I ran a test on a 1.2GB mixed folder (PDFs, EXEs, MP4s, source code).
| Tool | Format | Compressed Size | Time (sec) | Notes | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Windows 11 | ZIP | 1.08 GB | 18 | Slow, no encryption options | | 7-Zip 23.01 | 7z (Ultra) | 892 MB | 47 | Best ratio, but slow | | PowerArchiver | ZSTD | 945 MB | 14 | Best speed/ratio balance | | PowerArchiver | ZIPX (LZMA) | 905 MB | 38 | Better than standard ZIP | | WinRAR 6.21 | RAR (Best) | 878 MB | 51 | Slightly better ratio, much slower | powerarchiver 2023
Verdict: PowerArchiver is not the smallest (WinRAR wins by 14MB), nor the fastest at decompression (7-Zip wins there). But it is the most versatile. No other tool handles ZIP, ZSTD, cloud drives, and backups in one UI. I ran a test on a 1
This is where PowerArchiver 2023 separates from the pack. Most archivers live on your desktop. This one lives in your cloud storage. No other tool handles ZIP, ZSTD, cloud drives,
You can connect OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox, and Amazon S3 directly inside the app. But the smart part? Cloud Browse. You can open a ZIP file stored on Google Drive, extract a single file from it, and save it back—without downloading the entire 10GB archive to your local SSD.
For remote workers with limited hard drive space, this is a game changer.
PowerArchiver 2023 takes encryption seriously, but not in the "just add a password" way.