Convert TAR to ISO Online — Mount with a Double-Click

Native Mounting on Windows 10/11 and macOS. No Software Required.

Drop up to 50 archives at once — no install, no sign-up required.

Drop TAR Files Here

200 MB per file Up to 50 archives 3 parallel conversions 1 credit per 5 MB

Encrypted EU Servers Auto-delete 1h

⚡ Median TAR to ISO time (last 10k jobs): 91ms per MB

How it works

1 · Drop your archives
Drag & drop .tar, .tar.gz, .tgz, .tar.bz2, or .tbz2 files. No account required—paid plans unlock bigger batches and higher limits.
2 · We convert securely
Archives are extracted and repacked as ISO disc images on our dedicated servers. Zip bomb protection enabled. We never store filenames.
3 · Download & mount
Grab your ISO files in seconds. Double-click to mount natively on Windows 10/11 or Mac. Files delete automatically after 1 hour.

About TAR →

TAR (Tape Archive) is the standard archive format on Unix and Linux systems, dating back to 1979. Unlike ZIP, TAR doesn't compress files-it bundles them into a single file while preserving directory structure, Unix permissions (chmod bits), ownership, and symbolic links. For compression, TAR is typically wrapped with gzip (.tar.gz) or bzip2 (.tar.bz2).

Learn more: TAR on Wikipedia

TAR remains essential for Linux software distribution, server backups, source code packages, and Docker image layers. The format's preservation of Unix permissions makes it ideal for deploying executable scripts and maintaining file hierarchies. Windows has no native TAR support, requiring tools like 7-Zip or WinRAR to extract TAR archives.

About ISO →

ISO (ISO 9660) is a disc image format originally designed for CD-ROMs. The format creates an exact sector-by-sector copy of an optical disc, including the filesystem structure. Modern ISO files use Joliet extensions for long filenames and Unicode support. ISO is uncompressed, prioritizing compatibility and direct mounting over file size.

Learn more: ISO 9660 on Wikipedia

ISO's killer feature is double-click mounting: Windows 10+, macOS, and Linux can mount ISO files as virtual drives without any software. This makes ISO ideal for software distribution-users double-click to mount, browse files like a folder, and run installers directly. No extraction step, no temporary files, no cleanup needed.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why convert TAR to ISO instead of ZIP?

ISO files can be mounted as virtual drives with a double-click on Windows 10/11 and macOS—no extraction needed. This is ideal for software distributions, game mods, or any content you want to browse without extracting. ZIP requires extraction before you can access files.

Can Windows mount ISO files natively?

Yes! Windows 10, 11, and Windows 8 all support native ISO mounting. Just double-click the ISO file and it appears as a virtual DVD drive in File Explorer. Older Windows versions need third-party software like Virtual CloneDrive.

What's the difference between .tar, .tar.gz, and .tar.bz2?

TAR is just a container—it bundles files together but doesn't compress them. TAR.GZ (.tgz) adds gzip compression for smaller files. TAR.BZ2 (.tbz2) uses bzip2 compression. We support all three as input and automatically detect the compression type.

Are file permissions preserved when converting to ISO?

No. Unix file permissions (chmod bits) don't translate to ISO 9660/UDF format and are stripped during conversion. The ISO will contain the file contents with standard attributes. If you need to preserve permissions, keep the original TAR.

Can I convert a TAR file with thousands of files?

We limit archives to 10,000 entries for performance and security reasons. This prevents zip bomb attacks where malicious archives contain millions of tiny files to exhaust server resources. For archives with more entries, consider splitting them first.

What ISO format do you use?

We create ISO 9660 with Joliet extensions for maximum compatibility. This supports long filenames (up to 64 characters) and works on Windows, Mac, and Linux. For very long paths, we truncate filenames while preserving uniqueness.

What happens to symbolic links in my TAR archive?

Symlinks are stripped for security. Including symlinks in web conversions could enable path traversal attacks. ISO format also doesn't support symbolic links natively.

What are the limits for this converter?

Tier	Max File Size	Max Files/Batch	Parallel Processing
Guest/Free	200 MB	50 files	3 at once
Pro	2048 MB	1000 files	6 at once

Note: File size limits are specific to this converter. Batch and parallel processing limits apply to all images converters site-wide. See all converter limits →

How are credits calculated for this conversion?

Cost: 1 credit per 5 MB

How it works:

Files up to 5 MB: 1 credit
6-10 MB: 2 credits
11-15 MB: 3 credits
16-20 MB: 4 credits

Example: A 5 MB file = 1 credit. A 95 MB file = 19 credits.

Why per-megabyte? Larger files require more resources (processing, bandwidth, storage).

What are my daily and monthly credit limits?

Credit allocations vary by account tier:

Tier	Daily Limit	Monthly Limit
Guest	100 credits/day	—
Free	100 credits/day	—
Pro	—	12,000 credits/month

Daily credits (Guest & Free tiers) reset every day at midnight UTC. Monthly credits (Pro) reset on your billing cycle date.

Note: With 1 credit per 5 MB, archive files under 5 MB cost 1 credit each. Pro users can convert 12,000 archive files per month.

Answers at a Glance

Quick answers to common questions.

What's New in TAR to ISO

Latest improvements to this converter

Last updated January 4, 2026

Jan 4, 2026

Initial release of TAR to ISO converter with zip bomb protection and batch support.

Need to get more done? Pro starts from $5.

1 GB files 1,000 per batch Priority queue Web + API

See Pricing →

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