TAR vs TGZ
A quick, plain-English comparison of the TAR and TGZ file formats — and how to convert between them, free and in your browser.
| TAR | TGZ | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | archive | archive |
| Extension | .tar | .tgz |
| MIME type | application/x-tar | application/x-compressed-tar |
| Converts to | 6 formats | 6 formats |
| Direction here | read & write | read & write |
Convert between TAR and TGZ
TAR vs TGZ: frequently asked questions
What's the difference between TAR and TGZ?
TAR — an uncompressed bundle of files (the Unix tape archive). tar.gz — a gzip-compressed tar archive; the most common Unix bundle.
Should I use TAR or TGZ?
Both are archive formats — the right one depends on compatibility, quality and file size for your use. Whichever you have, you can convert it to the other below in seconds.
How do I convert TAR to TGZ?
Open the TAR-to-TGZ converter, drop your TAR file in, and download the TGZ. We auto-detect the real format from the file's bytes, so a mislabeled file still works.