Ark vs File Roller
Ark
apps.kde.orgFile Roller
apps.gnome.orgSide by side
| Figure | Ark | File Roller |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · File Compression Software | 7.9 (#11) | 7.4 (#20) |
| License | The KDE Ark page identifies its license as GPL-2.0+. | The program is released under the GNU General Public License version 2 or later. |
| Purpose | Ark is a graphical utility for compressing and decompressing files and archives. | File Roller is an archive manager for the GNOME environment. |
| Support | KDE links to the Ark Handbook, UserBase Wiki, and KDE Forum for help. | The project directs users to its issue tracker and the GNOME Discourse File Roller tag. |
Plans
In their own words
Ark
Ark is a free graphical utility for creating and managing compressed files and archives on Linux and Windows. It can browse, extract, create, and modify archives, and preview file contents without extracting them. Its listed formats include tar, gzip, bzip2, zip, rar, 7z, xz, rpm, cab, deb, xar, AppImage, and CD-ROM images. Ark also supports archive encryption, split archives, and command-line tools. The listed plan costs nothing, with no plan limits stated, and the application is licensed under GPL-2.0+. On Linux, KDE offers installation through AppStream stores, distribution package managers, and Flathub. KDE lists Windows as a platform and provides a Windows nightly installer for testing. Its help links include the Ark Handbook, UserBase Wiki, and KDE Forum; KDE also provides a bug-reporting link and access to the source code. KDE describes itself as an international community developing free and open-source software, represented for legal and financial matters by KDE e.V., a registered nonprofit in Germany.
File Roller
File Roller has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.