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Utilities · head to head

PeaZip vs VTScada

PeaZip logo

PeaZip

Utilities

Open-source archive manager for Windows and Linux supporting more than two hundred formats

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
VTScada logo

VTScada

Utilities

SCADA software for water, wastewater and remote telemetry with a published price list

From
$3395/one-time
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only PeaZip has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: PeaZip there is no supported macOS build, so any organisation with Mac users has to standardise on something else or maintain two tools.; VTScada licences are per installed PC rather than per system, so a redundant pair plus a development machine means paying three times unless you buy the discounted multi-server bundles.
  • They diverge on capability: PeaZip covers Wide format support, VTScada covers Automatic version control.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which PeaZip and VTScada actually diverge.

Attributes where PeaZip and VTScada differ
AttributePeaZipVTScada
Starting priceFree$3395/one-time
Pricing modelOpen source, no licence feeOne-time purchase
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWindows, Linux, BSDWindows

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Utilities).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in PeaZip

  • Wide format support
  • Strong encryption
  • Secure delete
  • Checksums and hashes
  • Split and join
  • Portable builds

Only in VTScada

  • Automatic version control
  • Bundled historian
  • Alarm notification
  • Driver set included
  • Redundancy and sync
  • Thin clients
  • Idea Studio
  • Slippy maps

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

PeaZip

  • Opening old or unusual archive formats that current tools refusenot VTScada
  • Sending encrypted archives outside the organisation with a keyfile as well as a passwordnot VTScada
  • Deploying one archiver across Windows and Linux desktops with the same interface and behaviournot VTScada
  • Running from a USB stick on machines where software cannot be installednot VTScada

VTScada

  • A municipal water authority with 60 remote pump stations on licensed radio that needs DNP3 polling and regulator-facing change recordsnot PeaZip
  • An oil and gas gathering operator polling wellsite RTUs over intermittent cellular links with store and forwardnot PeaZip
  • A small utility that must produce a defensible budget number before going to council for capital approvalnot PeaZip
  • An integrator standardising on one product where historian, alarming and dialler costs are inside the licence rather than quoted separatelynot PeaZip

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

PeaZip

  • There is no supported macOS build, so any organisation with Mac users has to standardise on something else or maintain two tools.
  • It is effectively a single-maintainer project, and for software deployed to every desktop in a company that concentration of risk deserves an explicit decision.
  • The interface exposes a great many options at once and looks dated next to the system archiver, which generates support questions from non-technical users.
  • Bundled backend binaries sometimes trigger antivirus heuristics on managed Windows fleets, so deployment usually needs an allowlist entry prepared in advance.
  • Its own PEA and ARC formats are not readable by other tools, so using them for anything you send externally creates a dependency for the recipient.

VTScada

  • Licences are per installed PC rather than per system, so a redundant pair plus a development machine means paying three times unless you buy the discounted multi-server bundles.
  • Thin client licensing is by concurrent connection and is priced steeply at scale: unlimited thin clients on a 50,000 tag system costs 59,395 USD on top of the base licence, more than the base licence itself.
  • It is Windows only with no Linux or container deployment, which rules it out of modern edge and virtualised architectures that other SCADA products now support.
  • SupportPlus at 15 percent of the original software price must be maintained continuously; if you let it lapse you cannot simply resume, and reinstatement is negotiated rather than published.
  • The scripting environment and the integrator pool are both proprietary and small, so finding a second-source integrator in a region where Trihedral has thin coverage is genuinely difficult.

Pricing, plan by plan

PeaZip

Free
  • PeaZipFree
    • LGPLv3 licensed
    • Commercial use permitted
    • All formats and encryption features included

VTScada

$3395/one-time
  • Base licence up to 1,000 I/O$3395/one-time
    • Runtime and full historian
    • All I/O drivers included
    • Alarms and events
  • Base licence up to 5,000 I/O$4295/one-time
    • Runtime and full historian
    • Development add-on 4,100 USD
    • Alarm notification add-on 2,895 USD
  • Single Server bundle, 5,000 I/O$19095/one-time
    • Development node
    • Alarm notification
    • 2 thin clients
  • Single Server bundle, 50,000 I/O$32495/one-time
    • Development node
    • Alarm notification
    • 2 thin clients

Which should you pick?

Choose PeaZip if

  • You need wide format support.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Windows, Linux, BSD.
  • You also want strong encryption.
PeaZip review

Choose VTScada if

  • You need automatic version control.
  • You work on Windows.
  • You also want bundled historian.
VTScada review

Questions people ask

Is PeaZip or VTScada better?
Neither clearly leads. PeaZip starts at Free and VTScada at $3395/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, PeaZip or VTScada?
PeaZip has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for PeaZip and $3395/one-time for VTScada.
Does PeaZip or VTScada run on more platforms?
PeaZip runs on Windows, Linux, BSD. VTScada runs on Windows.
Can I use PeaZip for free?
Yes. PeaZip has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. VTScada starts at $3395/one-time.
What is PeaZip best used for?
PeaZip is most often used for opening old or unusual archive formats that current tools refuse, sending encrypted archives outside the organisation with a keyfile as well as a password, deploying one archiver across windows and linux desktops with the same interface and behaviour, running from a usb stick on machines where software cannot be installed. Of those, opening old or unusual archive formats that current tools refuse and sending encrypted archives outside the organisation with a keyfile as well as a password are not what VTScada is typically brought in for.
What can PeaZip do that VTScada cannot?
PeaZip covers Wide format support, Strong encryption, Secure delete, Checksums and hashes. VTScada covers Automatic version control, Bundled historian, Alarm notification, Driver set included.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

PeaZip: Is PeaZip free for business use?

Yes. It is LGPLv3 licensed with no personal-use restriction and no paid edition.

VTScada: Is VTScada perpetual or subscription?

Perpetual. Licences are one-time purchases per installed PC, with an optional annual SupportPlus contract at 15 percent of the original software price.

PeaZip: Does it work on macOS?

No supported build is offered. Mac users need a different archiver.

VTScada: Are drivers extra?

No. Standard and proprietary I/O drivers, the historian, trending, reporting and security are all included in the base licence.

PeaZip: How does it differ from 7-Zip?

It uses similar backends but adds far wider format support, a password manager, keyfile two-factor encryption, secure deletion and a graphical front end that also runs on Linux.

VTScada: What does support actually cost?

Annual SupportPlus is 15 percent of total software purchase price. Adding 24/7 emergency support is a further 5 percent with a 1,540 USD minimum.

PeaZip: Should I use the PEA format?

Only for your own storage. Nothing else reads it, so anything sent to another party should be 7z or ZIP with AES-256.

VTScada: Does it run on Linux?

No. VTScada is Windows only.

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