# Bandizip review (2026): is the free plan enough? > Archiver for Windows and Mac that opens 40+ formats including RAR Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. 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. - **Category:** Desktop Utilities - **Made by:** Bandisoft International Inc. - **Website:** https://www.bandisoft.com/bandizip/ - **Runs on:** Windows, macOS - **Who should skip it:** Tight if ads bother you, as the free Windows edition shows them. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## 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. - **Pricing model:** Free plan - **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 | $30 one-time, per user, up to 5 PCs | No ads, plus password manager, archive repair, password recovery, image preview and antimalware scan. | | Windows Enterprise | $20 one-time, per PC, minimum 2 | Commercial edition for organizations, sold per single-PC license with a minimum purchase of two. | | Mac (one-time) | $21.99 one-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) | $0.99 per 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 https://www.bandisoft.com/bandizip/buy/ on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Bandizip before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **Bandizip plus Honeycam package, 20% off** (Other savings): The Windows buy page sells a Bandizip and Honeycam bundle at $55.20 instead of $69. Source: https://www.bandisoft.com/bandizip/buy/ - **Bandizip 365 yearly plan** (Annual discount): The Mac App Store lists Bandizip 365 at $0.99 monthly or $6.99 yearly, against $11.88 for twelve monthly payments. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bandizip-365-archiver/id1596426184 ## 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. ## Good for - Windows users who want a free archiver with wide format support - Mac users who need RAR, ALZ or EGG files opened - Offices that need a per-PC commercial license ## 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. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 3.0 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. 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. - **Value for money: A.** The 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. - **Free plan and trial: B.** The Windows edition is free and fully usable, with ads. Professional-only features need paying. - **Features: B.** ZIP, 7Z and TAR creation, 40+ formats opened, AES-256, split archives and editing without extracting. Nothing in the listing is missing from the job. - **Ease of use: B.** Install it and extract archives with nothing to set up. No store rating is on record. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Windows and Mac, computers only. No Linux, phone or web version. These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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. ## Where it 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. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/utilities ## Keep it, 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. - You could make: File compression: an app builder makes this well. - You could not: A file manager working directly on your disk. - You could not: A real app for macOS and Windows. Something home-made would be a web page. - You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. **Tags:** File compression, File management, Works offline ## Alternatives - [WinZip](https://toolgpa.com/tools/winzip): Archiver with encryption, cloud sharing and file management tools. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bandizip-vs-winzip) - [7-Zip](https://toolgpa.com/tools/7-zip): Free, open-source file archiver with the 7z format. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/7-zip-vs-bandizip) - [WinRAR](https://toolgpa.com/tools/winrar): Windows archive manager for RAR and ZIP files. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bandizip-vs-winrar) - [PeaZip](https://toolgpa.com/tools/peazip): Free file archiver for Linux, macOS and Windows. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bandizip-vs-peazip) - [Keka](https://toolgpa.com/tools/keka): File archiver for macOS and iOS with drag-and-drop compression. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/bandizip-vs-keka) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.bandisoft.com/bandizip/ - https://www.bandisoft.com/bandizip/buy/ - https://www.bandisoft.com/bandizip/ent/ - https://www.bandisoft.com/bandizip.mac/ - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bandizip-archiver/id1265704574 - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bandizip-365-archiver/id1596426184 Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/bandizip Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).