--- title: A quick comparison guide to zip compression by file types description: It is often noted that certain files when zipped can be compressed to a greater extent while others barely manage to reduce by even few kilobytes. In this article we would look at different file formats and learn which format is more suitable for extensive compression. image: https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/mswrd.jpg --- - - - [Home](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/) > [Solutions](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/category/solutions/) > [Archive, Compression & Backup Solutions](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/category/solutions/archive-compression-backup-solutions/) > [Zip Archive Solutions](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/category/solutions/archive-compression-backup-solutions/zip-archive-solutions/) > A quick comparison guide to zip compression by file types # A quick comparison guide to zip compression by file types [Zip Archive Solutions](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/category/solutions/archive-compression-backup-solutions/zip-archive-solutions/) September 30, 2025 Share Now: - - - - - - - - With every passing day we tend to store more and more data onto our computers and suddenly you may find yourself running short of disk space. In such a scenario you may be tempted to zip a bunch of your files, say your image or video collection to save on disk space. However before you undertake such an exercise, you need to understand which file types can be compressed the most and which files hardly shrink when we zip them. **Word files and text files are a good bet for zipping** One of the best compression ratios can be achieved in Ms Word files and they can be compressed by as much as 80% or more on an average. While text files too can be compressed to a large extent; the compression achieved in text files can vary by a great extent. Though you can always look to achieve a 70% or more compression ratio and if you are lucky, maybe even more than 90% percent. So if you have a large collection of office files in the Ms Word format on your system they would be best bet for being zipped. One must also note that the latest version of Ms Office files are likely compress by a significantly less degree than their previous versions. [![mswrd](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/mswrd.jpg)](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/mswrd.jpg) **Excel and executable files too may fit the bill** Next on line would be Ms Excel files which too can be compressed by as much as 50% or more on average. Executable files too in some cases can get compressed by as much as 70% or more while in some other cases they may just shrink by few percentage points only. **Multimedia and Image files are the worse of the lot** When it comes to poor compression ratio, image files and multimedia formats tend to show the poorest results. Some of these hardly compress by more than a few percentage points and the whole effort can go in vain. In case you wish to zip multimedia files, we strongly suggest that you use choose the “Best Method compression” while zipping these files. When you use this compression technique, the output file format would have the .zipx extension. [![mm]()](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/mm.jpg)   **What if some of the zip files you made get corrupt during a transfer process** Now that you have backed up some your files into zip archives, you may consider storing them on removable media for backup. However at a later stage when you attempt to access the files, some of these may get corrupt as zip archives are vulnerable to data corruption during a transfer or download process. To avoid such hassles you should keep a powerful [fix zip](https://www.datanumen.com/zip-repair/) tool handy. One of the best zip repair tools available today is the DataNumen Zip Repair which can effectively extract the contents from a damaged archive file in just few seconds.  Moreover it can help you recover damaged zip files stored in removable media with effortless ease thus helping you access your backup zip files without fail.   Author Introduction: Alan Chen is President & Chairman of DataNumen, Inc., which is the world leader in data recovery technologies, including zip repair and [rar repair](https://www.datanumen.com/rar-repair/) software products. For more information visit [www.datanumen.com](https://www.datanumen.com) .       Share Now: - - - - - - - - [← Previous post](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/previewing-a-zip-file-a-primer/) [Next post →](https://www.datanumen.com/blogs/understanding-the-zipx-file-format-and-its-benefits/) Comments are closed. ![Data Recovery Blog]() Follow or like us on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to get all promotions, latest news and updates on our products and company. - - - ### Featured Products - [DataNumen Outlook Repair](https://www.datanumen.com/outlook-repair/) - [DataNumen SQL Recovery](https://www.datanumen.com/sql-recovery/) - [DataNumen Exchange Recovery](https://www.datanumen.com/exchange-recovery/) - [DataNumen Access Repair](https://www.datanumen.com/access-repair/) - [DataNumen Excel Repair](https://www.datanumen.com/excel-repair/) - [DataNumen PDF Repair](https://www.datanumen.com/pdf-repair/) - [DataNumen Word Repair](https://www.datanumen.com/word-repair/) - [DataNumen Zip Repair](https://www.datanumen.com/zip-repair/) ### Popular posts ```json {"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.datanumen.com\/blogs\/a-quick-comparison-guide-to-zip-compression-by-file-types\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.datanumen.com\/blogs\/a-quick-comparison-guide-to-zip-compression-by-file-types\/"},"author":{"name":"AuthorCCW","@id":"https:\/\/www.datanumen.com\/blogs\/#\/schema\/person\/33ded6c47c77587f9158d99f05e23957"},"headline":"A quick comparison guide to zip compression by file 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