Overview

The file extension is actually an archive file to hold compressed data. It is one of the most widely used archive formats. It contains more than one file or folder in compressed form to make data transfer easy. The file extension is used to store programs. It saves the savers space. decreases the installation time. The best thing about a ZIP file is to hold hundreds of files.

Category

It is associated with Compressed or aggregate files.

Supportive Apps

Multiple software are supported by the file extension.

7-Zip (Free)

And lots of others

WinZip (Paid)

WinRAR (Paid) see this picture

Developer

The format was introduced in 1989 by PKWare Inc. and Phil Katz. The latest version of ZIP is 6.3.4 launched in 2014.

MIME Types

application/octet-stream

application/x-gzip-compressed

application/zip

application/x-zip

The file extension can be opened manually by any third app like 7-Zip or WinRar. Both free and paid apps can open the file extension.