Does Windows 11 Still Need 7-Zip? Encryption, Speed and Archive Support Compared

How Windows 11 went from ZIP-only to multi-format​

Windows had ZIP and little else for a very long time. BleepingComputer noted that while Windows has integrated ZIP archive support since 1998, third-party applications like 7-Zip and WinRAR were required for handling 7-Zip (.7z), RAR (.rar), or gz (.gz) files.

That changed in two steps:

• Extraction (Windows 11 version 23H2 era): Microsoft introduced the feature at Build 2023. Panos Panay, then Chief Product Officer, wrote: "We have added native support for additional archive formats, including tar, 7-Zip, RAR, gz and many others using the libarchive open-source project." The feature arrived with the optional KB5031455 preview. According to BleepingComputer, it added .rar, .7z, .tar, .tar.gz, .tar.bz2, .tar.zst, .tar.xz, .tgz, .tbz2, .tzst, and .txz, although support for password encrypted files is not yet available.
• Creation (Windows 11 version 24H2): When Microsoft released 24H2 to the Release Preview Channel in May 2024, its Windows Insider blog listed the ability to create 7-Zip and TAR archives in File Explorer, alongside ZIP. Pureinfotech's guide says on Windows 11 24H2 and later, you can create 7z, TAR, and ZIP archives directly from File Explorer.

Microsoft's current "Zip and unzip files" support page says Windows 11 version 24H2 supports ZIP, RAR, 7z and TAR. The same page says Windows does not support operations on encrypted archive files. For creating or opening encrypted archives, Microsoft itself suggests non-Microsoft apps such as 7-Zip or WinRAR.

Section summary: On 24H2 or later, File Explorer can open ZIP, RAR, 7z and the common TAR variants, and it can create ZIP, 7z and TAR. It cannot create RAR files, and it cannot work with encrypted archives of any kind.

The everyday workflow Microsoft documents​

For most people the classic ZIP routine is all they need. Microsoft's support page describes it this way:

1. To zip: Right-click the file or folder and select Show more options > Send to > Compressed (zipped) folder. A ZIP with the same name appears in the same location.
2. To extract a single item: Open the zipped folder and drag the file or folder out of it.
3. To extract everything: Right-click the archive, select Extract All..., and follow the prompts.

Microsoft's page also includes two warnings that people tend to skip:

• If you add encrypted files to a ZIP, they are unencrypted when someone unzips them. That can expose sensitive data, so Microsoft recommends not zipping encrypted files at all.
• Files that are already compressed, such as JPEG images, barely shrink inside a ZIP. The archive ends up roughly the same size as the originals.

TweakNow and Pureinfotech both describe a separate archive-creation wizard on 24H2 for 7z and TAR output. Pureinfotech says it lets you create either format directly in File Explorer and customize compression levels.

The performance question: what the numbers show​

Speed is where Windows falls furthest behind. MakeUseOf relies on a benchmark from TweakNow. The details are worth knowing:

TweakNow ran the test on a Core i5-8500 PC with Windows 11 Pro 24H2. It compressed a folder of 800 PNG images totaling 3.29 GB and then extracted the result. That makes it one machine and one dataset. PNGs are also already compressed, so this test measures throughput more than how well each tool shrinks files. TweakNow's published summary doesn't say whether runs were repeated or how compression settings were matched.

MakeUseOf's own article has a contradiction. It cites the TweakNow figures, where Windows is far slower at compressing. It then says File Explorer "takes the win" on compression speed, based on the author's own test:

• 7-Zip compressed a 1.6 GB folder to 1.1 GB in 1:25.
• Windows finished in 55 seconds but produced a 1.5 GB archive.

These results don't conflict once you account for settings. A slower run that produces a much smaller file is trading time for size, and that's a settings choice as well as a matter of code quality. One informal test can't separate those factors. A fair reading is that Windows can be quicker or slower depending on the job, and in these tests it never produced the smaller file.

Older results point the same way, especially for 7z. When Neowin tested the 23H2 implementation in 2023, File Explorer took nearly nine minutes to extract, while WinRAR and NanaZIP finished in about one minute. Microsoft had pitched the libarchive change as a speed improvement. Panay's post said users "now can get improved performance of archive functionality during compression on Windows." Compared with Windows' old ZIP handler that may be true, but it does not make Windows faster than a dedicated archiver.

About the cause: MakeUseOf blames overhead from Explorer's shell integration and single-threaded processing. That is plausible, but neither Microsoft nor the other sources here confirm it. What can be confirmed is the other side of the comparison. 7-Zip's LZMA SDK changelog says version 25.00 for Windows can use more than 64 CPU threads for compression. Treat the "Explorer is single-threaded" explanation as unproven.

Where Windows falls short, and some corrections​

Two points need correcting:

• RAR creation isn't a reason to choose 7-Zip. MakeUseOf says Windows can't create RAR archives, which is accurate. But the format list on 7-Zip's official site puts RAR under unpacking only, so 7-Zip can't create them either. If you really need to make RAR files, you need WinRAR.
• Windows does have a command-line archiver. MakeUseOf says Windows lacks command-line support. Microsoft Learn documents a built-in tar command, based on libarchive's bsdtar, that can create, list and extract .tar, .tar.gz, .zip and .7z files. Examples from that page:
  • tar -xf archive.tar.gz extracts an archive.
  • tar -caf archive.zip .\my-folder creates a ZIP. The -a flag picks the format from the file extension.
  • tar -tf archive.tar.gz lists the contents without extracting.
  Admins with scripts that already use Linux-style tar flags can keep using them without installing anything.

The encryption gap is the most important one. MakeUseOf says File Explorer can't open or create AES-256 encrypted archives, and Microsoft's documentation agrees: Windows doesn't support operations on encrypted archives at all. If a vendor, accountant or colleague sends you a password-protected 7z, File Explorer won't open it.

Split or multi-volume archives are another gap. TweakNow lists "No Multi-Volume Archives" among Windows' remaining limitations. Earlier WindowsForum coverage noted that Windows' native extraction may lack support for advanced aspects like password-protected or split archives.

Practical guidance for Windows users and IT admins​

• Light, occasional use: If you only open the odd RAR attachment or zip up a few documents, Windows 11 24H2 is enough. Nothing extra to install or update.
• Encrypted archives: Use a dedicated tool. Microsoft's own documentation says so.
• Large or time-sensitive jobs: The TweakNow and Neowin results both suggest a dedicated archiver saves real time on big archives. Test with your own files before standardizing on one approach.
• Scripting and automation: Try the built-in tar before deploying third-party software across a fleet. It covers ZIP, 7z and tarballs.
• Already-compressed files: Zipping photos or video mainly bundles them into one file. Don't expect space savings from any tool.
• Keep 7-Zip updated: Its LZMA SDK changelog lists bug and vulnerability fixes in several 2026 releases, so treat an archiver like any other software that handles untrusted files. The current release on 7-Zip's site is 26.06, dated November 6, 2026.

The bottom line​

MakeUseOf's main conclusion holds up. Windows 11 now covers the basic archive tasks that used to require installing 7-Zip, but it doesn't match a dedicated tool. The case for keeping 7-Zip rests on encryption, consistent performance on large jobs, self-extracting archives and wider extraction support, including ISO. RAR creation and the command line aren't part of that case: 7-Zip can't create RAR files, and Windows already ships tar.

For casual users, Windows' built-in support is enough. Anyone who regularly handles password-protected or very large archives should keep 7-Zip installed and current.