So you tried to open a.rar file you downloaded on the Internet, or received from a colleague/friend via email. Then you get a weird error on your Mac, because the file couldn’t be opened. It’s really disappointing. I’ve been there many times, since I use my MacBook Pro to communicate with others who are probably on a PC.
The best solutions are some of the freely available third-party applications. Here's how to open RAR files with some quick access software. We will walk you through the process, step by step.
In fact, I also ran into the same problem when I switched from PC to Mac a few years ago. Luckily, I managed to fix it with an amazing app called, the best RAR extractor app for Mac. Plus, it’s still free. Meanwhile, I also tested dozens of other applications on my Mac, and filtered those that are 100% free and easy to use and you can read more below. NEW UPDATE Hi there, Thanks for reading this article.
It’s been two years since I first published this post. Things have changed a lot when it comes to unrar apps for Mac. I was hoping Apple macOS could add this feature to its built-in Archive Utility app, unfortunately, it seems that Apple macOS team doesn’t plan to do this. My MacBook Pro is now with the latest 10.13 High Sierra, and I have to rely on third-party apps to extract RAR files.
As for the best rar extractor app for Mac, the recommendation stays the same —. It’s still free to download and use. However, it’s worth noting that the app has been acquired by (the maker of, an awesome Mac cleaning app) and is now part of the MacPaw family. You can read more from.
Also, I just found a more powerful app called — which allows Mac users to not only extract many types of archives, but you can also use it to create archives or preview content of an archive without extracting. Those additional features are not available in The Unarchiver or Archive Utility. I recommend BetterZip to those of you who often need to handle a different kind of files on a PC and Mac. Note: BetterZip isn’t freeware ($24.95 for the paid version), but a free trial is offered. What about the other apps listed below?
I tried to check them now and then, just to make sure they’re usable and the information is accurate. But I find it so time-consuming because every year or so Apple releases a new version of macOS (to date, it’s High Sierra 10.13.2), those apps that fail to be updated often can’t run or malfunction.
Therefore, I’d discourage you to check them out unless you are interested. That said, I’ll try my best to keep the content on this post as fresh as possible.