Discussion Best free file compression software in your opinion?

[evo4ever86]

Hey all

I've been using 7-Zip for quite some time now and im wandering whether theres better/faster file compression software out there?

I've already used WinRAR and WinZIP so dont recommend these as I think 7-Zip is superior! What are your thoughts?

 

[kanewolf]

Depending on the type of compression chosen, 7-zip can be multi-threaded. That can speed up compression.

 

[Ralston18]

No disagreement with @kanewolf or with file compression in general.

My view is that compression just adds another layer of "complexity" and the opportunity for something else to go wrong.

And I would not be so concerned about the speed of compression per se versus the reliability/recovery of the compressed files.

What are the overall requirements with respect to your environment and file storage needs?

"Better/faster" are for the most part subjective without any specific means to quantify.

Easy terms for marketing - not so easy for practical implementation....

 

[Math Geek]

the speed of use is mainly based on how much compression you're trying to do. simply using any of them to wrap a bunch of files together for storage, is pretty quick no matter what.

do some testing, pack a folder using "normal" compression and then using "best" compression and compare the times as well as final file size to decide if it is even worth it to use the "best" setting. files compress differently and one type will get smaller than other types.

so the answer is not really that easy to get at. a massive folder set to max compression would likely benefit from multi-threading so it goes faster. but you should play around some just to be sure your needs are met the best.