Apps to open ZIP files
Due to work stuff you’re always dealing with ZIP files and even more frequently with ZIP files with password protection. Even if you’ve already found good programs that allow you to manage your archives perfectly, you may have found it difficult to find proper solutions for your smartphone and tablet. Well, don’t panic! If what you need is a good app to open ZIP files, you happen to be standing in the right place at the right time!
With today’s tutorial I will suggest you some of the best apps for compressed archives currently available on Android and iOS platforms, as well as on Windows 10, one of the most popular operating system in tablets (and more precisely in 2-in-1 devices that can turn into notebooks thanks to external keyboards). All you need to do is to find the app that best suits your needs, download it and use it by following the instructions I’m about to give to you.
Which is the price of those apps I’m about to introduce? Almost nothing, don’t worry! Most of the apps listed here below can be downloaded and used for free without any time limitation. There might be some in-app purchase to get more features, but we’re talking of “secondary” options and, therefore, not essential for the sole opening of the ZIP files on smartphones and tablet. It’s all clear? Good, then we can start!
- App to open ZIP files on Android
- App to open ZIP files on iOS
- App to open ZIP files on Windows 10
- Programs to open ZIP files on your PC
App to open ZIP files on Android
Let’s start with a list of apps to open ZIP files on Android devices. There’s plenty for everyone, but I will just report some of them that I would recommend as a “must have” for most users.
App to open ZIP files – X-plore File Manager
App to open ZIP files
X-plore File Manager is one of the best free file manager available for Android. Aesthetically is not as “attractive” as the popular ES File Manager, but in return is less invasive, smaller and does not show annoying notifications. It allows to navigate through the folders of the device, the network folders and the ones on the cloud storage platforms (e.g. Dropbox or Google Drive), through a split panel with a tree file view. The extracting of ZIP files with password is also supported.
In order to open a ZIP file with X-plore File Manager you only need to run the app, select the path with the stored archive (for example, Internal Storage if the archive is on the smartphone internal storage, SD card if on the microSD etc.) and click on the icon of the file to extract. If the selected ZIP file is protected with password, you’ll have also to type the specific keyword to open it. Once extracted the files, you’ll be able to see the files in the ZIP archive under the icon of this very last.
To have access to the cloud storage services you’ll need to go back to the X-plore File Manager home screen, go to “Show” and select “Web Archive” from the menu that opens. Then you’ll need to select the “Web Archive” appeared on the home screen of the app, select the cloud storage service you want to have access to (e.g. Dropbox or Google Drive) and type the specific log-in details.
Furthermore I want to point out that via in-app purchases it is possible to unlock advanced features, such as the transfer of files through SSH, the video player and the file encryption.
App to open ZIP files – ZArchiver
App to open ZIP files
ZArchiver is one of the best free utilities for the management of the compressed archives available on Android. It allows the extraction of several archive formats: 7Z, ZIP, RAR, RAR5, BZIP2, GZIP, XZ, ISO, TAR, ARJ, CAB, LZH, LHA, LZMA, XAR, TGZ, TBZ, Z, DEB, RPM, ZIPX, MTZ, CHM, DMG, CPIO, CRAMFS, IMG (FAT, NTFS, UBF), WIM, ECM, ARC E LZIP.
It allows to display directly the contents of those archive formats: 7z, ZIP, RAR, RAR5, BZIP2, GZIP, XZ, ISO, TAR, ARJ, CAB, LZH, LHA, LZMA, XAR, TGZ, TBZ, Z, DEB, RPM, ZIPX, MTZ, CHM, DMG, CPIO, CRAMFS, IMG (FAT, NTFS, UBF), WIM, ECM, ARC E LZIP.
It allows to create several archive formats, even with password: v 7z, ZIP, BZIP2 (BZ2), GZIP (GZ), XZ. It does not include banner ads and its interface is extremely intuitive. Unfortunately it does not support cloud storage services as Dropbox and Google Drive (even if it can be found in the sharing menu of those services and used to decompress the files stored on them.
To extract a ZIP archive with ZArchiver you just need to go to the path that contain this app, click on the file icon and select an option among “View” (to view directly the content of the archive), Extract Here (to extract the files of the archive in the current folder), Extract in ./<name_archive>/ (to extract the files of the archive into a folder named as the ZIP file) or Extract (to extract the files of the archive into a folder of your choice).
It is possible to donate € 1.50 to get extra features, such as the Light and Dark themes for the interface of the app, the storage of passwords, the displaying of the images’ previews in the archives and the possibility to modify the files in the archives.
App to open ZIP files – AVG AndroZip
App to open ZIP files
Even if the interface is pretty old-fashioned, AVG’s AndroZip remains one of the best free softwares (as well as one of the most used) to open ZIP files on Android. Is an essential file manager with no frills that allows to navigate in all the local paths (in the device storage and in the SD) to open the files in the formats ZIP, RAR, TAR, GZIP e BZIP2. It supports encrypted ZIP (Standard, AES-128 and AES-256) and enables you to view quickly many other file formats thanks to a comfortable side panel that allows to filter images, audio files, videos and files downloaded from the Internet..
To use AndroZip you just need to navigate in the path that contains the ZIP archive of your interest, select the file icon and choose an option among Extract files here ((to extract the files of the archive in the current folder), Extract in (to extract the files of the archive into a folder of your choice) or “View archive” to view the content of the archive without extracting it). If the selected archive is protected by password, you’ll have to type the password.
App to open ZIP files – WinZip
App to open ZIP files
There’s no need for specific presentations. WinZip is one of the most famous utility for the management of Zip files on the computer. Its Android version allows to extract archives in the formats ZIP, ZIPX, 7Z, RAR e CBZ, to create archives in the formats ZIP and ZIPX and to extract ZIP files encrypted with AES block cipher, AES-128 and AES-256. Through an in-app purchase of € 1.46 it is possible to unlock extra features, such as the access to cloud storage services, the chance to create encrypted archives and the removal of banner ads.
To extract archives with WindZip for Android just run the app and click on the button “Continue” to access to its home screen. Then click on the button in the top left hand corner.and select “Storage” from the menu that appears on the side to navigate in the folders of your device. Then reach the path that contains the archive you are interested in and click on the icon of the same to view its contents.
At this point, you can decide whether opening the files in the selected ZIP archive by simply taping on their icons (and typing the unlock password if it’s an encrypted archive), or extracting them into a folder of your choice. To extract files to a folder, make a long press on each of them and select the “Unzip to” from the menu that opens. If you want to extract ALL files contained in an archive, make a prolonged click directly on the ZIP file icon and select the “Unzip to” from the menu that opens.
Note: All applications listed above can be retrieved by other apps (eg a web browser or a file manager) by simply selecting a ZIP file in the latter and selecting them from “Open with” menu that appears immediately on the screen .
App to open ZIP files on iOS
Starting with iOS 11, iPhone and iPad also include a file manager, simply called File, which lets you preview a ZIP file hosted on the internal device storage or on iCloud Drive and share them with other apps. This is a very useful tool, but unfortunately does not support encrypted archives. Therefore, my advice is to turn to more specific solutions, such as those listed below.
App to open ZIP files – Documents by Readdle
Documents by Readdle is one of the best file manager available on iOS, and maybe the best one even after the release of File by Apple. It is for free and enables to navigate simply in all iPhone and iPad folders (except those of the system, obviously), in the cloud storage services (e.g. Dropbox and iCloud Drive) and in the local networks devices allowing the user to view, copy, move and delete files in a simple way, as happens in “Explore Files” on Windows or in “Finder” on macOS. Includes even an internal browser that allows you to download files from the Internet.
As for the compressed archives, it allows you both to create and extract ZIP files, included the ones protected with password. How does it work? I’ll explain it right now. Once you’ve started Documents by Readdle, follow the short initial tutorial of the app and go to the path that contains the archive of your interest: if it’s a local folder you have to select the “Documents” Tab, whereas if it’s a network path or a cloud storage service you have to go to the “Services” tab and select the source of your interest (click on “Add account” to add a new could storage service or a new FTP, SFTP, SMB or WebDAV server.
Once located the ZIP file to extract, click on its icon and a folder with the same name of the archive will be created. That contains all the files extracted from it. If the archive is protected by a password, you will be prompted to type the specific password to extract the data.
Note: Applications mentioned earlier can be retrieved by other apps (eg Mail or Safari) by simply selecting a ZIP file, clicking on the share icon (the square with the arrow going upwards) and choosing their icons from the iOS sharing menu.
App to open ZIP files – iZip
App to open ZIP files
iZip is an historic free app to create and extract ZIP files on iOS systems. It has a very intuitive interface and integrates perfectly with other iPhone and iPad applications. For example, you can create ZIP files from the iOS Photo Roller and can be retrieved from the Mail Sharing menu to open ZIP files received by e-mail. It also supports cloud storage services such as Dropbox, Google Drive and Box, and RAR, 7Z, ZIPX, TAR, and GZIP files (read-modus only). Enough shop talk, let’s see more in detail how the app works.
To extract a ZIP file with iZip, you have to start the application and select the path where the archive of your interest is located. Then, select “Document browser” to navigate in device folders (via the iOS File app), or select a cloud storage service icon (eg Dropbox or Google Drive) to access them.
On the screen that opens, click on the icon of the archive that you want to extract so that you can import it into iZip. Next, go to the Files section of the application, select the name of the ZIP file that you have just imported and respond OK to the alert that appears on the screen in order to extract the entire content. If it’s an encrypted archive, you will also have to type in the opening password.
App to open ZIP files – WinZip
WinZip, the most popular software for the management of ZIP files, is also available in app version for iPhone and iPad. The download is for free, but it is necessary to purchase the complete version (Price: € 5,49) to unlock all the features, as the support to cloud storage services and the creation of encrypted archives. By the way, the free version allows to do all you need to, namely open ZIP and RAR archives (included the password-protected ones) and create archives out from photos and music files stored on your device.
To extract a ZIP file with WinZIp on iPhone and iPad it is necessary to use the iOS sharing menu. That means you don’t have to act directly from the app, but instead you need to select firstly the ZIP file you want to open in another application (e.g. Safari, File or Mail). Once selected the archive, click on the sharing icon (the box with the arrow going upwards) and select “Copy on WinZip” in the menu that opens.
At this point WinZip shall open automatically and you’ll be able to see the files in the archive. If the selected ZIP file is password-protected, you’ll have to type the keyword in order to see the files.
Apps to open ZIP files on Windows 10
If you purchased a tablet or a 2-in-1 device with Windows 10, you can count on “Explore File”, the standard file manager of the Microsoft operating system, which allows you to open both the normal and the encrypted ZIP files. For sure, there’s plenty of other apps you can use: below the most interesting.
App to open ZIP files – 7-Zip
7-Zip is the best free and open source utility for the management of compressed archives available on Windows. It is compatible not only with Windows 10, but also with all the Microsoft operating system versions. The interface is not as well-finished as the one of WinRAR and of other well-known paid-softwares, but support all the main compressed file formats (ZIP, 7z, XZ, BZIP2, GZIP, TAR e WIM for reading and writing and AR, ARJ, CAB, CHM, CPIO, CramFS, DMG, EXT, FAT, GPT, HFS, IHEX, ISO, LZH, LZMA, MBR, MSI, NSIS, NTFS, QCOW2, RAR, RPM, SquashFS, UDF, UEFI, VDI, VHD, VMDK, WIM, XAR, Z just for reading) and has a really quick data processing.
To download 7-Zip on you device with Windows 10 connect to the program official website and click on the download link next to 64-bit x64. Once the download is completed, open the 7zxx-x64.exe file you just downloaded and click first on the “Yes” button and then on “Install and Close” to complete the program installation procedure. If you are asked to restart your PC, do it.
At this point you’ll be able to open every ZIP file with Z-Zip just by right-clicking on the same and selecting “7-Zip > Open” from the Windows context menu. In the tab that opens you can decide to see the single files in the archive (by double-clicking on them) or to extract them in a specific folder (by moving them into the same with the mouse or by clicking on the “Extract” button top left.
If you want the ZIP files to open automatically with 7-Zip, head to Tools> Program Options and double-click on “Zip” until the 7-Zip option will appear twice consecutive next to the latter (so in the columns of your user account and the “all users” one). Then click on “Apply” and “Ok” to save changes. If the procedure fails, try it again by running 7-Zip as administrator (right-click on the program icon> Run as Administrator).
App to open ZIP files – 8 Zip
If you’re looking for a universal app for Windows (that’s to say, an app able to work either on tablets, PCs, smartphones and other Windows 10-equipped devices in the same way) take a look on 8 Zip. We’re dealing with a software for the management of compressed archives available in two versions: a free version with banner ads and work restriction to only ZIP files, and a paid one (Price: € 7,89 with possible € 0,99 discount) that allows to work freely with RAR, 7Z and all the main compressed archive formats.
To install the 8 Zip free version on your device click on the provided link (on the app name), accept to open Microsoft Store and click on “Get”. The app will download and install automatically in few seconds.
Once the installation is completed, open the Windows Start menu (the flag in the lower left-hand corner of the screen) and run 8 Zip. From here you can open your ZIP files just clicking on “Open Archive” (in the left sidebar) and selecting the file to extract.
Programs to open ZIP files on your PC
If you also need recommendations about programs to open ZIP files on your PC, take a look at my tutorial on this subject: you’ll find the names, descriptions and links to download some of the best software for the management of compressed archives on Windows and macOS.
App to open ZIP files