In this post, I will talk about some free software to compress EXE files in Windows. Using these tools, you can compress the size of the executable files to much extent. You just have to specify an EXE file or any other binary file like DLL, OCX, CPL and it will compress them. And the best part is that after being compressed, these files will work in the same way they were working before. In the following list, I have added a command line tool as well that you can use easily to compress the EXE files in Windows 10 easily.
If you want to compress files in the normal way then you can use any file compressor software. But they usually pack the EXE files in a ZIP file or any other compressed archive format. But the software in this list directly acts on the EXE files that you give them as input and help you compress them to the maximum possible compression level. In my case, they were able to reduce the size of an EXE file by 60 percent.
Compress EXE Files in Windows with These Free Software:
FUPX
FUPX is one of the best free software for Windows to compress EXE files. Basically, it uses the UPX tool to compress the binary files and you can even use this software to compress different binary files in bulk as well. It offers you a nice GUI to add different binary files in it and then compress them all in one go. However, the compression process is a bit slow and it depends on the size of the input binary files. Apart from just compressing the EXE files, you can even opt for certain other options in this software before starting the compression.
Here it allows you to specify the default compression level, backing up the input files before starting compression, compression type, etc. And you can create a settings profile that you can use later. Additionally, this software allows you to see the file info for the EXE files that you have imported in it for compressing. And not only this, but there is an option in it to do the VirusTotal checkup of the file.
FUPX comes with an installer or as a portable version. You can download the version that you like from its homepage and then open it. Its interface is very much identical to the interface of the some file archivers. Next, add the binary files in it that you want to compress. Finally, start the compression using the “Compress” button from the toolbar. It will start the compression and will save the changes in the input EXE file. If you want it to make the backup file before compressing an EXE file then you can configure that from the settings.
Alternate EXE Packer
Alternate EXE Packer is another free software that you can use to compress EXE files in bulk. Basically, this software itself uses the UPX tool as a back-end to compress binary files in Windows. But it is very simple and straightforward software with fewer options. Here it lets you add multiple binary files in it and then compresses them. And before compressing them, it automatically makes the backup of the input files that may be useful in case something goes wrong. After compressing the files, you can even decompress them as well using the same software.
Simply get this software from the above link and then install it. It has a very simple interface and after opening it, you can import all the EXE files in it that you want to compress to save the disk space. Next, simply start the compression process by clicking on the “Compress” button. A command window will pop up and will be showing the progress of the compression. When it has compressed all the files, you can find then in the source directory where they were initially. And in the same input folder, you can find the backed up files.
This software has already been reviewed by us. You can check out its full review here.
UPX
UPX is basically a command line tool that helps to compress binary files in Windows. And both the software above are the advanced front ends for it. But if you want to use the power of command line in Windows to compress EXE files or any other binary file that it supports then you can use UPX. It comes as a single lightweight EXE file that you can put in the Windows folder for universal access. There is a very simple command to use it for compressing any binary file. And you can see the progress of the compression in the command window along with the final result. It shows how much size of the file it has compressed to save the disk space on your PC.
Simply download this from its GitHub releases and then extract it. Next, open the command prompt in the same folder where the EXE file of UPX is. After that, run a command in the specified syntax. Next, hit enter and it will start compressing the specified file. And you can see the progress in the command window.
upx.exe "input binary file"
In the above screenshot, you can see how this tool can be used to compress EXE files in Windows. However, it will not make the backup of the input EXE file, It will save the changes in the input file. So, if you want to be cautious then you can copy the input EXE file to some other location as a backup. If you are familiar with the command line tools and batch file then you can use this tool for bulk compressing binary files as well.
Final thoughts
These are the best free software to compress EXE files in Windows 10. All the tools in the above list are powerful and can easily be used to compress binary files in bulk. By compressing the different binary files, you can save a whole lot of space on your disk or cloud. If you want to compress the files for placing them on a server then it will save your download bandwidth as well. In my case these software were able to compress the binary files up to 60% of their original size. You can use them on your files and tell me about what you think.
