10 Best File Encryption Software of 2026

VeraCrypt is the most complete free file encryption tool on this list. Its main trick is a container: a single file that VeraCrypt mounts as a drive letter, so anything you save there is encrypted on the fly and the encrypted file can sit on a laptop, a USB stick or a backup disk. It can also encrypt an entire partition, a USB flash drive or the partition where Windows is installed, with a password prompt before Windows boots. VeraCrypt raised the key derivation work over TrueCrypt, using 500,000 iterations by default for standard containers, and version 1.26.29 added Argon2id for non-system volumes. Hidden volumes and a hidden operating system cover the case where someone forces you to reveal a password. The trade-off is that VeraCrypt thinks in volumes, not single files, so sending one encrypted document to a colleague takes more steps than in AxCrypt or 7-Zip. Updates are frequent: 1.26.30 and 1.26.31 both shipped in the last month.

Cryptomator is built for one job: making the files in your cloud drive unreadable to the cloud provider. You pick a folder inside Dropbox, Google Drive or another synced service, give it a password, and Cryptomator turns it into a vault that shows up as a virtual drive. Everything you drop on that drive is encrypted before it syncs, including the file names, so anyone browsing the cloud folder sees only scrambled data. There is no account to create and no key files to manage. The desktop app is free and open source for personal use, with unlimited vaults, and Cryptomator says the code has passed independent security audits. Phones cost extra: full access on iOS is listed at $29.99 as a one-time purchase on the US App Store, and Android is sold separately. For teams, Cryptomator Hub adds user and group management, with a free self-hosted Community edition for 5 seats.

7-Zip is not marketed as encryption software, but for many people it is the quickest way to lock a set of files before emailing or uploading them. Right-click files in Windows Explorer, add them to a 7z or ZIP archive, set a password, and 7-Zip applies AES-256 encryption. In the 7z format you can also hide the file names. Because it compresses at the same time, the encrypted archive is usually smaller than the originals, and a self-extracting 7z option lets the recipient open it without installing 7-Zip. It is free for any use, including inside companies, and needs no registration. The limits are clear: 7-Zip makes encrypted copies, not a live encrypted drive, so the originals stay unencrypted until you delete them. Official builds are Windows only, so Mac and Linux recipients need a compatible archiver. The current version is 26.06, released on November 6, 2026.

FileVault is the encryption every Mac owner should turn on first, because it costs nothing and takes a few clicks in System Settings. On a Mac with Apple silicon or an Apple T2 Security Chip, Apple says the data is already encrypted automatically; turning on FileVault adds the requirement that someone enter your login password before the disk can be decrypted. On older Intel Macs without the T2 chip, FileVault is what encrypts the data in the first place. During setup you choose a recovery method: your iCloud account, or a recovery key made of letters and numbers that you store somewhere other than the Mac. Apple warns that forgetting both the password and the key means your files are lost forever. FileVault only protects the startup disk, so for encrypting a single file to send, or files in a cloud folder, pair it with Cryptomator, VeraCrypt or AxCrypt.

AxCrypt is the easiest paid file encryption app on this list. It encrypts individual files and whole folders, including subfolders, with AES-256, and it can protect files inside Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and iCloud. Premium bundles extras that free tools lack: an encrypted vault, key sharing so you can share files without handing over a password, a secured messenger, text encryption, a password manager, anonymous file names and a secure delete. Apps cover Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. On the US App Store, Premium lists at $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year, and AxCrypt offers a 14-day free trial on its plans. There is no free plan for encrypting new files: the free AxCrypt Viewer can only open and decrypt. For teams, the Business plan adds a master key, groups management, user access control and audit logs. If you only need to encrypt the occasional file, VeraCrypt or 7-Zip does that for free.

BitLocker is the natural choice if your PC runs Windows Pro, Enterprise or Education, because it is already part of the operating system. It encrypts entire volumes, so a lost laptop or a recycled drive does not expose its data. Microsoft's documentation explains that BitLocker gives the most protection with a Trusted Platform Module, which checks that the device was not tampered with while it was off, and you can add a startup PIN or a USB startup key for a second factor. On PCs without a TPM it can still encrypt the operating system drive with a startup key on a removable drive; Microsoft discourages the password option because there is no lockout against guessing. The catch is the edition: Microsoft lists BitLocker enablement for Pro, Enterprise, Pro Education/SE and Education, so Windows Home users should look at VeraCrypt. Like FileVault, BitLocker protects drives, not single files you share.

Gpg4win is the tool to pick when you need to send encrypted files to people who already use OpenPGP or S/MIME, such as journalists, developers or security teams. It is the official GnuPG distribution for Windows, maintained by the GnuPG developers, and its creation was supported by Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). Kleopatra, the certificate manager, lets you create keys, import other people's public keys from key servers and certify them. From Windows Explorer you can sign and encrypt single files or whole folders, and the GpgOL plugin does the same for email and attachments in Outlook. Because it uses public keys, you encrypt for a named recipient and never have to share a password. Gpg4win is free for any use. The learning curve is the cost: certificates, trust and key servers are more to understand than a password prompt, and every recipient needs a key of their own.

AES Crypt does one thing: it encrypts a file with a password using AES, and decrypts it again. That narrow scope is its appeal for people who find VeraCrypt or Gpg4win too involved. Terrapane has published it for 20 years and reports over a million downloads. The desktop and command-line apps run on Windows, macOS, Linux and BSD, and Windows users can install it with winget. Pricing is unusual for this category: after a 30-day free trial, you buy a perpetual license for US$39.99, with no subscription, and it covers all future desktop and server updates. Larger orders cost less per license, down to US$19.99 at 1,000 or more. Mobile versions are sold separately through Google Play and the App Store, and Terrapane notes the iOS app comes from a third-party developer. There is no vault, drive or cloud sync, so it suits occasional file-by-file encryption rather than protecting a whole folder you use every day.

Folder Lock 10 is a Windows encryption suite that goes wider than most tools here. Its core is the locker: an encrypted virtual drive using AES 256-bit encryption that grows as you add files, so you do not have to pick a size up front. Lockers can live on the desktop or inside Dropbox, Google Drive or OneDrive, and encrypted files sync to other devices including iPhone and Android. Sharing uses RSA 4096-bit public and private keys, so co-workers open shared files with their own passwords. Extras include portable lockers for USB drives, encrypted wallets and notes, file shredding, and a lock-and-hide mode that works even in Safe Mode. The free version caps the locker at 1 GB and syncs 2 devices; Pro costs $39.95 per year for unlimited locker size and 5 devices. It is a good fit if you want one Windows app for several privacy tasks, but free tools cover pure encryption.

NordLocker started as a file encryption app and is now an encrypted cloud vault from Nord Security, the company behind NordVPN. Files are encrypted end to end as you add them, using AES-256, xChaCha20-Poly1305 and Ed25519, and NordLocker says its zero-knowledge architecture means it cannot see your keys or your files. You can reach the vault in any major browser, in the Windows app, or on Android and iOS, and share files by email or by a link with an added access code. The free plan includes 3 GB of storage, and Premium raises that to as much as 2TB with priority support. NordLocker's FAQ lists the Windows app as its desktop client, so Mac users work through the browser. Its pricing page did not show USD prices from our location, so check the current Premium price on nordlocker.com. Pick it if you want storage and encryption in one service; pick Cryptomator if you want to keep your current cloud drive.