unarchiver is verified against its own pages. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.
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Pricing model Free verified 2026-07-10
The Unarchiver | Top Free Unarchiving Software for macOS
https://macpaw.com/the-unarchiver -
Starts at Free verified 2026-07-10
The Unarchiver | Top Free Unarchiving Software for macOS
https://macpaw.com/the-unarchiver -
Platforms macOS verified 2026-07-10
The Unarchiver is a macOS app, but the underlying unarchiving code can run on other OSes, too.
https://theunarchiver.com/command-line -
Format support (7z, rar, zip) Yes verified 2026-07-10
macpaw.com/the-unarchiver also states full 7z support ('7z Full 7z All common compression methods are supported') and zip support.
The Unarchiver is the world's favorite RAR opener for Mac.
https://macpaw.com/the-unarchiver -
Split archives Yes verified 2026-07-10
Split files Basic Split files Can join files named
https://macpaw.com/the-unarchiver
FAQ
Yes. PeaZip, 7-Zip and Bandizip have a free tier or are fully free. Free-tier limits in the comparison table are verified and dated.
PeaZip, 7-Zip and NanaZip — every license claim links its source.