Compressing files for later distribution or storage is more personal than we imagine. Each user chooses their preferred client, and radical changes are rare, but we should never deny the possibility that something better exists. That is how we find the latest version of PeaZip, an open source client capable of compressing files in a dozen formats, and processing almost 200 of them.
For years, 7-Zip has been my compressor/decompressor (I still have build 9.20 installed on my system). Despite its five-year gap between stable versions, no one can ignore its stability, nor its excellent compression rate when dealing with certain types of files. At the same time, 7-Zip has always kept a Spartan profile, and some users might prefer something different. Of course, the classic WinRAR (version 5.31, $29) hasn't gone anywhere and continues to be a solid piece of software. However, we must also mention PeaZip, which has just entered version 6.0.
According to available information, the number of supported formats for decompression in PeaZip is 188, while for compression it's twelve. Its interface is relatively simple to understand, several languages are available (Spanish is one of them), and among its advanced functions we discover a password manager with its corresponding generator (maximum 64 characters). The final compression parameters appear when creating a file. Depending on the chosen format, we can modify the compression method, dictionary size, encryption type, and the number of threads dedicated to the process.
PeaZip is a project under the LGPLv3 license, and Windows is just one of the four supported platforms (Linux, OS X, and BSD represent the rest). Its official page offers 64-bit compiled installers, and those who want to add it to a maintenance USB drive can do so without problems thanks to its portable edition. Perhaps PeaZip won't replace your favorite compressor in the immediate future, but it definitely deserves you to try it.
