If you just want a better version of the default "Compress" button,
It handles almost anything you throw at it, including encrypted archives and multi-part files. betterzip vs keka
BetterZip, developed by MacIt Better, is a premium commercial app. It presents itself as the "swiss army knife" of archiving. Instead of being just a compressor, it allows you to browse, modify, and manipulate archives without fully extracting them. If you just want a better version of
Many Mac enthusiasts actually keep both . Use Keka as your default "handler" for quick extractions, and keep BetterZip in your Applications folder for when you need to perform "surgery" on a specific archive. Instead of being just a compressor, it allows
This is where the philosophical divide appears.
, which allows you to modify archives—such as deleting a single file or renaming items—without the time-consuming process of unzipping and re-zipping the entire folder. Workflow Integration: It integrates deeply with macOS, offering a Quick Look extension
Keka. For raw, bulk compression of large files, Keka is consistently a few seconds faster. BetterZip feels "heavier" under the hood.