AgePony vs encrypted zips
A password isn't a key.
"Just zip it with a password" is the reflex, and for quick personal storage it's fine. But a shared password has to travel to the recipient somehow, and that hand-off is usually the weak link. AgePony encrypts to a recipient's key instead, so there's no secret to pass around.
the short version
Keys beat shared passwords for sending. An encrypted zip needs the recipient to already know the password. AgePony encrypts to their public key, so only they can open it and you never had to share a secret. For solo storage, AgePony's passphrase mode covers the zip use case too.
At a glance.
| AgePony | Encrypted zip / 7-Zip | |
|---|---|---|
| Encrypt to a recipient's key | Yes | No — shared password only |
| Shared secret to deliver | None | The password, over a second channel |
| Authenticated encryption | Always (ChaCha20-Poly1305) | Depends on tool and mode |
| Passphrase mode | Yes (scrypt) | Yes |
| Signing | Yes (SSHSIG) | No |
| Multiple files | Bundled into one .tar.age | Native |
| Compression | No (encrypt only) | Yes |
| Ubiquity | Need age or AgePony to open | Opens almost anywhere |
Honest tradeoffs.
Where encrypted zips win
- Everyone can open them. Zip is everywhere. The recipient needs no special app, just the password and a stock archive tool.
- Compression built in. Archives shrink as they encrypt. age encrypts only; compress first if you care about size.
- Familiar. "Password-protected zip" needs no explanation to anyone.
Where AgePony wins
- No shared password. Encrypt to the recipient's key and there's no secret to deliver, intercept, or forget. This is the big one.
- Authenticated by default. age detects tampering on decryption. Older zip encryption often didn't, and weak zip ciphers have a long history of breaks.
- It can prove who sent it. AgePony signs. A zip can't tell the recipient the file actually came from you.
- Modern crypto, no footguns. One strong cipher, one strong key exchange, no legacy modes to pick wrong.
The verdict.
- Choose an encrypted zip if the recipient must open it with stock tools and you can deliver the password safely on a separate channel.
- Choose AgePony if you're sending to someone with a key — then there's no password to share, and the file is authenticated and optionally signed.
- For your own storage, AgePony's passphrase mode gives you the zip-style workflow with modern, authenticated crypto.
Try AgePony
Free. No accounts. No tracking. Bit-for-bit compatible with the age command line.