I have been a long time WinZip user but over the years I've noticed that although the main function of the program (i.e. to zip and unzip files) remains the same, WinZip keeps adding functionality to their program which some would call bloat. Today, I received yet another notice from WinZip announcing WinZip 20 which again seems to be more bloat and I'm contemplating getting off the upgrade treadmill.. So, is there anyone out there that can provide me with an honest comparison of 7-Zip against WinZip running on a Windows 10 64-bit machine? In addition if there's anyone that can provide me with any info on the beta (i.e. features, potential release dates for a GA version, etc.) then that would be helpful as well.
My primary concern is that WinZip keeps asking me to purchase upgrade protection and it seems to me that what I'm getting in the upgrades is not adding functionality that I need. My need is to zip and unzip files and folders and sometimes create a password protected zip file and if 7-Zip can do everything that WinZip can do in that regard then I may either keep my copy of WinZip 19 or switch to 7-Zip if someone can give me a reason to do so. Since there is a beta though, I would like to know more about that if someone has any details. Thanks.