Last updated on January 19, 2015

Since Android phones and tablets are now increasingly used as full computers, it is natural that you might run into zip files or archives like (.zip, .7z, .rar) which need to be unzipped or extracted in order to view their file contents. Fortunately for you there are several free apps which can unzip compressed files on Android phones and tablets and here we will tell you about 4 of the simplest ones you can download and use.

#1. Explorer

This free app is basically a file explorer, allowing you to not just unzip files but also move them around (copy/cut/paste), zip them, and even access your Android’s root (if you have a rooted device). In order to unzip a file located on your internal memory or external storage you just need to locate it within the explorer app, long-press on it (keep your finger on it) until a menu box pops up and then choose the extract option.

Once the zip file is extracted you will be notified about the directory where the contents are available and you can view them from the file explorer.

#2. ZArchiver

ZArchiver is one of my favorite apps, allowing you to create archives and unzip files on Android without any hitches. The process here is the same, you just locate the file, bring up the options box and choose the extract option. Typically files are unzipped in the same directory they are located in, but you can also choose a different path if you want.

The app supports several major zip file formats including .zip, .rar, .7z, .bzip2, .gzip and tar.

#3. RAR for Android

Rar for Android is an excellent app which lets you both create and extract .rar files (made by Winrar) along with other popular archive formats. The app also works as a basic file explorer but you might run into issues if you try and decrypt encrypted archives, especially .7z files.

#4. AndroZip File Manager

This is another file manager with the added zip and unzip functionality. While this is one of the first apps on Android to allow archive management, I’ve had some issues with it in the past, particularly with very large zip files. However, with recent updates there have been issues with additional software being installed so you might want to try and see whether you want to keep this app on your phone or not.

This app mainly supports .zip, .tar. .bzip2 and .rar formats along with encrypted zip files.

All these apps won’t just help you unzip compressed files and archives on your Android phone or tablet but will also serve as file managers, allowing you to cut, copy and paste files stored on your device’s memory. However, at this time most of these apps perform erratically when it comes to unzipping a series of files.

If you’ve got any other Android apps you use for unzipping files, feel free to comment below and let us know.