Convert TAR.GZ to ZIP
Free online converter for TAR.GZ files. The default archive format across all platforms. Nothing to install, no watermark, and every file is deleted automatically.
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Upload a TAR.GZ file to convert it to ZIP. Up to 3 files at once, 100 MB each.
Free · up to 3 files · 100 MB each · files deleted automatically after 1 hour.
About TGZ and ZIP
TAR.GZ .tgz
A tar archive passed through gzip. The tar preserves the file tree and its permissions; gzip compresses the whole stream in one pass.
Good for
- Compresses better than ZIP by finding redundancy across files
- Keeps Unix permissions and links
- The default for source code releases
Trade-offs
- No random access — one file means decompressing everything before it
- Needs extra software on Windows
application/gzip
ZIP .zip
The archive format every operating system opens without extra software. Each file inside is compressed separately, so any one of them can be read without unpacking the rest.
Good for
- Built into Windows, macOS and Linux — nothing to install
- Random access: extract one file without expanding everything
- Supports password protection
Trade-offs
- Compresses less than 7z or tar.gz
- Per-file compression misses redundancy between files
- Its legacy encryption is weak — only AES is worth using
application/zip
TGZ and ZIP side by side
| TGZ | ZIP | |
|---|---|---|
| Compression | Solid stream (gzip) | Per-file (Deflate) |
| Typically used for | Source releases, Unix backups | Sending several files as one, universal exchange |
What changes when you convert TGZ to ZIP
The archive is rebuilt, not renamed
Your TGZ is unpacked in full and its contents are written into a new ZIP. Nothing is passed through untouched, so the compression is done again from scratch at the level you choose, and the resulting size depends on that setting rather than on how the TGZ was originally made. The folder structure inside is preserved exactly.
These two store files differently
TGZ concatenates with tar, then compresses the whole stream in one pass, so reading one file means decompressing everything before it. ZIP compresses each file separately with deflate, so any single file can be read without touching the rest. That difference is the real reason to pick one over the other: per-file compression lets a tool pull out a single entry cheaply, while compressing everything as one stream finds patterns across files and usually ends up smaller.
Unix file modes do not travel
TGZ can record Unix permissions and symbolic links; ZIP has no dependable place to put them. Executable bits in particular are the thing that goes missing — a script that ran before extraction may need its permissions set again afterwards. If the archive is destined for a server, a tar-based format is the safer choice.
You choose how hard it compresses
Because the archive is built again from scratch, the compression level is yours to set rather than inherited from the TGZ. It defaults to 6 — the setting that has been the sensible middle ground for deflate for thirty years. Raising it buys a few percent for a disproportionate amount of time; lowering it is worth doing for large archives of already-compressed material such as photographs or video, where there is nothing left to squeeze.