WinZip upgrades are not free. Like other software companies WinZip has to invest a lot in new development to make sure that WinZip continues to perform correctly on new platforms and to address general changes in computer usage, such as larger files and the need for encryption. In addition we have added a lot of new functionality that took WinZip beyond the basic zipping and unzipping functionality, including new task automation functionality that makes data backup a whole lot easier. The latest versions of WinZip include industry-leading Jpeg compression, as well as new photo management and sharing capabilities -- all thanks to the investment made in research and development.
WinZip is available in two different feature sets (Standard and Pro) so that users only pay for the features that might actually be used. A maintenance and upgrade assurance plan is available. This plan allows you to pay a modest (annual) fee to ensure that you can have the most recent version of WinZip.
Related Articles:
There is no free version of WinZip
How do I upgrade to the latest version?