As our digital storage continues to grow, it’s becoming increasingly common to have multiple zipped folders containing files that may contain duplicates. Wondering how to locate duplicate files? Well, finding and removing these duplicate files can help free up valuable storage space. In 2024, there are a few easy ways to find and manage duplicate files within ZIP archives.
This article will walk through the steps for identifying duplicate files within ZIP folders using free tools that scan zip files thoroughly.
Whether you’re trying to organize a bloated photo collection or consolidate project files, learning how to effectively find and deal with ZIP file duplicates can help you reclaim gigabytes of storage with just a few clicks.
Also read: Things To Remember While Removing The Duplicate Files
Why Find Duplicate Files in ZIPs?
Before jumping into the how, let’s look at why you may want to take time to hunt for duplicates tucked away in ZIP files:
- Save storage space: Duplicate files squander your precious gigabytes of storage. Deleting unneeded redundant files can quickly free up room for more data.
- Reduce clutter: Duplicates create unnecessary clutter, making it harder to find the file you need when searching through archives.
- Eliminate confusion: Having scattered duplicate versions of files in different locations can lead to editing or accessing the wrong file by accident.
- Improve system performance: Too many bloated ZIPs full of duplicates can slow down your computer when accessing or backing up archives.
- Stay organized: Regularly removing duplicates helps keep your archives tidy and optimized.
As your digital collection grows over time, periodically searching for and removing duplicate files in ZIPs helps keep things organized and running efficiently.
Also read: How to Find Duplicate Files with Different Names but Same Content
6 Top Tools to Find Duplicates in ZIP Files
Let’s explore 6 of the top tools available in 2024 to locate duplicate files hiding within ZIP archives on Windows and Mac machines:
1. Duplicate Files Fixer
Duplicate Files Fixer is a free, cross-platform tool specialized for finding and removing duplicate files quickly across multiple compressed ZIP archives.
Key Features:
- Scans ZIP files. .
- Filters by specific file types (e.g. JPG, PDF, ZIP)
- Provides preview of duplicates before deleting .
- Generates detailed scan reports.
Allows bulk and individual removal of dupes.
Duplicate Files Fixer makes it easy to identify duplicates by simply pointing them at the folders containing your ZIP archives. It can scan inside the archives without needing to extract the contents first. This avoids the hassle of extracting, scanning, deleting dupes, and then re-compressing archives.
The tool also lets you filter scans to only target duplicate media, documents, or other file types. Once duplicates are found, you can preview files before deleting to verify they are redundant. Reports provide details on storage saved after removing unneeded copies.
2. CCleaner
CCleaner duplicate finder tool provides a free stripped-down option focused squarely on finding basic file duplicates.
Key features:
- Scans inside ZIP and RAR archives.
- Super simple interface and workflow.
- Immediate duplicate deletion.
- Lacks advanced preferences or settings.
- Fast and lightweight.
For those seeking a quick no-frills utility, CCleaner will rapidly find and delete dupes across ZIPs and other locations. Don’t expect much customization or reporting insights though.
CCleaner offers a fast track to removing obvious redundant files from compressed archives without any complexity. But power users may find it too simplistic.
3. Auslogics Duplicate File Finder
Auslogics Duplicate File Finder is a popular free duplicate detection tool for Windows users. While not focused specifically on ZIPs, it can scan inside ZIP archives along with other locations.
Key features:
- Scans ZIP files along with other folders.
- Filters by file type and size.
- Highlights total duplicates to preview.
- Provides deleting and zipping options.
- Retains original folder structure.
Auslogics makes it relatively easy to add ZIP files or folders containing ZIPs to be scanned for duplicates. The results display total duplicate copies for preview before deciding what to delete. The tool tries to retain the original folder structure when removing copies.
While Auslogics isn’t focused exclusively on ZIPs, it’s a solid free choice that’s easy enough to locate duplicate files within compressed archives on Windows PCs.
4. Duplicate File Detective
For Mac users, Duplicate File Detective provides a nicely designed program to locate duplicate files with ZIP archive support.
Key features:
- Scans inside ZIP, RAR, and other archives.
- Filters by various file types.
- The “Group By” view clusters all dupes.
- 1-click select & delete duplicate files.
- Detailed scan reports.
Duplicate File Detective lists result in a Group By format that collects all the duplicate copies together for easy review and bulk removal. The scans can filter by image, video, document, and other specific file types to narrow down dupes.
While a bit simpler than some tools, Duplicate File Detective integrates nicely into macOS and offers reliable ZIP duplicate detection. The free version meets basic needs while paid upgrades provide added power.
Also read: Top 5 Duplicate File Detective Alternatives
5. Anti-Twin
Anti-Twin is a popular free option for Windows, focusing specifically to locate duplicate files. It provides in-depth customization and advanced settings for power users.
Key features:
- Scans inside ZIP, RAR, ISO, and WIM archives.
- Highly customizable duplicate detection.
- Multiple criteria beyond just file names.
- Detailed scan logs and reports.
- Flexible file management options.
Advanced users can dial in parameters like minimum size, date modified, file integrity hash, and other criteria to hone duplicate detection. This avoids matching files that are similarly named but may contain different content. The deep scanning insights provide information to selectively remove exact duplicate files or just those duplicated in certain locations.
Anti-Twin provides robust zipped archive duplicate finding with extensive information. The interface is dated but functionality is mature and powerful.
6. Clone Files Checker
Clone Files Checker is another free cross-platform tool that can uncover duplicate files residing within ZIP archives.
Key features:
- Scans inside ZIP, RAR, 7z, and other archives.
- Provides basic filters by file size and extension.
- Shows side-by-side preview of duplicate files.
- Generates HTML report of scanned duplicates.
- Allows deleting or moving dupes to trash.
- Lightweight and easy-to-use interface.
This utility simplifies finding file clones by scanning within compressed archives without needing extraction. Side-by-side previews make it quick to verify duplicates. The HTML log enables saving a record of your duplicate scan results for future reference.
Clone Files Checker is a lightweight duplicate finder that works well for identifying basic file clones tucked away in archives. While it lacks some advanced options, the simple drag-and-drop workflow and side-by-side previews make it easy to clean duplicates out of ZIP folders for free.
Also read: Why Am I Not Able To Delete Duplicate Photos On Windows 11/10
Conclusion:
In the digital era, amassing messy folders full of redundant zipped-up files is almost inevitable. Fortunately in 2024, removing duplicate files tucked away inside ZIP archives is much simpler with robust and free tools specialized to scan zip files and locate duplicate files.
Whether you’re trying to wrangle a massive photo library across multiple albums or consolidate project files into unified working ZIPs, quickly wiping out redundant copies can bring order to the chaos. Regaining dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of gigabytes can be done in just a few clicks. Follow us on social media – Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.