Free Compression/Decompression Software

If you ever have large documents, video or audio clips, or even a collection of high quality images, you might find that you run into problems when trying to send the data or store the data on a removable storage item (such as a CD or memory disk). The solution: compression software. Or perhaps you frequently download software which comes zipped in all sorts of web formats.

Our list below shows some free compression software that you can use to compress or decompress files.

7-Zip

7-Zip is free open source software, licensed under the GNU LGPL license. In addition to the various compression formats that are supported, it even has its own proprietary format which achieves a high degree of compression than many other compression utilities. Current downloadable versions only work on Windows operating systems.

StuffIt by Smith Micro

Probably our favorite compression software, StuffIt is a great utility for compressing and expanding numerous archive formats. Unfortunately, the free version of the software, Stuffit Expander, does not enable compression, just decompression. For compression options, you can opt to upgrade to Stuffit Standard or Stuffit Deluxe, which both have free 30 day trials.

Like 7-Zip, Stuffit also has a proprietary archive format, which is becoming more and more popular. So sooner or later, you will probably need to download this software. And another great thing about this software is that it is available for both Windows and Mac.

Cam unZip

Cam unZip is a very simple compress/decompression utility which only works with zip files. Some features include preview of files in zipped archive, easy modification or selective decompression, and an optional command-line interface. Note: It is only free for non-commercial uses. Otherwise, a license should be purchased.

Stay tuned for our next free software picks.