# 7Z Reviews **Vendor:** 7-Zip **Category:** [Encryption Software](https://www.g2.com/categories/encryption-software) **Average Rating:** 4.5/5.0 **Total Reviews:** 18 ## About 7Z 7z is a high-compression archive format developed by 7-Zip, designed to offer superior compression ratios and robust encryption capabilities. Its open architecture allows for the integration of various compression, conversion, and encryption methods, making it a versatile choice for efficient data storage and transfer. Key Features and Functionality: - High Compression Ratio: Utilizes advanced algorithms like LZMA and LZMA2 to achieve significant data compression, reducing file sizes effectively. - Strong AES-256 Encryption: Ensures data security by encrypting files with the AES-256 standard, safeguarding sensitive information. - Support for Large Files: Capable of handling files up to 16 exbibytes, accommodating extensive data sets without compromising performance. - Unicode File Names: Supports Unicode, allowing for the use of international characters in file names, enhancing compatibility across different languages. - Solid Compression: Combines multiple files into a single compressed stream, improving compression efficiency, especially for similar files. - Archive Header Compression: Compresses archive headers to further reduce overall archive size. Primary Value and User Solutions: The 7z format addresses the need for efficient data compression and secure storage. By offering high compression ratios, it minimizes storage requirements and accelerates file transfers. Its robust AES-256 encryption ensures that sensitive data remains protected, making it ideal for both personal and professional use. The format's support for large files and Unicode file names enhances its versatility, catering to a wide range of user needs. Overall, 7z provides a reliable and efficient solution for managing and securing large volumes of data. ## 7Z Reviews ### 1. Lightweight, Powerful, and Free for Almost Everything **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Leonidas R. | Network Analyst, Information Technology and Services, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 06, 2026 **What do you like best about 7Z?** Very light and simple to use. I like how powerful it is, and that you can use the free version for almost everything. It’s our official compressor in our company. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** Because it’s free, you may be more vulnerable to the software being hacked, and you could end up downloading unofficial versions that can be dangerous. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** It’s a fast and reliable compressor. We use this compressor across our organization, and it has worked well for us. ### 2. Excellent Compression and Strong Encryption for Large Files **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Consulting | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 20, 2026 **What do you like best about 7Z?** What I like best about 7Z is its excellent compression—it reduces file sizes much more than many other formats. It also supports strong encryption for security and can handle very large files, making it both efficient and reliable for storing and sharing data. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** That’s a fair take. One more downside is that file previews aren’t always straightforward, and managing archives can feel less intuitive for beginners. Also, if someone isn’t familiar with 7Z, sharing files in that format can sometimes create confusion or extra steps for them. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** 7Z solves the problem of large file sizes and inefficient storage by offering high compression. It also secures files with strong encryption. This benefits me by saving storage space, making file transfers faster, and keeping sensitive data protected when sharing or storing files. ### 3. Reliable, Free Compression That Saves Space **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Consulting | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 21, 2026 **What do you like best about 7Z?** I like 7Z because it compresses files really well, saving a lot of space. It also supports many formats and is free to use. The software feels reliable, and I find it simple enough for everyday file storage and sharing needs. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** One thing I don’t like about 7Z is that the interface feels a bit outdated and not very intuitive at first. It can be confusing for beginners, and some features aren’t as easy to find compared to more modern file compression tools. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** 7Z solves the problem of large file sizes by compressing them efficiently, making it easier to store and share files. It also lets me bundle multiple files into one archive, which keeps things organized and saves time when transferring data. ### 4. Fast and Reliable with Broad File Support, but the UI Feels a little Outdated **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Javier F. | Business English Teacher, Education Management, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 10, 2026 **What do you like best about 7Z?** I like that it is lightweight, fast, and reliable while supporting many file formats. It integrates well with Windows, uses very little system resources, and makes compressing or extracting files quick and easy. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** The interface feels a little outdated and less intuitive for new users. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** It makes life easier when compressing, extracting, and organizing files. It is quick and straightforward, which helps save both storage space and time. ### 5. High performance compression utility for the novice user to the power user **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Computer Software | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 15, 2024 **What do you like best about 7Z?** 7zip is compatible with all the popular compression methods and more. It's lightweight with a very small footprint (in terms of disk space and memory usage). It's easy to install and integrates seamlessly with the Windows operating system optionally added to context menus. It can be used via the command line and thus be easily incorporated into scripts (batch files and Powershell scripts for example) as well as be used interactively with the provide GUI app. The installer even comes with a comprehensive help file - no need to launch into a web browser. Best of all - it's free and open-source! It is one of the first apps I install on a brand new machine and receives regular updates and is actively maintained. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** 7Z lacks some features found in WinRAR, for example the Archive tab of the File Properties showing stats including number of files, packed size and unpacked size along with a visual bar indicator showing the compression ratio. The GUI looks somewhat dated and some menu options slightly confusing. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** Portabilty and compatibilty of a zip archiving tool that is free and straight-forward to install and provides much more functionality than the built-in Windows zip archiving functionality with fast performance and high compression ratios. ### 6. Best tool for zip unzip file **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Uma S. | Developer, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** April 19, 2024 **What do you like best about 7Z?** I use 7z for zipping and unzipping my files, It provides the feature of password-protected files for more security It is very easy to it **What do you dislike about 7Z?** I have no dislike point for 7Zip but yes they can add more features to it **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** We can easily ZIp and Unzip any file in just one click Provide password protection feature for more security ### 7. Easy to Zip Large files **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Ashwin K. | Lead, IT Desktop Support, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 06, 2023 **What do you like best about 7Z?** 7Z is very useful to zip large number of files. I have been using 7Z for 8 years now. It has the option to password protect the zipped files which makes it more secure. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** It could have been better with more additional features. The tool is currently limited to zipping and unzipping files. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** To Encrypt the files and compress large number of files to one single zipped folder. ### 8. Essential tool for downloading large datasets **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 20, 2022 **What do you like best about 7Z?** Files can be sent to others securely with a password required, which is essential when dealing with datasets containing personal health information (PHI) because it makes this HIPAA compliant. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** The application itself looks like it hasn't been updated in a decade. It is very basic looking, and I would like to see new features or updates to make this app look more modern. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am able to send and receive large files containing PHI securely. Being able to password-protect files intended to be analyzed and potentially published is essential for data integrity. ### 9. A Free and simple Zip Tool for Windows **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Fred C. | Product Manager chez Eloquant.com, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 26, 2022 **What do you like best about 7Z?** I use 7Zip since 5 years, it is a real easy and quick tool to use for zipping & unzipping files. It is available in all right clicks, and in all windows directories **What do you dislike about 7Z?** The interface is really simple, but I would have liked to have the choice to choose the compression format when I Zip it in a directory **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** Zipping & Unzipping my files on my Windows computer ### 10. General ledger Analyst **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Murugan R. | Specialist - GL ACCOUNTANT, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 15, 2022 **What do you like best about 7Z?** Able to send large files in one unit to focused destination in short span of time. It helps to save file capacity and time. It helps to keep file without missing. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** Sometime it lacks time when trying to compress files in network drive location. 7-zip software interface seems not attractive but it serves the purpose all the time. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** Can leaves files to the destination without missing. Able to have file arrangements in most effective manner. With this software able to finish day to day activities effectively. ### 11. Best open source file archiver ever **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Алексей . | Chief Technology Officer, Information Technology and Services, Small-Business (50 or fewer emp.) **Reviewed Date:** March 08, 2022 **What do you like best about 7Z?** 7Z is the most effective file archiver I ever used. On the "ultra" setting, it has stronger compression than RAR5, making other software almost impossible to beat 7Z. It supports more than 20 file formats to archive in. The simplicity of setting it up is very high, also it supports opening some very rare archive formats like ARJ, ONEPKG or XAR. Above all, it is open-source software and it licenses under LGPL, making modifying its' code somewhat legal. There are also many ways to automate the archiving files with 7Z using PowerShell scripts, for example, you can automate the creation of self-extracting archives once you have built your software or finished editing your work. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** There are not so many downsides. Sometimes, when using the "ultra" setting on a not-so-fast computer, it archives files slowly, but if you change the setting to the "normal", it speeds up, trading off for the size of the archive, of course. Sometimes, if you change the default vocabulary size to somewhat GB-ish, the main process of the program uses more memory, than you expect, but this is also a trade-off for the efficiency of archiving. **Recommendations to others considering 7Z:** If you consider modifying the program code of 7Z, you should carefully read the license, because although LGPL is a free license, it is somewhat strict, compared to the MIT license, for example. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** 7Z helps us automate our tasks targeting the large-sized files, like creating internal distros or transferring some big files from testing side to production side. It also changes the way end-users (or colleagues) are interacting with archives - no more paid unarchivers needed for rare archive formats, no more hassle with choosing which unarchiver to use. It is all-in-one archiver to use both in development and at the front office. ### 12. Its fantastic **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Sam B. | Team Leader, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 28, 2022 **What do you like best about 7Z?** It is really fast when uncompressing files and can deal with lots of file extensions which other programs can't. I've never had it crash compared to other archive and zip progams **What do you dislike about 7Z?** I do not have any dislikes i really like the program **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** Sending software to customers and unpacking software updates that we receive in compressed format. ### 13. Love the simplicity and versatility **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Management Consulting | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** July 22, 2022 **What do you like best about 7Z?** It integrates into the Windows context menus and is versatile to extract multiple compression formats **What do you dislike about 7Z?** It's a great product as-is. Everything is accessible and wouldn't change a thing. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** It supports rapid compression for emailing large attachments as well as ways to comply with network policies for transferring certain file extension types. ### 14. CAPEX Financial Analysis **Rating:** 4.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Nandagopal B. | Senior Specialist - Global CapEx Financial Analysis SSC, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** September 21, 2021 **What do you like best about 7Z?** With this software we can do compress in two formats, one -file.7z and second - file.zip. i like the second feature because most of the common people can able to extract my compressed file easily, even with other compressing softwares. (Most of them dont how to do .zip instead of .7z feature in 7Z software) **What do you dislike about 7Z?** The main problem my manager faced when i send them over my .7z compressed file that they can't open it because their software doest support it. So i thought to change the software of what my manager using. Then i learnt the feature of how to do the .zip compression in the same software. Now i am happy with this software to do both compressions. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** Its helps me to send large files size into decent size of what my outlook can able to send it. The other main benefit is whenever i have many invoices from a supplier and i want to send as one file without any slippery, this 7Z software helps to zip it and opposite can easily unzip they need it. ### 15. Open Source and Powerful Zip Software **Rating:** 5.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Liang W. | Associate Professor, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** December 31, 2021 **What do you like best about 7Z?** The software is open source and it supports several different formats, including 7z, rar, zip, and so on. It also has many customizable features when zipping a file. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** None. There is really nothing that I do not like about this software. Well, as many other open-source software, the customer service is basically on your own but they do have a community and many documents to read about. **Recommendations to others considering 7Z:** Switch to 7Z as soon as possible. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** I am using 7Z to process files that I do not use very often. I first zip the files and then store them on portable hard drives, which can save a lot of space. 7Z also has the feature of choosing the degree of compression. ### 16. 7Z Review **Rating:** 3.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Tushar M. | Senior Software Engineer, Enterprise (> 1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** June 27, 2021 **What do you like best about 7Z?** It supports all types of files and compression ratios. Compress and email functionality. **What do you dislike about 7Z?** It should not compress the files which are in use by another program or having a copy in progress. **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** We compress large files using 7z. Also, we use it to extract large packages. ### 17. Best free and open-source multipurpose file compressor **Rating:** 4.0/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Reza M. | Software Developer, Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** October 06, 2021 **What do you like best about 7Z?** - High compression ratio in 7z format - Support almost all popular Packing/unpacking formats - uses strong encryption algorithms - Integration with Windows Shell **What do you dislike about 7Z?** Its user interface is very simple in comparison to other competitors like Winrar and Winzip **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** Compressing very big files into a smaller portable archived file with the maximum compression ratio. ### 18. Zip file management for pros **Rating:** 2.5/5.0 stars **Reviewed by:** Verified User in Hospital & Health Care | Mid-Market (51-1000 emp.) **Reviewed Date:** May 14, 2021 **What do you like best about 7Z?** It can unzipp Wrapped DICOM files and and manage them **What do you dislike about 7Z?** Quite complicated to use, took quite a while to learn. **Recommendations to others considering 7Z:** If you need to work with DICOM files, this is a must to have **What problems is 7Z solving and how is that benefiting you?** Unzipping DICOM files ## 7Z Discussions - [Why is 7-Zip better?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/why-is-7-zip-better) - [Is 7-Zip a good program?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-7-zip-a-good-program) - [Is 7-Zip a software?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/is-7-zip-a-software) - [What does 7-Zip software do?](https://www.g2.com/discussions/what-does-7-zip-software-do) - [View 7Z pricing details and edition comparison](https://www.g2.com/products/7z/reviews?section=pricing&secure%5Bexpires_at%5D=2026-06-09+22%3A47%3A31+-0500&secure%5Bsession_id%5D=5aaf8193-96bc-4ab8-8f1b-3c8ea18e9f0d&secure%5Btoken%5D=75492e559fbf4745fba7bbf5f979e3d4039f99053e906fe7f74a2709f3db5412&format=llm_user) ## 7Z Features **Encryption** - Email Encryption - Messaging Encryption - File Transfer Encryption - Data Encryption - Document Encryption - Full-Disk Encryption **Compliance** - Authentication - Policy Enforcement - Access Management **Management** - Backup - Recovery - File Management - Anomaly Detection ## Top 7Z Alternatives - [Progress MOVEit](https://www.g2.com/products/progress-moveit/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (519 reviews) - [Keeper Password Manager](https://www.g2.com/products/keeper-password-manager/reviews) - 4.6/5.0 (1,188 reviews) - [Signal](https://www.g2.com/products/open-whisper-systems-signal/reviews) - 4.4/5.0 (448 reviews)