Bandizip review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Archiver for Windows and Mac that opens 40+ formats including RAR
Black Friday: is there a Bandizip sale?
Bandizip report card
Very good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for a free archiver on Windows
Bandizip opens more than 40 archive formats, and the Windows edition is free. But the free edition shows ads, repair and password tools need the $30 Professional licence, and the Mac version creates fewer formats and is sold only through the Mac App Store.
Who Bandizip is for
- Fits if you want a free Windows archiver that opens RAR, ALZ and 40 other formats
- Works for compressing large or split archives on a Windows PC
Who Bandizip is not for
- Tight if ads bother you, as the free Windows edition shows them
- Skip it if you use Linux, because no version is listed
- Watch out: repair, password recovery and the password manager are Professional, $30 one-time
- Watch out: the Mac edition creates ZIP, 7Z, TAR, GZ and TGZ only, and is sold only on the Mac App Store
Why Bandizip gets a 3.0
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- AValue for moneyThe Windows edition is free to download and use. Professional is $30 one-time, and the Mac edition is $21.99 or $0.99 a month.
- BFree plan and trialThe Windows edition is free and fully usable, with ads. Professional-only features need paying.
- BFeaturesZIP, 7Z and TAR creation, 40+ formats opened, AES-256, split archives and editing without extracting. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job.
- BEase of useInstall it and extract archives with nothing to set up. No store rating is on record.
- CPlatforms and integrationsWindows and Mac, computers only. No Linux, phone or web version.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Bandisoft's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
Make Bandizip? Put this grade on your site
Paste this where you want the badge. It links here and follows the grade if it changes. About badges
<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/bandizip#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/bandizip.svg" alt="Bandizip: 3.0 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Bandizip stands among desktop utilities
Bandizip's GPA of 3.0 is higher than 154 of the 186 other desktop utilities we grade, and level with 27.
It stands best on value for money (A, above 55 of 186) and worst on platforms and integrations (C, above 111).
Its paid plans start at $0.99 a month, against a middle price of $2.99 for the category: 4 of the 36 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. Nothing scores higher for less, though at least one tool matches that score at a lower price.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 187 desktop utilities we grade, cut by the letter each got. Bandizip’s own letter is outlined.
- AValue for moneyAbove 55 of 186, level with 131
- BFree plan and trialAbove 75 of 186, level with 31
- BFeaturesAbove 113 of 186, level with 72
- BEase of useAbove 78 of 186, level with 108
- CPlatforms and integrationsAbove 111 of 186, level with 60
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 103 desktop utilities. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Keep Bandizip, or make your own?
Keep it
The plain part of Bandizip you could make: file compression. What surrounds it you could not. The 3 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.
It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 3.0 is higher than 154 of the 186 other desktop utilities we grade. It costs $11.88 a year.
What you could make
- File compression: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- A file manager working directly on your disk.
- A real app for macOS and Windows. Something home-made would be a web page.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Bandizip’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
What is Bandizip?
Bandizip creates and extracts archives such as ZIP, 7Z and TAR and opens more than 40 formats, including RAR and ALZ. The Windows edition is free with ads, and paid editions add features such as repair, password recovery and a password manager. The Mac version is sold through the Mac App Store.
Worth knowing
- The free Windows edition shows ads, and Professional-only features need a paid license.
- The Mac edition is sold only through the Mac App Store, as a one-time purchase or subscription.
- No Linux version is listed.
- The Mac edition creates fewer formats than Windows: ZIP, 7Z, TAR, GZ and TGZ.
Key features
- Many formats
- Creates ZIP, 7Z, ZIPX, TAR, TGZ, ISO and self-extracting EXE, and extracts 40+ formats, including RAR, ALZ and EGG.
- Multi-core compression
- Uses several processor cores for compression, which the vendor says is up to 6 times faster on Windows.
- Large and split archives
- Supports archives over 4 GB and multi-volume compression for splitting a file across email attachments.
- AES-256 encryption
- Password-protect archives with AES-256, and test an archive's integrity before opening it.
- Edit without extracting
- Add, delete or rename files inside an archive without unpacking it first, and preview contents from the archive list.
- Professional extras
- Paid editions add a password manager, repair of corrupted ZIP files, brute-force password recovery and image thumbnails.
Bandizip pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bandizip has a free plan, and paid plans start at $0.99 per month (Mac, Bandizip 365); Windows Professional $30 one-time.
- Starts at
- $0.99 per month (Mac, Bandizip 365); Windows Professional $30 one-time
- Free plan
- Windows edition is free to download and use, with ads; paid editions remove them and add Professional-only features.
- Free trial
- None listed
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Windows Free | $0 | Compress and extract common formats on Windows. The vendor says a license removes the ads in this edition. |
| Windows Professional | $30one-time, per user, up to 5 PCs | No ads, plus password manager, archive repair, password recovery, image preview and antimalware scan. |
| Windows Enterprise | $20one-time, per PC, minimum 2 | Commercial edition for organizations, sold per single-PC license with a minimum purchase of two. |
| Mac (one-time) | $21.99one-time, Mac App Store | Bandizip for macOS as a one-time purchase on the Mac App Store, with the Mac feature set. |
| Mac (Bandizip 365) | $0.99per month, or $6.99 per year, Mac App Store | Subscription version with the same functions as the one-time purchase, with a 1-week free trial. |
Read from bandisoft.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Bandizip before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Other savingsBandizip plus Honeycam package, 20% off
The Windows buy page sells a Bandizip and Honeycam bundle at $55.20 instead of $69.
Stated on bandisoft.com - Annual discountBandizip 365 yearly plan
The Mac App Store lists Bandizip 365 at $0.99 monthly or $6.99 yearly, against $11.88 for twelve monthly payments.
Stated on apps.apple.com
Bandizip alternatives
- Bandizip vs WinZip
Free trial · from $3.33/mo
- Bandizip vs WinRAR
Free trial · from $29 one-time
- Bandizip vs Keka
Free plan · from $3.99 one-time
Common questions
Does Bandizip have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Bandizip is listed for Windows and macOS.
Does Bandizip have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Bandizip is listed for Windows and macOS.
Is Bandizip open source?
Bandizip is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.
Does Bandizip work offline?
Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.
Sources for this page
The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.