Caligula AlternativesBootable USB Creators and other similar apps like Caligula

Caligula is described as 'A user-friendly, lightweight TUI wrapper for the dd command written in Rust that performs easy disk imaging and ISO burning with only a single command with graphs and rich confirmation dialogs' and is a bootable usb creator in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Caligula for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Mac, Flathub and PortableApps.com apps. The best Caligula alternative is Rufus, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Caligula are Ventoy, balenaEtcher, UNetbootin and YUMI exFAT.

Caligula iconCaligula
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  • ...

A user-friendly, lightweight TUI wrapper for the dd command written in Rust that performs easy disk imaging and ISO burning...

More about Caligula
More about Caligula
Caligula alternatives page was last updated Jun 25, 2025
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  1. Rufus icon

    Rufus

     1517 likes
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    Formats USB drives to FAT, NTFS, exFAT, and more, while creating bootable USBs from diverse ISOs. Supports MS-DOS/FreeDOS with no external files and offers BIOS or UEFI mode, including bad block check. Ideal for systems lacking an OS or flashing BIOS and lightweight, ad-free.

    68 Rufus alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • FR flagFrance
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    Rufus screenshot 1
    Rufus screenshot 2
    Rufus screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Optimal performance
    3.  User friendly

    Features

    1.  Create bootable USB
    2.  Portable
    3.  Burn iso
    4.  Windows To Go
    5.  UEFI Support
    6.  Write ISO to SD card
    7.  Create bootable Image
    8.  Create BIOS bootable drive
    9.  Create UEFI bootable drive
    10.  GNU/linux-libre
    11.  USB to FAT
    12.  USB to NTFS

    Rufus VS Caligula

     

    • Rufus is the most popular Windows alternative to Caligula.

    • Rufus is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Caligula.

    • Rufus is Free and Open SourceCaligula is also Free and Open Source
    • Rufus is LightweightCaligula is not according to our users
  2. Ventoy icon

    Ventoy

     350 likes
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    Ventoy is an open source tool to create bootable USB drive for ISO files. With ventoy, you don't need to format the disk again and again, you just need to copy the iso file to the USB drive and boot it.

    45 Ventoy alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CN flagChina

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Ventoy screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Multi boot
    2.  Create bootable USB
    3.  Multiboot USB
    4.  Create Multiboot USB
    5.  UEFI Support
    6.  Persistent Storage
    7.  Portable
    8.  Multi-windows
    9.  VHD Boot
    10.  Command line interface
    11.  Ad-free

    Ventoy VS Caligula

     

    • Ventoy is the most popular Linux alternative to Caligula.

    • Ventoy is Free and Open SourceCaligula is also Free and Open Source
    • Ventoy is LightweightCaligula is not according to our users
  4. balenaEtcher icon

    balenaEtcher

     638 likes
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    A free, open-source tool for burning images to USB and SD cards. Compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. Features validated burning, avoiding accidental wipes, offers a sleek interface, is lightweight and portable, making it ideal for users at any skill level.

    54 balenaEtcher alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • GB flagUnited Kingdom

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    balenaEtcher screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  User friendly
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Create bootable USB
    2.  Graphical User Interface
    3.  Write ISO to SD card
    4.  Portable
    5.  Burn iso
    6.  Create bootable Image
    7.  Validated Burning
    8.  Material design
    9.  Electron based
    10.  Persistent Storage
    11.  Support for S.M.A.R.T. data
    12.  Convert installation CD/DVD to USB

    balenaEtcher VS Caligula

     

    • balenaEtcher is the most popular Mac alternative to Caligula.

    • balenaEtcher is Free and Open SourceCaligula is also Free and Open Source
    • balenaEtcher is LightweightCaligula is not according to our users
  5. UNetbootin icon

    UNetbootin

     750 likes
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    Cross-platform tool for making bootable USB and Live USB drives, featuring a built-in downloader for Linux ISO images and rescue disks, supporting BSD and various utilities. No installation required, it runs directly and offers compatibility and community support for many distributions.

    55 UNetbootin alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CA flagCanada

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    Welcome screen
    Discontinued

    Last commit to the repository was on Jun 28, 2023, and latest version is from Feb 4, 2021.

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Create bootable USB
    2.  Persistent Linux
    3.  Automatic downloading
    4.  Download ISO Images
    5.  Portable
    6.  Windows To Go
    7.  Ad-free
    8.  Portable Linux
    9.  Burn iso

    UNetbootin VS Caligula

     
  6. YUMI exFAT icon

    YUMI exFAT

     282 likes
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    The YUMI exFAT (Your Universal Multiboot Installer) media creation tool can be used to automatically create an exFAT bootable USB flash drive containing multiple operating systems, antivirus utilities, disc cloning, diagnostic tools, and more.

    47 YUMI exFAT alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • PortableApps.com
    • Wine
    • WineBottler
    YUMI exFAT screenshot 1

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Create Multiboot USB
    2.  Multiboot USB
    3.  Create bootable USB
    4.  Can install to internal hard drives/ssds
    5.  Persistent Storage
    6.  Multi boot
    7.  UEFI Support
    8.  Portable
    9.  Multi-windows

    YUMI exFAT VS Caligula

     
  7. Universal USB Installer icon

    Universal USB Installer

     179 likes
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    Universal USB Installer is a Live Linux USB Creator that allows you to choose from a selection of Linux Distributions to put on your USB Flash Drive. The Universal USB Installer is easy to use. Simply choose a Live Linux Distribution, the ISO file, your Flash Drive and, Click...

    45 Universal USB Installer alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Country of Origin

    • US flagUnited States

    Platforms

    • Windows
    Universal USB Installer screenshot 1

    Universal USB Installer Features

    1.  Works Offline
    2.  Portable
    3.  No need to format
    4.  Persistent Linux
    5.  Multiple languages
    6.  Portable Linux

    Universal USB Installer VS Caligula

     
  9. dd icon

    dd

     98 likes
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    dd, that stands for ‘data duplicator’, is a command-line utility for Unix mainly used for copying and converting data.

    37 dd alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD

    dd Features

    1.  Command line interface
    2.  Burn iso
    3.  Write ISO to SD card
    4.  Create image

    dd VS Caligula

     
  10. iVentoy icon

    iVentoy

     8 likes
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    With iVentoy you can boot and install OS on multiple machines at the same time through the network. iVentoy is extremely easy to use, without complicated configuration, just put the ISO file in the specified location and select PXE boot in the client machine.

    16 iVentoy alternatives

    License model

    • Freemium • Proprietary

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • CN flagChina

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    iVentoy screenshot 1

    iVentoy Features

    1.  Network Tools

    iVentoy VS Caligula

     
  11. WinSetupFromUSB icon

    WinSetupFromUSB

     52 likes
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    WinSetupFromUSB is a Windows program, which prepares multiboot USB flash or fixed disk to install any Windows versions since 2000/XP, boot various Linux and *BSD flavors, as well as many Windows, Linux, DOS based and other utilities. Since version 1.

    48 WinSetupFromUSB alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    WinSetupFromUSB screenshot 1
    Discontinued

    The latest version (1.10) is from November 2021.

    WinSetupFromUSB Features

    1.  Portable
    2.  Multiboot USB
    3.  Code Quality
    4.  UEFI Support
    5.  Install Syslinux
    6.  Preinstalled Environment builder

    WinSetupFromUSB VS Caligula

     
  12. WinDiskWriter icon

    WinDiskWriter

     10 likes
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    A macOS app that creates bootable USB drives for Windows. Patches Windows 11 to bypass TPM and Secure Boot requirements.

    51 WinDiskWriter alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Mac
    WinDiskWriter screenshot 1

    WinDiskWriter VS Caligula

     
  13. EtchDroid icon

    EtchDroid

     10 likes
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    Small Program for Android, which burns isos.

    22 EtchDroid alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • DE flagGermany
    • European Union flagEU

    Platforms

    • Android
    • Android Tablet
    • F-Droid
    EtchDroid screenshot 1
    EtchDroid screenshot 2
    EtchDroid screenshot 3

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  User friendly

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  No Root Required
    3.  UEFI Support

    EtchDroid VS Caligula

     

    • EtchDroid is the most popular Android & Android Tablet alternative to Caligula.

    • EtchDroid is Free and Open SourceCaligula is also Free and Open Source
    • EtchDroid is LightweightCaligula is not according to our users
  14. WoeUSB icon

    WoeUSB

     26 likes
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    WoeUSB is a simple tool that enable you to create your own usb stick windows installer from an iso image or a real DVD. It is a fork of Congelli501 s WinUSB.

    31 WoeUSB alternatives

    License model

    • Free • Open Source

    Application type

    Country of Origin

    • International

    Platforms

    • Linux
    WoeUSB screenshot 1

    WoeUSB Features

    1.  Bootable Windows Flashdrive's
    2.  Command line interface
    3.  Create UEFI bootable drive
    4.  Ad-free
    5.  Graphical User Interface

    WoeUSB VS Caligula

     
12 of 48 Caligula alternatives