WinRAR is a trialware file archiver and compression utility for Microsoft Windows, developed by Eugene Roshal of win.rar GmbH (RARLAB) since 1995. It can create and view archives in RAR (a format created by Roshal) or ZIP file formats, and unpack numerous archive file formats. To enable the user to test the integrity of archives, WinRAR embeds CRC-32 or BLAKE2 checksums for each file in each archive. WinRAR supports creating encrypted, multi-part and self-extracting archives.
RARLAB also offers a mobile version as freeware for Android under the name RAR for Android. Related programs include command-line utilities RAR and UNRAR which are also released for macOS, Linux, FreeBSD, and in the past for Windows CE, MS-DOS and OS/2.
RAR/DOS started as a mix of x86 assembler and C, with the amount of assembly code decreasing over time and moving to pure C/C++ later on. The first versions of WinRAR were written in C; modern versions predominantly use C++. RAR for Android is written as a mixture of Java and C++.
What is WinRAR?
WinRAR is a proprietary archiver program for Windows from win.rar GmbH (developed by RARLAB). It ranks 5th by popularity among archivers in this catalogue. It is written in C++.
Installation and requirements
Official installers exist for 64-bit as EXE. Installation asks for administrator rights. The installer supports unattended (silent) installation.
Updates and version history
The current version is 7.23.0, released on June 30, 2026. 20 versions are listed since March 30, 2021, each with links to its own installer files. That is about 3.8 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 11,721,218 times. Wikipedia has an article about it in 34 of our languages. On Windows it registers 30 file types, including .jar, .zip, .iso, .7z and .rar. Similar programs include 7-Zip, PeaZip and NanaZip.
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Documented silent install
- Opens 30 file types
- Large user base
Cons
- Proprietary licence: check the terms and price
- No native ARM64 build
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: WinRAR is an archiver tool for 64-bit PCs. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is WinRAR safe to download?
- The file is served by rarlab.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
E29624BD13A10085684C1ACEA8E2FD04504D2AB3884362436BE86D736EDCC165· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 20 versions ›20 versions over 5 years · about 3.8 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7.23.0Latest | June 30, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE |
| 7.22.0 | May 1, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE |
| 7.21.0 | April 29, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE |
| 7.20.0 | February 4, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE |
| 7.13.0 | July 30, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE |
| 7.12.0 | June 27, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE |
| 7.11.0 | March 24, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE |
| 7.10.0 | February 24, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE64-bit EXE |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id RARLab.WinRAR -echoco install winrar -yscoop install extras/winrarwinrar-x64-723am.exe -s1Program files (.exe): winrar.exe
Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- win.rar GmbH
- Developer
- RARLAB
- Category
- Archivers
- Licence
- Proprietary
- Price
- See the publisher’s site
- Written in
- C++
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit
- Installer
- EXE
- Version
- 7.23.0
- Released
- June 30, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- March 30, 2021
- Versions listed
- 20
- Updates / year
- 3.8
- Chocolatey downloads
- 11,721,218
- Website
- win-rar.com
- winget ID
- RARLab.WinRAR
- Chocolatey package
- winrar
- Scoop package
- extras/winrar
File types it opens (30)
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to WinRAR
See all ›-
Open source35.6M ↓ -
PeaZip11.3.0A free file archiver utility and rar extractor for Windows and Linux, work with 200+ archive types and variants, handle spanned archives and support multiple archive encryption standards.Open source585.4K ↓ -
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UPX5.2.1A free, secure, portable, extendable, high-performance executable packer for several executable formats.Open source230.7K ↓ -
Zstandard1.5.7Zstandard is a fast lossless compression algorithm, targeting real-time compression scenarios at zlib-level and better compression ratios. It's backed by a very fast entropy stage, provided by Huff0 and FSE library.Open source305.3K ↓ -
7-Zip ZS26.02-v1.5.7-R2File archiver with support for Brotli, Fast-LZMA2, Lizard, LZ4, LZ5 and ZstandardOpen source2.7M ↓ -
PDFsam Basic6.0.6.0A free, open source, multi-platform software designed to split, merge, extract pages, mix and rotate PDF files.Open source1.6M ↓ -
Open source527.8K ↓
Frequently asked questions
Is WinRAR free?
WinRAR is proprietary (closed-source) software (licence: Proprietary). Whether it costs money depends on the edition: check the publisher’s site for prices and free tiers.
Is WinRAR safe to download?
The download comes from rarlab.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install WinRAR with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can WinRAR be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does WinRAR run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of WinRAR?
The versions page lists all 20 versions with links to their official installer files, back to March 30, 2021.
What are alternatives to WinRAR?
7-Zip, PeaZip, NanaZip, UPX and Zstandard. The alternatives page compares them.
