EasyUnZip vs WinRAR
EasyUnZip vs WinRAR
These are not the same kind of program. WinRAR makes archives and manages them; EasyUnZip only opens two formats. The question is which half of that you actually do.
The short version
WinRAR is the reference implementation for the RAR format, made by the people who invented it. It creates RAR archives, splits them, repairs them, and reads a long list of other formats. If you produce archives as well as receive them, none of what follows argues against it.
EasyUnZip does one end of that: getting files out of ZIP and RAR, quickly, without opening a program first. It cannot create a RAR - the unRAR licence forbids using that code to compress, and we do not.
| WinRAR | EasyUnZip | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A full archive manager | An extractor, and nothing else |
| Creates archives | Yes - RAR and ZIP | No |
| Extracts | RAR, ZIP and a long list besides | ZIP and RAR |
| Repairs damaged archives | Yes | No |
| Split archives | Yes, creates and reads them | Not claimed |
| Trial | 40 days, per the licence text | 14 days, no card, no account |
| Licence shape | Per user for home use, across the machines that user owns; business use needs one licence per device | One key, up to 3 PCs, home or work alike |
| Price | Set by RARLAB, by region and quantity | $3, once, everywhere |
| How you start it | Right-click menu, or open the manager | A global hotkey over your Explorer selection |
| Extract only one file type | Open the archive and select by hand | Tick the extension, with a count beside it |
| Several archives, routed separately | One at a time, or all to one place | One pass, per-archive destinations |
| Nag screen after the trial | Yes, famously | No - it stops extracting and says why, once |
Choose WinRAR when
- You create RAR archives. Nothing else does it properly, including us.
- You need to split a large archive across parts, or to repair a damaged one.
- You work with formats beyond ZIP and RAR.
- You want one program that does everything to an archive, and you are happy to open it to do so.
Choose EasyUnZip when
- You receive archives and rarely make them, which is most people most of the time.
- You want extraction to take a keystroke rather than a visit to a program.
- You handle several at once and want them going to different places.
- You want the whole thing settled for $3, once, across 3 PCs.
Using both
That is a reasonable answer and we will not pretend otherwise. Keep WinRAR for making and repairing archives; let EasyUnZip handle the daily business of opening them. They do not conflict - EasyUnZip adds no right-click entry and takes over no file associations, so nothing you already have changes when you install it.
Sources: the WinRAR licence text for the trial length and licence shape, and win-rar.com for current pricing, both read 15 August 2026. WinRAR and RAR are RARLAB's, not ours; this page is published by EasyUnZip, which sells one of the two products in it. Something out of date or unfair here? Tell us and it gets corrected.