A small Mac utility · Keka
The file arrived. Now what opens it?
Twenty photos, a Word document, a PDF, and a page of notes: how do you send the whole little project as one thing? Finder can make a ZIP. Keka becomes interesting when the bundle needs stronger password protection, or an unfamiliar RAR lands in your Downloads folder.
Why would I need Keka?
Picture a job application, a family photo handoff, or a client's project folder. The problem may be privacy, a fussy attachment limit, or simply too many separate files to keep together.
| The job | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Send one project | 20 JPEG photos + a text note + a Word document + a PDF: 23 separate files to keep together. | One ZIP or 7z archive holding the 23 files. ZIP is the simpler choice when the recipient has only built-in ZIP tools. |
| Send it privately | The files are bundled, but an ordinary ZIP is not a privacy measure. | Keka can make a password-protected 7z using AES-256. Check that the recipient can open 7z before you send it. |
| Open a RAR you received | You have an unfamiliar archive instead of the files inside it. | Keka can extract RAR. It does not offer RAR as a normal creation format. |
This is a workflow comparison, not a file-size benchmark. We have not measured those 23 files in ZIP and 7z, so there is no honest “7z saves X%” claim here.
What did Keka actually do?
Keka can open a RAR and make ZIP or 7z archives. Its format list does not say it makes RAR files. In our small test on Keka 1.6.8, the graphical app made ZIP and 7z archives, extracted a RAR, and returned the test files intact. It asked where to save each new archive instead of silently choosing a destination.
Encryption needs a little thought. Keka says password-protected 7z uses AES-256, while its default encrypted ZIP uses the older Zip 2.0 method. Choose with both privacy and your recipient's ability to open the file in mind. We have not tested every encryption option or another Mac's compatibility.
The website download is free, while buying Keka from the Mac App Store supports its development. That is a distribution choice, not evidence that the current app is open source.
ZIP, 7z, or RAR?
They are not a ladder from bad to good. Each solves a different handoff problem.
| Format | Why it stays around | What Keka does |
|---|---|---|
| ZIP | Familiar and easy to exchange; Finder can create and open ordinary ZIPs. | Creates and extracts it. A password is possible, but Keka's default encrypted ZIP uses older Zip 2.0 encryption, not the same protection as its 7z option. |
| 7z | Built for high compression and strong AES-256 encryption. Whether it makes your photos and documents smaller than ZIP needs a real test. | Creates and extracts it, including password-protected archives. Your recipient may need compatible software. |
| RAR | Its format supports split volumes and recovery records; you may encounter it when somebody else sends an archive. | Extracts it. Keka's regular format list does not include RAR among the formats it creates. |
If smaller files are your goal, compare the same real folder in both formats and verify the extracted files. We have not done that representative comparison yet.
What we checked
- Small ZIP and 7z archives made in Keka's window, plus one small RAR extraction, were checked against the original test files on September 24, 2026.
- We have not tested drag-and-drop, the graphical split control, large or damaged archives, or cross-Mac compatibility. This is a limited hands-on review, not a claim about every workflow.
- Format, encryption and distribution details came from Keka's site and its compression guide. Apple explains Finder's ZIP support.
- 7-Zip describes 7z's design; RARLAB describes RAR's split volumes and recovery records. Those are format capabilities, not a claim that Keka's RAR creation features were tested.