Zamzar alternative
Zamzar has converted files server-side since 2006 and its strength is reach: legacy and obscure formats that nothing else still handles. Every conversion is an upload. Filoven covers 133 mainstream tools that run in your browser with no upload. Use Zamzar for the archive oddity, Filoven for everyday work.
How Zamzar works
Zamzar is one of the oldest online converters still running, and that history is the product. It began as an upload-and-email service and kept the same server-side model as the web caught up. The format list reaches deep into formats that have been abandoned by their vendors, which is exactly the case where a hosted engine farm is irreplaceable. As with any server-side converter, the file is transmitted and held for the duration of the job.
Side by side
| Dimension | Zamzar | Filoven |
|---|---|---|
| Where conversion runs | Their servers | Your browser |
| File leaves your machine | Yes, always | No, for browser-based tools |
| Legacy format coverage | Exceptional, its main strength | Mainstream formats only |
| Account needed for basic use | For most of it | No, for browser tools |
| Result delivery | Download or email | Direct, in the tab |
| Works offline | No | Yes, once the tool has loaded |
| Free tier limits | File size and daily count | Daily count on hosted tools |
When Zamzar is the better pick
- Genuinely old formats: mid-nineties office documents, abandoned CAD exports, defunct ebook and archive containers. This is the case Zamzar exists for and it wins it outright.
- One-off conversions of something you will never touch again, where finding any tool that opens it is the entire problem.
- Very large files, since a server has no browser memory ceiling.
- Email delivery of results, which still suits some office workflows better than a download.
When Filoven is the better pick
- Anything confidential. Format age is not a reason to upload a file that should not be uploaded.
- Repeat conversions of common formats, where an upload-wait-download cycle is pure overhead.
- Batch work on images or documents you would rather not queue behind a free-tier limit.
- Developer utilities alongside file conversion: JSON, CSV, hashing, encoding and diffing in the same place.
Try the equivalent tools
Image Format Converter
Converts images between JPG, PNG, WebP, and AVIF with adjustable quality, no watermark added, and no file ever leaves your browser.
PDF to Word
Converts PDF files to Word, letting you choose between an exact-layout copy or fully editable, reflowable text output document.
EPUB to PDF
Converts an EPUB ebook file into a standard, print-ready PDF document with pagination suited for on-screen reading or printing.
Audio Converter
Converts audio files between MP3, WAV, OGG, and M4A formats directly in your browser, with no upload to a server required.
CSV ⇄ Excel
Converts CSV files into full Excel spreadsheets, or existing Excel workbooks back into plain, portable CSV text data files.
Common questions
Can Filoven open the old formats Zamzar handles?
Often not, and that is deliberate. Shipping a decoder for a format from 1997 into a browser bundle costs every visitor download size to serve a rare case. Zamzar's server-side model carries that cost centrally, which is the correct architecture for the long tail.
Is browser conversion slower than Zamzar's servers?
For a typical file it is faster overall, because there is no upload, no queue position and no download. For a very large file on a weak machine, a server wins. The crossover is roughly where the file stops fitting comfortably in browser memory.
Does Filoven email results like Zamzar can?
No. Browser tools produce the file locally, so there is nothing to email from. The result saves straight to your downloads folder the moment conversion finishes.
Which is safer for a confidential document?
A browser-based converter, structurally. Not because Zamzar handles files badly, but because a file that is never transmitted has no server-side risk to manage. You can confirm this yourself: open the network tab and watch that nothing the size of your file is uploaded.
Other comparisons
Last updated 2026-08-03