Right-click the folder (or select several files) and choose Compress. A .zip appears next to the original; the original stays. Double-clicking a .zip unpacks it into a folder of the same name, also next to the archive. Nothing to install: this is Archive Utility, which macOS keeps out of sight.
What Compress cannot do: set a password, make a .7z, open a .rar, or split a large archive. For those, an archiver app; Keka is the usual choice and drag-and-drop works the same way as 7-Zip.
From the Terminal, a zip with a password: zip -er archive.zip folder asks for the password and includes subfolders.
A zip made on a Mac carries a __MACOSX folder with resource forks that Windows shows as junk. Harmless; delete it on the PC, or make the zip with Keka, which leaves the forks out by default.