Extract Rar Files On Mac Os X Wit Preinstalled App

13.09.2020by

So you tried to open a .rar file you downloaded on the Internet, or received from a colleague/friend via email. Then you get a weird error on your Mac, because the file couldn’t be opened.

Whether you choose Archiver or BetterZip, how to open RAR files on Mac, or in fact any files, won’t be a problem anymore. Best of all, both Archiver and BetterZip are available for you to try free on Setapp, a platform of more than 150 top Mac apps that solve any problem you happen to come across.

It’s really disappointing. I’ve been there many times, since I use my MacBook Pro to communicate with others who are probably on a PC. In fact, I also ran into the same problem when I switched from PC to Mac a few years ago.

Luckily, I managed to fix it with an amazing app called The Unarchiver, the best RAR extractor app for Mac. Plus, it’s still free. Meanwhile, I also tested dozens of other applications on my Mac, and filtered those that are 100% free and easy to use and you can read more below.

NEW UPDATE

Extract Rar Files On Mac Os X Wit Preinstalled Application

Hi there, Thanks for reading this article. It’s been two years since I first published this post. Things have changed a lot when it comes to unrar apps for Mac. I was hoping Apple macOS could add this feature to its built-in Archive Utility app, unfortunately, it seems that Apple macOS team doesn’t plan to do this. My MacBook Pro is now with the latest 10.13 High Sierra, and I have to rely on third-party apps to extract RAR files.

Extract rar files on mac os x wit preinstalled apps

As for the best rar extractor app for Mac, the recommendation stays the same — The Unarchiver. It’s still free to download and use. However, it’s worth noting that the app has been acquired by MacPaw (the maker of CleanMyMac, an awesome Mac cleaning app) and is now part of the MacPaw family. You can read more from this press release.

Also, I just found a more powerful app called BetterZip 4 — which allows Mac users to not only extract many types of archives, but you can also use it to create archives or preview content of an archive without extracting. Those additional features are not available in The Unarchiver or Archive Utility. I recommend BetterZip to those of you who often need to handle a different kind of files on a PC and Mac. Note: BetterZip isn’t freeware ($24.95 for the paid version), but a free trial is offered. You can get BetterZip 4 from Setapp here.

What about the other apps listed below? I tried to check them now and then, just to make sure they’re usable and the information is accurate. But I find it so time-consuming because every year or so Apple releases a new version of macOS (to date, it’s High Sierra 10.13.2), those apps that fail to be updated often can’t run or malfunction. Therefore, I’d discourage you to check them out unless you are interested. That said, I’ll try my best to keep the content on this post as fresh as possible.

What is an RAR File?

RAR is a compressed file short for Roshal Archive; it’s a proprietary file format developed by Eugene Roshal, a genius software engineer. Simply put, a .rar file is like a big data container that holds a set of individual files and folders inside.

Why use RAR? Because it reduces the size of your files and folders while keeping all the content 100% intact. With a RAR, it’s much easier to store on removable media or transferred over the Internet.

According to this comparison image provided by Compression Ratings, RAR files achieve much higher compression, especially on multimedia files. They are also easier to split or to recover once corrupted than other alternatives like ZIP or 7Zip files.

How to Open an RAR Archive on Mac?

Unlike other archive files, for example, a ZIP archive can be directly created or extracted by using the default function on Mac (here’s a tutorial), a RAR file can only be opened using third-party software…which, unfortunately, Apple hasn’t built into the Archive Utility, yet.

That’s why there are plenty of third-party applications available on the Internet that claim to be able to do that. Some are dated, while some require you to pay.

Thanks to those smart, yet kind developers, we have quite a lot of free options to get the job done without taking a penny out of the pocket. I’ve tested many and here are the 10 best free apps that still work.

Gemini software mac free trial. Editors' note: This is a review of the trial version of Gemini for Mac 1.5. What do you need to know about free software? Editors' Review.

10 Free RAR Extractor Apps That Work on Mac

Note: Some of the apps below are open source, and the authors accept donations. If you find the one you use is really awesome, kindly show your appreciation. Hundreds of hours were spent to make that product work well.

1. The Unarchiver

The Unarchiver is my favorite. Like the name indicates, it unpacks almost any archive instantly without launching the app. The app is very powerful, even does what the built-in Archive Utility can’t — extracts RAR archives. It also supports handling filenames in foreign character sets.

2. B1 Free Archiever

Another great open source app, the B1 Free Archiver serves as an all-in-one program for managing file archives. As you can see from the screenshot above, this tool allows you to create, open and extract archives. It opens .rar, .zip, and 35 other file formats. Besides Mac, there are also versions for Windows, Linux, and Android.

3. UnRarX

UnRarX is a simple utility designed to expand .rar files and restore corrupted or missing archives with .par and .par2 files. It has an extraction function as well. To do this, simply open the program, drag your archive files into the interface, and UnRarX will unpack the content to the specified destination.

4. StuffIt Expander Mac

StuffIt Expander for Mac allows you to uncompress both Zip and RAR archives. I found the app very easy to use. Once the program is installed, you should see an icon (as shown on the top of the above screenshot). Click on it. Next select the file, specify the destination to store your extracted files, and you’re done.

Rar

5. MacPar deLuxe

Another great tool that can open RAR files, and do a lot beyond! Originally developed to recover missing or corrupted information by processing “par” and “par2” files, MacPAR deLuxe is able to unpack the data with its built-in unrar engine. If you are a Macintosh user who frequently downloads or uploads binary files, then most likely you’ll love this utility program. You can get it from its official site here.

6. iZip for Mac

iZip is another powerful yet effective tool built from the ground up for Mac users to compress/decompress, secure, and share files easily. It supports all kinds of archive formats including RAR, ZIP, ZIPX, TAR, and 7ZIP. To unzip a file, just drag and drop it into the software main interface. Another window will pop up with the extracted files. Super fast!

7. RAR Extractor Free

RAR Extractor Free is an app that specializes in extracting Rar, Zip, Tar, 7-zip, Gzip, Bzip2 files conveniently and safely. Once you download and launch the app, you’ll see a pop-up window that asks you to specify an “unarchive” location. To load your files, you’ll need to move to the top left and click “Open.”

8. SimplyRAR (Mac)

SimplyRAR is another awesome archiving app for Mac OS. As its name suggests, SimplyRAR is a simple to use program that makes archiving and unarchiving files a breeze. Open it by dropping the file into the application, choosing a compression method, and pulling the trigger. The downside of the app is that it will be difficult to get support from the developer, as it appears they’re no longer in business.

9. RAR Expander

Extract Rar Files On Mac Os X Wit Preinstalled App Download

RAR Expander (Mac) is a clean GUI utility for creating and expanding RAR archives. It supports single, multi-part or password-protected archives. It also features AppleScript support and includes example scripts to help you handle multiple archives at once.

10. Zipeg

Zipeg is also handy yet free. What I really like is its ability to preview an entire file before extracting it. It also supports password protected and multipart files. Note: To open the software, you’ll need to install the legacy Java SE 6 runtime (see this Apple support article).

What’s Your Favorite UnRAR Tool?

Does the recommended one help you extract or unzip your RAR files? Or do you find a better unarchiver app for Mac than the ones listed above? Let me know by leaving a quick comment below.

Compressed files are a great way of sharing a lot of content in a small packet. These packets are of .zip and .rar formats. Most of the computers are designedly able to deal with the Zip files. However, to extract Rar files, they need a specialized catalyst. So, in this article, I’m going to tell you how to open RAR files on Mac PC.

Contents

  • 2 How to Open Rar Files on Mac?

All You Need to Know About Rar Files

RAR basically stands for Roshal Archive Compressed. Rar files are the second most common archive file formats, after Zip files. These are used in abundance on the Internet for high data transmission and sharing. People use these rar files to lower the overall size and pack together several files and also folders into a single file. A single RAR file is hence small enough to transfer via mail or other sharing means. Just like other compressed archive files, you need to decompress or unzip the rar files after downloading or receiving them.

The file extension of a rar file is .rar (For example, MacMetric.rar)

The most beneficial aspect of RAR files is that they feature strong AES-128 encryption and have higher compression ratios.

Mac can easily decompress the Zip files while it requires a different software to decompress the Rar files.

Extract Rar Files On Mac Os X Wit Preinstalled App Free

How to Open Rar Files on Mac?

Mac operating systems are specifically designed to decompress the compressed file formats. They have Apple’s Archive Utility tool that is able to decompress a number of formats like ZIP, GZIP, TAR, etc but, it is not able to decompress RAR. Consequently, you must acquire help from another software in order to open RAR files on Mac.

So I’m presenting you a list of best software available for Mac OS to open RAR Files.

1. Unarchiver

If you are looking for a solution on how to open rar files on mac, then this tool is the best answer to all your problems.

Unarchiver is a free, small and simple to use software that unarchives several different kinds of archive files. Also, it is an open source program and supports formats such as Zip, RAR (including v5), 7-zip, Tar, Gzip, and Bzip2. One added advantage is that it can also open ISO, BIN disk images and some Windows.EXE installers also. If you are a newbie for using Mac or even if you are not but you just want guidance, follow these steps in order to learn how to use Unarchiver:

Step-1:Download and install Unarchiver from Mac App Store.

Step-2: Firstly, open Unarchiver. Once opened, make sure that the box beside “RAR Archive” is check marked, along with all the other archive types you want to open with the Unarchiver. Afterwards, switch to the “Extraction” tab located at the top of the application window and then, select your save location for the resulting file.

Step-3: Now just drag & drop your RAR or any other compressed file onto the Unarchiver’s icon, or right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose The Unarchiver, or double click the RAR file.

The Unarchiver will extract the files in that same folder. You can easily access them anytime you want.

2. UnRarX

UnRarX is a Mac OS X Cocoa software that allows you to decompress rar archives. It can also restore corrupted or missing archives using par2. It is a simple and easy software developed for people who like simplicity. Follow these steps in order to use UnRarX to extract your rar files:

Step-1:Download and install UnRarX from here.

Step-2:Launch the application and drag the rar files you want to extract to the application window. Or, right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose UnRarX.

UnRarX will then extract the rar file in the same folder and you can use them however you desire.

3. iZip

iZip is the best alternative for Unarchiver and UnRarX. It is a free, secure and simple to use program that can easily extract the rar. When you open an archive with iZip it appears as a removable disk in your OS X Finder. You can then easily manage your compressed files using Finder just like all the other files you manage. All view modes including cover-flow work fine. iZip also provides 256-bit AES ZIP encryption for extra security. One added advantage is that iZip has partnered with Files.com to provide secure free file sharing. You simply have to click the Share button to upload and share your files over the Internet. To learn how to use iZip, follow these steps:

Step-1:Download and install iZip from here.

Step-2:Launch the application. Now just drag the rar files you want to extract to the application window and let it decompress it in the same folder. Or, right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose iZip.

iZip treats the archived files as removable storage and makes the task hassle free.

4. StuffIt Expander

StuffIt Expander is a free and amazing program to unzip rar files and several other file formats like Zip, GZIP, BZIP on Mac. It has a simple and easily understandable interface which makes the application loved by everyone. You can either download this application free separately or as an included feature with StuffIt Deluxe pack. To use StuffIt Expander, follow these simple steps:

Step-1:Download and install StuffIt Expander from here.

Step-2:Launch the application and then just drag the rar file you want to extract to application window, or right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose StuffIt Expander.

StuffIt Expander will then extract the files in the same folder. Afterwards, you can enjoy using the files anytime.

5. BetterZip 4

BetterZip 4 is yet another powerful tool to open the compressed archive files including the rar files. With BetterZip 4, you can also create archives and you can even view the content of an archive file without extracting it. The major drawback about this application is that it is not completely free to use but it offers a free-trial period. However, the app is worth every penny for people who need to handle different kinds of files on PC. Follow these steps to learn how to use BetterZip 4:

Step-1:Download and install BetterZip 4 from here.

Step-2:Launch the application and the drag the rar files you want to extract to the application window. You can also right-click the RAR file on your Mac then select Open With and choose BetterZip 4.

BetterZip 4 will then comfortably decompress the archived files within the same folder and you can use the files anytime you wish.

Conclusion

Extract Rar Files On Mac Os X Wit Preinstalled Apps

Rar files possess a slight edge over the other compressed archive files. However, unlike Zip and other formats, Rar files require a third-party software to get extracted on Mac. So, these were the 5 Best Rar Files Extractors available for Mac. You can use whichever you like and whichever suits your demands.
As a bonus, I’ll present you some other good apps and software to open RAR files on Mac:

  • MacPar Deluxe
  • B1 Free Archiver
  • RAR Extractor Free
  • Simply Rar (Mac)
  • Zipeg

That’s all. Start using any one of the tools to extract or open RAR files on Mac OS for free. Let us know if you are facing any issues with any of the tools mentioned in the article.

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