Keka review: the free Mac archiver, tested
7z, Zip, RAR extraction, disk images and 40+ formats, with AES-256 passwords and split volumes, for $0. We timed it, broke it and read the source. Here is what holds up.
Summary
Keka is a file archiver for macOS made by an independent developer, aONe. It creates and opens compressed archives: 7z, Zip, Tar and the gzip/bzip2/xz family, plus RAR extraction, disk images and a long tail of package formats. It is free to download from keka.io, sold for $6.49 on the Mac App Store as a way to support development, and the source code is on GitHub.
The headline is that it replaces three tools at once. Apple’s built-in Archive Utility handles Zip and little else; The Unarchiver opens almost anything but cannot create archives; Keka does both, adds AES-256 passwords and archive splitting, and runs as a drop target in the Dock. Version 1.6.8 bundles current 7-Zip, XZ and UnRAR libraries, so speed and compatibility track the upstream projects.
Try .rar, .7z, .dmg or anything else you received.
What we liked
- Free, open source, no ads, no account, no telemetry
- Creates 19 formats and extracts 40+, including RAR5, DMG, ISO and app packages
- AES-256 encryption for 7z and Zip; file names can be hidden in 7z
- Split archives to any size for email, USB or upload limits
- Drag onto the Dock icon, right-click in Finder, or set it as the default for any format
- Light: 34 MB download, runs on macOS 10.10 through the current release
What we did not
- No RAR creation (a RAR licensing limit, not a Keka one)
- No archive browser: you extract, you do not peek inside
- Preferences are dense; the default behaviors take a few minutes to tune
- Support is a GitHub issue tracker and a Mastodon account, not a helpdesk
What Keka is
Keka is a graphical front end for a set of proven command-line compressors: 7-Zip (7zz) for 7z and Zip, the reference XZ, Zstandard, Brotli and LZ4 tools, UnRAR for RAR extraction and Apple’s own tools for DMG, ISO and Apple Archive. The app adds the parts those tools lack: a drop target, per-format defaults, password prompts, a queue with a task counter, and Finder integration. Nothing is uploaded; everything happens locally.
The project has been public since 2009 and is developed by one person under the name aONe. The Mac App Store and the free download ship the same build; the App Store version simply funds the work. There is a companion Keka for iOS sold separately, and a small helper, KekaExternalHelper, that lets you make Keka the default app for archive types from Finder.
How it works
- Install and set defaults
Download the DMG from keka.io or buy it on the App Store, drag it to Applications. Open it once: the main window shows the default format, compression level, and toggles for encryption and splitting.
- Compress by dropping
Drop files or a folder on the Keka window or the Dock icon. Keka uses the format and level set in the window. Hold Option while dropping to get the extraction behavior instead, or right-click the Dock icon to change the format on the fly.
- Extract by opening
Double-click an archive that Keka owns, or drop it on Keka, and it unpacks next to the original (configurable). Password-protected archives ask once and remember for the queue.
- Use the Finder menu
Keka installs a Quick Action and a Services entry. Select files in Finder, right-click, choose Compress with Keka or Extract with Keka. Keyboard shortcuts can be assigned in System Settings.
- Watch the queue
Every job shows a progress bar and a running counter. Jobs can run in parallel; large 7z jobs are the slowest and use all cores by default.
Format support
This is the core of the product. Keka creates 19 formats and extracts more than 40. The table is sortable: click a column header.
| Extension | Format | Create | Extract | Encryption | Split |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.7z | 7-Zip | Yes | Yes | AES-256, names hidden | Yes |
.zip | Zip | Yes | Yes | Zip 2.0 / AES-256 | Yes |
.rar | RAR | No | Yes (RAR5 incl.) | Password extract | — |
.tar | Tar | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.gz | Gzip | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.bz2 | Bzip2 | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.xz | XZ | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.zst | Zstandard | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.br | Brotli | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.lz4 | LZ4 | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.lz | Lzip | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.lrz | LRZIP | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.aar | Apple Archive | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.dmg | Disk image | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.iso | ISO image | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.wim | Windows Imaging | Yes | Yes | — | — |
.exe | Self-extracting | No | Yes | — | — |
.cab | Windows cabinet | No | Yes | — | — |
.msi | Windows installer | No | Yes | — | — |
.pkg | macOS installer | No | Yes | — | — |
.deb | Debian package | No | Yes | — | — |
.rpm | RPM package | No | Yes | — | — |
.jar | Java archive | No | Yes | — | — |
.apk | Android package | No | Yes | — | — |
.ipa | iOS package | No | Yes | — | — |
.xip | Apple signed archive | No | Yes | — | — |
Two design choices stand out. First, 7z is the default and is the right one: it compresses noticeably tighter than Zip on text, code and office documents, supports AES-256 with hidden file names, and opens on Windows and Linux with free tools. Second, Zip stays one click away for anything you send to people who will not install software. RAR extraction covers every RAR version including RAR5 with passwords; RAR creation is not possible in any free tool because of the format’s license.
Price
Keka is free. The developer offers three ways to pay if you want to:
- Mac App Store: $6.49 one-time purchase, same app, automatic updates through the store, optional in-app tips.
- Donation: PayPal or cryptocurrency from keka.io.
- Keka for iOS: a separate paid app for iPhone and iPad; it is not needed for the Mac version.
There is no subscription, no free tier with limits, no trial timer. The free download from keka.io and the App Store copy are functionally identical. Our price page compares it with the paid alternatives.
Features that matter
Encryption. 7z archives use AES-256 and can hide the file list until the password is entered; Zip archives can use legacy Zip 2.0 encryption for compatibility or AES-256 where the receiver supports it. Passwords are entered in a standard sheet and never stored.
Splitting. Any archive can be split into volumes of a chosen size (say 25 MB for an email gateway or 4 GB for a FAT32 drive). Keka rejoins the parts on extraction if they sit in the same folder.
Exclusions and Mac metadata. Keka can strip .DS_Store files and resource forks from archives, which avoids the “why is there a __MACOSX folder” question from Windows recipients. It can also exclude files by pattern.
Finder integration. Quick Actions, Services, Dock drop target, and optional default-app assignment for each format through KekaExternalHelper. The app can quit itself after a job finishes.
Localization. 29 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Japanese and Russian.
Where it falls short
No archive browser. You cannot open a 7z and pull out one file; you extract the whole thing. BetterZip and the paid tools do this. For large archives on a slow disk this matters.
No RAR creation. Shared with every free tool; if you must produce RAR files you need WinRAR’s command-line rar or a Windows machine.
Preferences density. The settings window has many toggles with terse labels. The defaults are sensible, but first-time users who want “always extract to Downloads and delete the archive” will spend a few minutes finding it.
Support. Issues go to GitHub. Responses are usually quick, but there is no phone, no chat and no SLA, which is the trade for a free tool from one developer.
Who should use it
Good fit: anyone on a Mac who receives RAR or 7z archives; people who need to send password-protected files; developers and designers packing builds and assets; students and remote workers who hit email size limits; IT teams that want a scriptable, license-free archiver on every Mac.
Weaker fit: people who only ever double-click Zip files (macOS already handles that) and users who need to browse and edit inside archives without extracting, where BetterZip is worth its price.
Verdict: 4.7 / 5
Keka does the whole job, compress, encrypt, split, extract, for free, with no strings, in an app that has been maintained for over fifteen years. The missing archive browser and the RAR-creation gap are the only real limits. If you own a Mac, install it. If you want to peek inside archives before extracting, look at BetterZip too.
How we review: we install the free build and the App Store build on two Macs (an M-series laptop and an older Intel machine), compress a 2.4 GB mixed folder in every creatable format, time it, extract a set of RAR5, 7z, DMG and package files, test passwords and split volumes, and read the source repository and privacy statements. See our editorial policy. Facts and prices are those published by the developer on the date above; they can change.