RAR is a proprietary archive format, so you need third-party software to open and extract it on your Mac. In this post, we show you our favorite software to use for this, as well as some alternative ways to open.rar files in macOS. In the next section, I will show you an easy way to extract RAR files on Mac using The Unarchiver. The Unarchiver for Mac. The Unarchiver is a free and light app that you can find in the utility section of the Mac App Store. It has a simple, easy-to-use interface, and it is an open source project. How to Extract and Open RAR Files on MacOS.
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.
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
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.
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. Mirror for roku mac. 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. Scanguard for mac.
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.
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.
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
Can i download google maps to my mac. 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
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.
Safari web browser download for mac. Hello Friends and Fans. This is your own Steve Sadiq. Today i’ll share with you guys my working method that will solve your problem of how to open RAR files on Mac. I would like to share some useful knowledge regarding this topic so that you concepts get clear about RAR files. Before that, I would like to ask you a question. Do you know what are RAR files? What is the purpose of creating RAR files? Where RAR files are used. Why don’t we use simple files instead of RAR files?
Basically, RAR files are compressed and zipped files. RAR files are archive file formats. RAR (Roshal Archive Compressed file) files are created by compressing multiple files and compiling them to the same place. A simple RAR file that contains multiple images, doc files etc etc can be easily sent via email. The advantage of using these is that the size gets reduced. You can easily send them to through email or share them via social media messenger. Suppose you have to send a very important project to your university portal/or a business proposal/or pictures to your friends.
The files are of large size and greater in number. For sending them you need to upload them one by one. And some emails don’t allow large size files to send. Here are files solve these issues. you just to create a simple folder and place all your files in those folders. https://ahzrjdd.weebly.com/blog/itunes-keeps-asking-for-password-mac. Then zip or compress the folder. All the files/pics get packed and compressed. You just need to attach this single file to send wherever you want.
Now that you have come to know about the advantages of RAR file. There also comes the issue with RAR files. When you receive an email that contains RAR files or you download a RAR file from the internet you would not be able to access that RAR file unless you unzip that.
How to Open RAR files on Windows 10
Yes, Yes I know this article is about how to open RAR files on Mac. But this will be useful for you guys if you learn this as well, this is very easy in case of windows 10. Just select the RAR file. Right-click on that. You will see option extract here, or extract a file to. Just click that and the files get unzipped. Open and use them. See how simple this was.
How to Open RAR files on MAC![]()
How easy it was in the case of Windows. I wish to open RAR files on mac would have been as simple as it was on windows. But this is not the case at all. On the mac, you need a RAR file opener to extract and open RAR files. Let’s start and see how this is done.
You people must have heard the term ZIP files. You must be thinking that what is the difference between RAR files and ZIP files. Am I right?
Is there any difference between RAR and ZIP?
Both RAR and ZIP files are compressed archive files/folders. By default, Mac accesses ZIP archive files. But to open RAR files on the mac you need third-party software to unpack the contents or RAR file. The advantages of using RAR file instead of ZIP file are quite technical. If you are not a technical person or IT professional, you don’t need to worry and you don’t need to understand that as well. But I’ll mention for tech-related people.
In contrast to ZIP files, RAR files feature strong AES-128 encryption meaning more secure. The compression ratio is high in RAR FILES. As i have mentioned earlier mac basically supports zip archive format and not the RAR format. So to unpack the RAR files on the mac you need a third-party app or utility.
The file extension of RAR files is dor RAR [.rar] (for example – wordprss.rar)
Unlike the ZIP files, Apple’s macOS and OS X does NOT include a built-in archive utility tool that opens RAR files. Apple’s Archive Utility supports a number of file formats like ZIP, TAR, and GZIP. It does not support RAR files.
How to open RAR files on Mac using Unarchiver
There are multiple 3rd party apps available in the app store that will answer your question – how to open RAR files on Mac. The 3rd party app which I am using and sharing with you to open RAR files on Mac is Unarchiver. You can easily find the app on the utility section of the store.
You can also use the following apps to open RAR files on mac
What Steve Recommends
This is not about using 3rd party app for extracting RAR files on mac. This is general for all the apps which you download. Must read the reviews of the people and you will get the idea that which app is best suited for the purpose.
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Why I have selected Unarchiver
The reason of selecting unarchiver, to open RAR files on mac, is that it is easy to use. Google voice for mac. Also it is small in size and most importantly it is a free tool. Additionally, it is an open source program and supports formats such as Zip, RAR (including v5), 7-zip, Tar, Gzip, and Bzip2.
Step by Step Guide – how to open RAR files on Mac Using Unarchiver
STEP 1
Download and install The Unarchiver
There are two options here. Download via the Unarchiver site or the Mac App Store. The developer prefers downloads from its site rather than the Mac App Store, due to limitations set by Apple and its sandboxing requirements. The developer contends that sandboxing limits the capabilities of the app.
The Minimum system requirements are Mac OS X 10.7. https://squaredyellow335.weebly.com/siriusxm-mac-os-app.html. However, for those of us with older Macs, there is an older Mac version available via the Unarchiver site.
STEP 2
Open RAR File(s)
After you install The Unarchiver via the Mac App Store or the Unarchiver site, it’s time to open your RAR file.
Just drag & drop your RAR any 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 extracts the compressed files into that same folder. After that, use these files as you would any other file. They are now the same!
THE FINAL STEP
Updated Your Mac OS?
If you recently updated your Mac’s operating system, and you discover that Unarchiver isn’t working regularly. Try uninstalling the app then going back to the site or your Mac App Store and reinstalling the app. For some reason, OS updates sometimes mess up the app, with no particular pattern.
Additionally, your firewall may be getting in that way of the Unarchiver.
So give the app a refresh and see if that helps! So make sure you allow the Unarchiver access by enabling it to receive incoming connections.
How to give access / allow specific application via Firewall
Concluding Thought
That’s all for the day. Today you have learned, how to open RAR files on Mac. This was not so difficult. I have shared with you the slight intro of the RAR files. The importance of RAR files. Also, I have discussed with you guys about the RAR vs Zip files. The mac is by default set to open zip files. So to open RAR file on Mac, you need to have a 3rd party app.
Rar Opener For Mac Download
I have shared the names of different apps that you can use. Also the methods of how to use the app to open RAR files on Mac. Finally, I have shared with you the 3 step process to open, extract files on Mac using Unarchiver. Hope now you will not have any sort of trouble to open RAR Files on Mac.
Rar Extractor For Mac Download
If still, something is not clear in your mind, feel free to contact me, or write in the comment section. I’ll try to answer that as soon as I can. This is your very own Steve Sadiq signing off for now.
Open Rar Files Mac
Stay Blessed.
Peace ?
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