Convert RAR to ZIP online

Q: How do I convert a RAR to a ZIP online?

Open the page and drop your `.rar` onto it. The RAR is decoded in your browser, the file tree opens, and you click **Convert** in the toolbar, choose **ZIP**, and download the rebuilt `.zip`. No WinRAR, no upload, no install — the whole decode-and-repack runs in your tab.

Drop a .rar and download a standard .zip — decoded and re-packed entirely in your browser, no WinRAR, no upload.

Drop your .rar anywhere on this page

The RAR is decoded in your browser via WebAssembly and repacked as a ZIP locally — nothing is uploaded.

Converting a .rar to a .zip means taking everything inside the RAR and re-packaging it as a standard ZIP archive. The reason people do it is almost always compatibility: ZIP is built into Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, so anyone can open it, whereas RAR needs WinRAR, The Unarchiver, Keka, or a similar decoder. Most "rar to zip" sites do that conversion on a server — you upload the RAR, they decode it, and send a ZIP back. ZipTool does it the other way: you drop the .rar on the page and the decode-and-repack happens entirely in your browser, with nothing uploaded and nothing installed.

You open the page, drop the .rar onto it, and the file tree renders locally — the RAR is decoded in your tab by a WebAssembly unrar. From there you click Convert in the file-tree toolbar, pick ZIP as the output, and download the freshly built .zip. The network is used only to load the page (and, once, the decoder module); your file bytes never leave the browser. For the format background, see what is a RAR file.

How to convert RAR to ZIP in your browser

No WinRAR, no 7-Zip, no upload. The browser decodes the RAR and writes the ZIP locally.

Go to ZipTool and drag the .rar onto the page (or use the file picker, or paste a URL). The archive is decoded in your browser and the file tree opens.
Click Convert in the file-tree toolbar (next to Extract-all). The converter reads the RAR entries that are already in memory.
Choose ZIP as the output format. The entries are re-packed into a standard .zip with deflate compression and a central directory.
Download the .zip. The rebuilt archive is produced locally and handed to you as a download — your original RAR and its contents are never transmitted anywhere.

Is it really private?

Yes. "Online" here describes where the tool runs — a web page — not where your data goes. The RAR is decoded by a WebAssembly unrar running inside your tab, the entries are re-packed into a ZIP in memory, and the result is offered as a download. No server ever receives your file, its contents, or the converted archive.

You can prove it to yourself in a few seconds. Drop a .rar onto the page, wait for the file tree to open, then disconnect from the internet. The convert-to-ZIP step still works, because nothing about it depends on a network request. A tool that fails the moment you go offline was uploading your data. ZipTool does not. For the broader privacy case, see why client-side is safer than uploading.

Why convert RAR to ZIP?

RAR usually compresses a little better than ZIP, but its real weakness is reach: opening a .rar needs dedicated software on every platform. Converting to ZIP trades a small amount of compression for near-universal compatibility, which is the right call whenever the archive is leaving your hands.

Common situations: emailing or messaging an archive to someone who may not have WinRAR; sending assets to a client or colleague; putting a download on a site where you want every visitor to be able to open it; or moving off RAR as a long-term storage format. If you instead want to *read* the RAR without changing it, use the online RAR viewer; if you want the files written to disk as-is, see extracting a RAR online. For the wider picture of how these formats differ, see archive file formats.

Honest limits

Conversion is a real capability here, with a few real boundaries worth knowing.

You cannot convert TO RAR. RAR encoding is proprietary to WinRAR — no browser (and no honest free tool) can *create* a .rar. ZipTool converts in the other direction only: RAR, 7z, tar.gz, tar, and gz *into* ZIP, TAR, or TAR.GZ. See creating a zip online.
Encrypted RAR cannot be converted. Password-protected RAR files are not decodable in this tool at all (RAR encryption is not supported in the browser), so they cannot be re-packed into a ZIP either. If your RAR has a password, use WinRAR or The Unarchiver to open it first. (ZipTool *can* decrypt password-protected ZIP and 7z, but not RAR.)
7z output is not offered here. The converter targets ZIP, TAR, and TAR.GZ. For converting into other formats, see the convert workflow once more targets ship.
Browser memory is the ceiling. The tab holds the decoded entries and the rebuilt ZIP in memory, so a very large RAR can get slow. For multi-gigabyte archives a desktop tool is more reliable.

Frequently asked questions

How do I convert a RAR to a ZIP online?

Open the page and drop your .rar onto it. The RAR is decoded in your browser, the file tree opens, and you click Convert in the toolbar, choose ZIP, and download the rebuilt .zip. No WinRAR, no upload, no install — the whole decode-and-repack runs in your tab.

Do you upload my RAR to convert it?

No. The RAR is decoded by a WebAssembly unrar running in your browser, the entries are re-packed into a ZIP in memory, and the result is downloaded locally. Your file is never sent to a server, stored, or handed to a third party. You can confirm it in DevTools (the Network tab shows no upload of your file) and by converting a RAR with the internet disconnected, which still works.

Can I convert a ZIP to RAR?

No. RAR encoding is proprietary to WinRAR — no browser-based or free tool can create a .rar. Conversion works in the other direction only: from RAR (or 7z, tar.gz) into the open ZIP, TAR, and TAR.GZ formats. To package files into a fresh archive instead, see create a zip online.

Can it convert a password-protected RAR?

No. Password-protected RAR files cannot be decoded in this tool (RAR encryption is not supported in the browser), so they cannot be re-packed into a ZIP. Open an encrypted RAR with WinRAR or The Unarchiver first. Note ZipTool *can* decrypt password-protected ZIP and 7z archives when you supply the password — just not RAR.

Is converting RAR to ZIP free?

Yes. Decoding the RAR and re-packing it as a ZIP is completely free, with no account and no install. The decoder runs locally in your browser; there is no per-file paywall.