Zamzar Review

Zamzar is a good free file converter that supports lots of file formats. It's really easy to use and lets you convert files online without having to download any software. It's not the first service or software I'd try, but it works for what it does.

I found it to be slower than most other online file converters, but if you're disappointed with some other file converters, you need to complete your file conversion online, or you have an obscure file that other converters won't deal with, give Zamzar a try.

Zamzar Pros & Cons

Zamzar Features

These are some features I think are noteworthy:

• Works on any operating system since it just requires a browser to run (i.e., Zamzar works with Windows, Linux, Mac)
• You can upload a file from your computer or enter a URL to an online file. It also supports transferring files from the cloud storage services Box, Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive
• Converts between many document, image, video, archive, audio, and CAD formats
• Zamzar converts TXT files to ​MP3 format, providing a high-quality, online text-to-speech service
• Entire file conversion with Zamzar is completed in four steps: no download required
• Use it to convert files through email, too (up to 1 MB for free)
• Regular, non-email conversion is free for any file up to 50 MB, but you can upgrade to a payment plan if you want to use it with much larger files. Upgrading also has other perks, like online storage of your files, high-speed downloads, no ads, higher conversion priorities, and faster support time

My Thoughts on Zamzar

I like that Zamzar is so easy to use. It's easy to recommend because they don't force you to make a user account, and the 50 MB file upload limit is pretty decent for most files. As much as I don't like the slow conversion speeds I sometimes experience, I do like to use Zamzar for its massive list of supported file formats; I can usually count on this website to support an output format I want my file to be in.

A somewhat secret feature supported by Zamzar is their email attachment conversions. I don't use it because the 1 MB limit makes it basically useless for most files, but I like how straightforward it is. Just attach the file to an email and send it to *​@zamzar.com, but replace the asterisk with whatever format you want the file to be in. For example, if you're on a phone and would like a DOCX file to be in the PDF format, send it to pdf@zamzar.com.

Zamzar is a decent choice if you need an image converter or document converter, but the 50 MB file size limit makes it nearly impossible to use as a video converter or sometimes even as an audio converter. As the files get larger and larger, it takes longer and longer to upload, convert, and then download again. Plus, most lengthy videos surpass 50 MB.

Which File Formats Does Zamzar Support?

This site supports a variety of file formats. Some notable problem formats include WPD (Wordperfect Document), RA (RealMedia Streaming Media), FLV, and DOCX. Zamzar makes working with these and many other formats as easy as a few mouse clicks.

Visit Zamzar's Conversion Types page for the full list. They're easy to look through because they're organized by category, so you can jump straight to the document file formats, image file formats, eBook formats, etc.

Upgrade to Zamzar Pro or Business

This online file converter is only useful for very light conversions, since it maxes out at two conversions per day. You can use the service every single day for free, but only two files can be converted within every 24-hour period, which is a huge restriction for anyone wanting to use this as a repeat service.

It should also be noted that Zamzar has an optional, tiered premium service—Basic, Pro, and Business—with increasing maximum file sizes, online storage space, the speed of conversion, and so on. I've only ever tested the free service, so some of my experiences with Zamzar may or may not have improved if I had used one of the premium tiers.