Zstandard is a lossless data compression algorithm developed by Yann Collet at Facebook. Zstd is the corresponding reference implementation in C, released as open-source software on 31 August 2016.
The algorithm was published in 2018 as RFC 8478, which also defines an associated media type "application/zstd", filename extension "zst", and HTTP content encoding "zstd".
In February 2021, RFC 8878 replaced and obsoleted RFC 8478. RFC 8878 is an Informational publication rather than an Internet Standards Track specification.
Zstandard was designed to give a compression ratio comparable to that of the DEFLATE algorithm (developed in 1991 and used in the original ZIP and gzip programs), but faster, especially for decompression. It is tunable with compression levels ranging from negative 7 (fastest) to 22 (slowest in compression speed, but best compression ratio).
What is Zstandard?
Zstandard by Meta (developed by Meta Platforms) is open-source Windows software in the archivers category. It ranks 3rd by popularity among archivers in this catalogue. It is written in C. Besides Windows, it is available for GNU/Linux, BSD, Mac operating system and Unix-like operating system.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides Portable installers for 64-bit and 32-bit Windows. It runs without installation (portable).
Updates and version history
The current version is 1.5.7, released on February 28, 2025. The version history goes back to April 5, 2023: 3 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 1.6 releases a year. The last update is more than a year old.
Popularity and file types
The Chocolatey package has been downloaded 305,327 times. The source code on GitHub (facebook/zstd) has 28,075 stars. Wikipedia has an article about it in 13 of our languages. Similar programs include 7-Zip, PeaZip and UPX.
Project description on GitHub: “Zstandard - Fast real-time compression algorithm”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Portable: runs without installation
- Also runs on GNU/Linux, BSD and Mac operating system
- Large user base
Cons
- No native ARM64 build
- No update for more than a year
In short: Zstandard is an open-source archiver tool for 64-bit and 32-bit PCs. Updates have slowed down.
Is Zstandard safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
ACB4E8111511749DC7A3EBEDCA9B04190E37A17AFEB73F55D4425DBF0B90FAD9· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Security practices (OpenSSF Scorecard)
Automated checks of the facebook/zstd repository on GitHub by the Open Source Security Foundation, last run on October 20, 2026.
- Security policy10
- Dependency update tool10
- Actively maintained10
- No dangerous workflows10
- No binaries in the repository10
- Restricted token permissions10
- No known vulnerabilities10
- Fuzzing10
- Tests in CI10
- Contributors from several organisations10
- Licence declared9
- Pinned dependencies8
- Signed releases8
- Static code analysis7
- Code review3
- OpenSSF Best Practices badge0
The score rates how the project is developed and released, not whether the program is safe to install. scorecard.dev
Recent versions
All 3 versions ›3 versions over 2 years · about 1.6 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5.7Latest | February 28, 2025 | — | 32-bit ZIP64-bit ZIP |
| 1.5.6 | March 29, 2024 | — | 32-bit ZIP64-bit ZIP |
| 1.5.5 | April 5, 2023 | — | 32-bit ZIP64-bit ZIP |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id Meta.Zstandard -echoco install zstandard -yRelated guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- Meta
- Developer
- Meta Platforms
- Category
- Archivers
- Licence
- GPL-2.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/facebook/zstd
- Written in
- C
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, 32-bit
- Installer
- Portable
- Other platforms
- GNU/Linux, BSD, Mac operating system, Unix-like operating system
- Version
- 1.5.7
- Released
- February 28, 2025
- Added to the catalogue
- January 18, 2024
- Versions listed
- 3
- Updates / year
- 1.6
- Chocolatey downloads
- 305,327
- GitHub stars
- 28,075
- GitHub forks
- 2,643
- Website
- github.com
- winget ID
- Meta.Zstandard
- Chocolatey package
- zstandard
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
Alternatives to Zstandard
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Proprietary11.7M ↓ -
7-Zip ZS26.02-v1.5.7-R2File archiver with support for Brotli, Fast-LZMA2, Lizard, LZ4, LZ5 and ZstandardOpen source2.7M ↓ -
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Frequently asked questions
Is Zstandard free?
Yes. Zstandard is open-source software under the GPL-2.0 licence.
Is Zstandard safe to download?
The download comes from github.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 Zstandard 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.
Does Zstandard run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
There is no ARM64 build; Windows 11 on Arm can run the 64-bit and 32-bit version through emulation.
Where can I download an older version of Zstandard?
The versions page lists all 3 versions with links to their official installer files, back to April 5, 2023.
Can I use Zstandard without administrator rights?
Yes, it is portable: unpack and run it.
What are alternatives to Zstandard?
7-Zip, PeaZip, UPX, WinRAR and 7-Zip ZS. The alternatives page compares them.
