Comparison
Archive Extractor vs Foretaste
Archive Extractor is a Chrome extension whose listed website is extract.me, an online tool for compressed files. Foretaste reads an archive from a link inside your own browser tab, opens the files inside it, and shows how much of it was read.
Everything said about Archive Extractor here is in its own words, from its own listing or policy, read on 13 October 2026. Sources
01
Side by side
| What | Archive Extractor | Foretaste |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | “Archive Extractor is a small and easy online tool that can extract over 70 types of compressed files.” S1 The listing’s one-line summary: “Extract any compressed file online”. | A browser extension. The archive is fetched from the site it is on and read in Foretaste’s own tab. No file, file name or address goes to a Foretaste server. |
| An archive that is still on the web | A URL field: “Enter file location”, with “Example: http://host.com/myarchive.zip”. S2 The page does not say how much of the archive is transferred to list it. | Press the button beside the link. A ZIP is listed from the index at its end, over byte ranges: about 67 KB read of a 40 MB archive, shown under the file. If the host refuses ranges, Foretaste reads the whole file and says so. |
| A file inside the archive | “Click a file to download it.” S2 The same page offers “Save all as ZIP”. | Opens in the same tab: a document, sheet, slide, PDF, picture, video, or another archive up to three levels deep. Each one can also be saved on its own, free. One small file inside a remote ZIP cost 97 bytes. |
| Large archives | “Open files up to 10 GB in size” S2 Listed among Premium features, alongside “Unlimited files”. | Listing a remote ZIP reads its index, not the archive, so the archive’s size does not change what it costs. The free tree shows up to 5,000 entries. |
| Password-protected archives | “Supports password-protected archives.” S1 | ZIP (AES and ZipCrypto), 7z and RAR, with one prompt per archive, free. The password stays in the tab and is never stored or sent. |
| Last updated | 22 September 2016 (version 1.1.1), on Chrome. S1 | October 2026 (version 1.6.0). |
02
Foretaste, reading an archive on the web
The real viewer, running on this page. Nothing is installed and nothing is uploaded: scroll it, press things.
The real Foretaste viewer listing field-trip.zip, a 20 MB archive, from 66 KB read, running on this page.
ZIP archive20 MBFiles 9Unpacked 20 MB
- Folders
- 3
- Packed
- 20 MB · no smaller than its contents
- Type
- application/octet-stream
Read 66 KB of 20 MB. The rest never left the server.
How this was read
- Asked how big it is—
- Read the first 1.0 KB to see what it is1.0 KB
- Asked for the last 66 KB66 KB
- Asked for 568 B, starting 20 MB in568 B
Processed locally · Foretaste reads files on your device and does not upload them.
Unrecognised file · 4 files · 20 MBTable · 1 file · 13 KBText file · 4 files · 1.3 KB
Top-level folders: data, notes, raw
- 14 KB
- 13 KB
- 908 B
- 242 B
- 120 B
- 122 B
- 20 MB
- 5.0 MB
- 5.0 MB
- 5.0 MB
- 4.5 MB
- 157 B
- 5.0 MB
- 5.0 MB
- 5.0 MB
- 4.5 MB
- 13 KB
- 908 B
- 157 B
- 122 B
- 120 B
Look for a word in the 5 text files inside this archive, without unpacking it.
Read on your machine. Nothing was uploaded, and field-trip.zip wasn't saved unless you asked for it.
What the site said about this file
- Name
- field-trip.zip
- Kind
- ZIP archive
- Reported type
- application/octet-stream
- Size
- 20 MB
- Partial reads
- Supported. Foretaste can read part of the file without fetching all of it.
- Address
- http://localhost:8795/field-trip.zip
Reads the whole file to compare against a published checksum. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The questions people ask
Is Foretaste an alternative to Archive Extractor?
For looking inside an archive on the web, yes. Foretaste reads an archive from a link inside your browser, opens the files inside it in the same tab, and shows how much of the archive it read.
How much of an online archive does Foretaste read?
For a ZIP on a host that serves ranges, only the index at its end and the files you open: about 67 KB to list a 40 MB archive, and 97 bytes to open one small file inside it. The figure is shown under the file.
Can Foretaste open a password-protected archive?
Yes: ZIP, 7z and RAR, with one prompt per archive, free. The password stays in the tab and is never stored or sent. Archive Extractor’s listing also says it “Supports password-protected archives.”
Sources
Where each claim comes from
Read on 13 October 2026, and checked again by 13 April 2027. If a source has changed by then, this page changes with it.