Can Windows 11 open RAR files without extra software?

Yes. Microsoft added native RAR, 7z and TAR support to File Explorer in Windows 11 version 23H2. Double-click the archive and it behaves like a folder. Windows 10 has no such support and still needs a third-party archiver.

Is 7-Zip able to open RAR files?

Yes, 7-Zip extracts RAR archives including encrypted and multi-volume ones. It cannot create them, because the compression side of RAR is proprietary. Extraction is the part that matters for opening a file someone sent you.

What is the difference between RAR and ZIP?

ZIP is an open format supported natively by every operating system. RAR is proprietary, usually compresses a little tighter, and adds recovery records that can repair minor corruption. For sending a file to someone who may not have any tools installed, ZIP is the safer choice.

Do I need to pay for WinRAR?

WinRAR is trialware and will nag you after 40 days, though it keeps working. If you only need to open RAR files rather than create them, 7-Zip and NanaZip are free, open source and do the job completely.

File extensions

How to open a .rar file

RAR archive · Compressed archive

A .rar file is a compressed archive. On Windows 11 (23H2 or newer) and modern macOS you can open it without installing anything; on Windows 10 and earlier you need an archiver such as 7-Zip.

What a .rar file actually is

RAR is a proprietary compression format created by Eugene Roshal at RARLab. The name is an acronym of Roshal ARchive. Unlike ZIP, the format is closed: RARLab publishes a free extraction library but charges for the software that creates archives, which is why so many programs can read RAR files and so few can write them.

A .rar file is a container. It holds one or many files, compressed and optionally encrypted, and it can be split across numbered volumes so a large archive fits on smaller media or uploads in pieces.

Why it will not open

Three things usually block a RAR. Windows 10 has no built-in RAR support at all, so a double-click does nothing useful. If the archive was split, you need every part present in the same folder before extraction will start. And if it was encrypted, no tool on earth opens it without the password.

Step by step

Windows

01On Windows 11 version 23H2 or newer, double-click the file. File Explorer reads RAR natively since Microsoft added libarchive support, and the archive opens like a folder.
02On Windows 10 or older, install 7-Zip or NanaZip first, then right-click the .rar file.
03Choose 7-Zip, then "Extract to <folder name>\" to unpack everything into its own folder.
04If you only want one file, pick "Open archive" instead and drag the file you need out of the window.

macOS

01macOS has no built-in RAR support. The Archive Utility that handles ZIP will not touch it.
02Install The Unarchiver from the Mac App Store, or run "brew install --cask keka" if you use Homebrew.
03Double-click the .rar file. It extracts into the same folder.

What usually goes wrong

Multi-part archives

Files named archive.part1.rar, archive.part2.rar and so on are one archive split into volumes. Put every part in the same folder and open only part1. Opening part2 directly will fail or produce a corrupt result. A missing part means the extraction cannot complete, and no repair tool can invent the data that is not there.

The password prompt

RAR supports AES-256 encryption. If you are asked for a password you do not have, the archive is not recoverable by any legitimate means. Sites promising to crack it are, at best, wasting your time.

Programs that open .rar

Our pick, in order. Every one links to the publisher's official download URL and the SHA-256 hash of the installer, so you can check the file before you run it.

Also registers .rar in its manifest

Taken straight from publisher manifests. Some of these handle the format for a narrow purpose rather than as their main job.

MPC-HCv2.7.4 · 2 hashed installers100

Common questions

Can Windows 11 open RAR files without extra software?: Yes. Microsoft added native RAR, 7z and TAR support to File Explorer in Windows 11 version 23H2. Double-click the archive and it behaves like a folder. Windows 10 has no such support and still needs a third-party archiver.
Is 7-Zip able to open RAR files?: Yes, 7-Zip extracts RAR archives including encrypted and multi-volume ones. It cannot create them, because the compression side of RAR is proprietary. Extraction is the part that matters for opening a file someone sent you.
What is the difference between RAR and ZIP?: ZIP is an open format supported natively by every operating system. RAR is proprietary, usually compresses a little tighter, and adds recovery records that can repair minor corruption. For sending a file to someone who may not have any tools installed, ZIP is the safer choice.
Do I need to pay for WinRAR?: WinRAR is trialware and will nag you after 40 days, though it keeps working. If you only need to open RAR files rather than create them, 7-Zip and NanaZip are free, open source and do the job completely.