Bundling versus compressing
ZIP does both: it collects files and compresses each of them individually, which is why you can pull one document out of a huge archive instantly. TAR only bundles, preserving Unix permissions and symlinks, which is why it is almost always paired with GZIP as .tar.gz. GZIP only compresses, and only a single stream at a time.
Choose ZIP when a human on Windows or macOS will open it, and TAR or GZ when the destination is a Linux server or a build pipeline.
Compression ratios in practice
Text, code and documents compress dramatically — often to a fifth of their size. Photos, video and audio are already compressed, so archiving them saves almost nothing. If a ZIP of your holiday pictures came out the same size as the folder, that is expected behaviour, not a failure.
Supported archive converter formats
- ZIP
- RAR
- 7Z
- TAR
- GZ
Frequently asked questions
Can I open RAR or 7z files here?
- Reading RAR and 7z is handled through the conversion backend; ZIP, TAR and GZ are processed locally in your browser.
Can I password-protect an archive?
- Not currently. Encrypted archives are on the roadmap; for now use a desktop tool such as 7-Zip for password protection.
Does converting an archive re-compress the files inside?
- Yes — the archive is unpacked in memory and repacked in the target format, so ratios can change slightly.