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I don't doubt the numbers. Until very recently Windows could not natively unarchive .rar files and you needed to download WinRAR to be able to do this. I still

I don't doubt the numbers. Until very recently Windows could not natively unarchive .rar files and you needed to download WinRAR to be able to do this. I still find it not terribly uncommon to run into a random .rar file that previously would have meant I needed to install it, even if I only used it once. > and the fact that nearly nobody downloads .zip files anymore Citation needed? Why would people not be downloading .zip files anymore?

hnuser123456 1y ago
What I don't get is why people kept installing WinRAR when 7zip can do all the same things and doesn't beg for money.
- TonyTrapp 1y ago
  Subjective: WinRAR has nicer UI. Objective: 7z (the format) doesn't have the same data recovery options as RAR. As it stands, RAR remains one of the best options for long-term archival of data for casual users thanks to its optional recovery records.
- nerdjon 1y ago
  Sure, but if you are a non technical user what are you likely going to search for first. A lot of non technical people know "winrar" and even if they don't if you search "rar file" on Google the first result is winrar.
- close04 1y ago
  WinRAR in my experience has a better speed/compression ratio than 7Zip. If you need best compression 7z is probably best but it will cost you some extra time. The GUI and integration of 7Zip also aren't as polished as WinRAR's. I've been using both since their early versions and each have their individual strengths.
- wongarsu 1y ago
  7zip can't do all the same things. It's an incomplete WinRar clone that leaves out a lot of features and adds very little on its own, besides the 7zip format and being open source (both neat things, but that doesn't replace the long list of features it doesn't have or the worse UI)
- hulitu 1y ago
  > What I don't get is why people kept installing WinRAR Kids those days. There are some rar archives ( with recovery record ? ) that are only readable by winrar.
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sim7c00 1y ago
i have not seen anything relevant packaged in rar for at since the early 2000s
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smokel 1y ago
You can't get a citation for this, and I must admit that this was a bit of a hyperbole. Still, I sincerely believe that in a typical year, a typical user runs into zero or one .zip files. Of course there are exceptions, but these power users do not make up a large part of the population. Facebook and Instagram are not shipped in .zip format for a reason. Here are some numbers to think about: According to Microsoft, there are ~1.4 billion devices that run Windows 10 or Windows 11 [1]. Apparently, there are some 200 million additional devices that run older versions of Windows [2]. Now, I could hypothetically ask my mom and dad, and find out that only one of them knows what a .zip file is. The other has not heard of .rar. I don't think I myself am a typical user, but I do know .rar, and I do not even have WinRAR installed. That leaves me to conclude that it is very, very, unlikely that 31% of all Windows users has WinRAR installed. [1] https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/06/24/stay-secure-with-windows-11-copilot-pcs-and-windows-365-before-support-ends-for-windows-10/ https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/06/24/stay-... [2] https://jitendra.co/how-many-windows-users-are-there-in-the-world/ https://jitendra.co/how-many-windows-users-are-there-in-the-...
- k_roy 1y ago
  I know many people that still use it because it does all formats, it’s what they’ve been using forever, and the UI is so much better than using zip on Windows. Of course, RAR usage nowadays is probably a bit more limited to things like usenet downloads, so the people caring enough to install an alternative decompressor is narrowing.
- Larrikin 1y ago
  Don't all email providers automatically zip attachments after a certain number and don't all the major OSes try to hide extensions and include zip handling? I'm not sure what your parents knowing about zip files indicates about its usage.
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hnuser123456 1y ago

What I don't get is why people kept installing WinRAR when 7zip can do all the same things and doesn't beg for money.

TonyTrapp 1y ago
Subjective: WinRAR has nicer UI. Objective: 7z (the format) doesn't have the same data recovery options as RAR. As it stands, RAR remains one of the best options for long-term archival of data for casual users thanks to its optional recovery records.
nerdjon 1y ago
Sure, but if you are a non technical user what are you likely going to search for first. A lot of non technical people know "winrar" and even if they don't if you search "rar file" on Google the first result is winrar.
close04 1y ago
WinRAR in my experience has a better speed/compression ratio than 7Zip. If you need best compression 7z is probably best but it will cost you some extra time. The GUI and integration of 7Zip also aren't as polished as WinRAR's. I've been using both since their early versions and each have their individual strengths.
wongarsu 1y ago
7zip can't do all the same things. It's an incomplete WinRar clone that leaves out a lot of features and adds very little on its own, besides the 7zip format and being open source (both neat things, but that doesn't replace the long list of features it doesn't have or the worse UI)
hulitu 1y ago
> What I don't get is why people kept installing WinRAR Kids those days. There are some rar archives ( with recovery record ? ) that are only readable by winrar.

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sim7c00 1y ago

i have not seen anything relevant packaged in rar for at since the early 2000s

deleted 1y ago

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smokel 1y ago

You can't get a citation for this, and I must admit that this was a bit of a hyperbole. Still, I sincerely believe that in a typical year, a typical user runs into zero or one .zip files. Of course there are exceptions, but these power users do not make up a large part of the population. Facebook and Instagram are not shipped in .zip format for a reason. Here are some numbers to think about: According to Microsoft, there are ~1.4 billion devices that run Windows 10 or Windows 11 [1]. Apparently, there are some 200 million additional devices that run older versions of Windows [2]. Now, I could hypothetically ask my mom and dad, and find out that only one of them knows what a .zip file is. The other has not heard of .rar. I don't think I myself am a typical user, but I do know .rar, and I do not even have WinRAR installed. That leaves me to conclude that it is very, very, unlikely that 31% of all Windows users has WinRAR installed. [1] https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/06/24/stay-secure-with-windows-11-copilot-pcs-and-windows-365-before-support-ends-for-windows-10/ https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2025/06/24/stay-... [2] https://jitendra.co/how-many-windows-users-are-there-in-the-world/ https://jitendra.co/how-many-windows-users-are-there-in-the-...

k_roy 1y ago
I know many people that still use it because it does all formats, it’s what they’ve been using forever, and the UI is so much better than using zip on Windows. Of course, RAR usage nowadays is probably a bit more limited to things like usenet downloads, so the people caring enough to install an alternative decompressor is narrowing.
Larrikin 1y ago
Don't all email providers automatically zip attachments after a certain number and don't all the major OSes try to hide extensions and include zip handling? I'm not sure what your parents knowing about zip files indicates about its usage.
- deleted 1y ago
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