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ReaganJohnson's avatar
ReaganJohnson
Iron Contributor
Feb 05, 2026

Is Winzip for mac the best way to extract rar files on mac?

I have trouble extracting RAR files on my Apple Silicon Mac (M5). I tried using WinZip on my Mac, but it either fails to open the archive or gives extraction errors. Not sure if this is a compatibili...
QuinnBailey's avatar
QuinnBailey
Iron Contributor
Feb 06, 2026

For handling RAR files on a Mac, you typically need a third-party application like WinZip for Mac. WinZip for Mac is a popular and reliable tool that can open, extract, and create a wide range of archive formats, including RAR. Once you have WinZip for Mac installed, you can simply right-click on your RAR file, choose "Open with," and select WinZip for Mac to extract the contents.

By the way. Archive Utility is a built-in tool on macOS that allows you to compress and decompress ZIP files easily. However, when it comes to extracting RAR files, Archive Utility has significant limitations.

In my own words:

Archive Utility is excellent for handling ZIP archives directly through macOS without needing any additional software. You can simply double-click a ZIP file, and it will automatically extract its contents. However, for RAR files, Archive Utility does not natively support opening or extracting them. If you try to open a RAR file with Archive Utility, it will likely do nothing or give an error, because RAR is a proprietary format that macOS’s built-in utility doesn’t recognize.

In summary:

  • Pros: Built-in, no additional installation needed, works seamlessly with ZIP files.
  • Cons: Does not support RAR files at all, so it cannot be used to extract RAR archives.

 

Therefore, if you're planning to extract RAR files on Mac, relying solely on Archive Utility won't work. You will need to use dedicated third-party apps like The Unarchiver or Keka that support RAR formats.