WinRAR: A Worthy Competitor for WinZip? Final Thoughts Joseph Moran
Final Thoughts
WinRAR is available for trial download, and it can be used in an unrestricted fashion for 40 days from the install date before you have to ante up the $29 registration fee. That's the same cost as WinZip 9.0, although WinRAR volume licensing prices are about a buck cheaper per seat. WinRAR also says that registering their program entitles the user to all future versions for no additional charge.
In a way, WinRAR presents the user with something of a Catch 22 — you need to use the RAR format to take advantage of most of the software's best and most useful features. On the other hand, if you send a friend or colleague a RAR file, will they be able to open it?
It's a classic chicken and egg scenario, and clearly WinRAR will be most valuable if you know your recipients are other registered WinRAR users. But with all the useful features for the same price as WinZip and ZIP compatibility too, WinRAR is certainly worthy of consideration.
Pros: Offers higher compression compared to competition and several useful convenience and reliability features
Cons: Slower than ZIP, must use RAR format to exploit most of the program's features, weak compression for ZIP files compared to WinZip's AES 128-bit encryption capabilities
