Read every format you'll see in the wild — RAR, ACE, ARJ, MSI, NSIS, CHM, RPM, DMG, VHD, SquashFS, plus 50+ more. Write the ones that matter — ZIP, ZIPX, PA, 7Z, TAR, GZ, BZ2, ISO, CAB, WIM. RAR write requires WinRAR installed locally.
Same crypto module as Windows Server (Microsoft CryptoAPI Enhanced Cryptographic Provider). Strengthened PAE2 container with filename + size + timestamp encryption — passersby can't even see what's IN your archive list.
Professional / Toolbox. Generate RSA-2048 / RSA-4096 / ECC keys. Sign archives, verify signatures, encrypt to multiple recipients. Standard OpenPGP (RFC 4880) — interoperable with the rest of the GPG world.
Professional / Toolbox. Built-in FTP / FTPS / SFTP client with bandwidth limiting, queue, resume, and smart archive handling — read remote ZIPs as folders without downloading the whole archive. Toolbox adds the full advanced FTP feature set.
Professional / Toolbox. Native integration with Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Box, Amazon S3, Azure, Yandex Disk, HiDrive. Drag a folder, it uploads. No per-service desktop client to babysit.
Professional / Toolbox. VSS-aware backups of locked / open files (mailboxes, databases, log files). Schedule jobs daily / weekly. Route the same backup to up to 3 destinations simultaneously — local NAS + S3 + offsite, or any combination.
Toolbox / Enterprise. The full PACL CLI bundled. Same archive engine as the GUI. Scripted from PowerShell, batch files, scheduled tasks, CI/CD. Exit codes for orchestration. Unicode-aware. International filenames work.
Professional / Toolbox. Outlook, Word, Excel ribbon integration. One-click encrypted attachments. Send-encrypted from the apps you already live in.
Toolbox only. Mount ISO, BIN, IMG, NRG, CCD, MDS, MDF, BD images as virtual CD/DVD drives in Windows. Up to 8 simultaneous virtual drives. Auto-mount on double-click. Replaces Daemon Tools / WinCDEmu.
Toolbox only. Data discs, audio CD rip + burn (FLAC / MP3 / WAV with CDDB), bootable media, ISO9660 + UDF hybrid mastering, 1-click disc-to-ISO. Replaces Roxio for the burning workflow you might still need.
Toolbox only. Right-click in Windows Explorer → "Zip to Email." Compresses + encrypts + opens a new mail with the attachment ready. MAPI fallback for non-Outlook clients.
Toolbox only. 20+ tuning options — per-format codec selection, deduplication chunk size, LZMA dictionary size, solid blocks, multithreading thresholds. For when you need to squeeze every last byte out of a 50 GB asset library.
If you only zip a folder once a month, 7-Zip is fine. Standard pays back when you (a) want a real password manager so you stop re-typing passphrases, (b) need the .PA codec for 30–70% smaller PDFs / DOCX, (c) deal with format diversity (RAR / ISO / MSI / CHM / RPM / DMG) that 7-Zip handles unevenly, (d) want repair / batch / multi-extract / SFX / convert tools without bolting them on, or (e) want a UI that's actually pleasant to spend an hour in. The break-even is one or two saved hours.
Professional. The full Encryption Suite (OpenPGP key manager, document encryption, batch crypto, password policies), PowerArchiver Backup, Cloud connectors, Office add-ins, and Send-to-Secure-FTP are all Professional features. Business is the lean entry-level for archive UX + AES-256 encryption only. (PACL command-line and the full standalone FTP client live in Toolbox.) Professional details →
If you mount ISOs, burn discs, master audio CDs, send a lot of encrypted attachments via Windows Explorer right-click, OR want the .PA codec advanced tuning settings — yes, Toolbox is the upgrade. If you don't, Professional is materially cheaper. Most power users in IT or dev shops end up at Professional; audio / video / archival folks lean Toolbox. Toolbox details →
Yes. A single license covers your primary device + a secondary device for personal use (e.g., desktop + laptop). For more devices or shared use, look at the volume tier — 2 seats drops the per-license cost meaningfully. Per the EULA, the personal-use clause means the licensed user, not multiple separate people sharing one license.
No. Perpetual = perpetual. Buy once, install on your hardware, and the version you bought works forever. Free updates within the current lifecycle are included with every paid edition. For premium support and free major-version upgrades, add PowerArchiver Select at checkout — 25%/yr or 50% for 3 years.
Same price. English-only ships with just the English UI — smaller installer, simpler. Multilingual ships with all 36+ language localizations. Pick whichever matches your situation; switching later is supported.
