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Free Rufus Alternatives

The best free alternative to Rufus is UNetbootin, which is also Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Rufus and loads of them is free so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting free alternatives to Rufus are balenaEtcher, dd, YUMI and Ventoy.

Rufus alternatives are mainly Bootable USB Creators but may also be DVD Burners or CD Burners. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Rufus.
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Rufus iconRufus
  1315
  • Free • Open Source
  • Windows
  • PortableApps.com

Rufus is a utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc.

Learn more about Rufus

  1. UNetbootin (Universal Netboot Installer) is a cross-platform utility that can load Linux and other distributions to a partition or USB drive.

    Welcome screen
    UNetbootin vs Rufus opinions
    Most users think UNetbootin is a great alternative to Rufus.
     all • positive • negative      relevance • date
    Kandi

    Easy to use. Supports a huge variety of platforms

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    19

    Fast, easy to use and in a few clicks you're good to go

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    12
    cvanelli

    Cannot write Windows ISOs

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    0

    does not do UEFI mode does not recognize external hdd/ sdd does not do windows bootable drives and have issues even with some linux distros does not do multiple booting images on single drive

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    10

    UNetbootin is for Linux Distributions. Rufus is for creating bootable USBs in general, independant from the target OS.

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    1

    Does use current versions of "syslinux" and therefore does not create bootable media for a lot firmware ISO files, etc..

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    7

    Easy to use GUI that is compatible with lot's of ISO's. UNetbootin is my 3rd favorite bootable USB creator next to YUMI for Windows and Rufus.

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    -2
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    7 of 14 comments

  2. balenaEtcher is a free and open-source image burner with support for Windows, macOS and GNU/Linux. It makes USB and SD card image burning as simple and fast as possible.

    Screenshot
    balenaEtcher vs Rufus opinions
    Most users think balenaEtcher is a great alternative to Rufus.
     all • positive • negative      relevance • date

    Can make bootable usb for linux not windows.

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    1
    espectalll

    It's simple, it's easy, it's slick, and it's multiplatform, May not be for everyone, but surely is for most people.

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    9

    Cannot select between gpt and mbr partition styles

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    56
    VinayMalhotra

    Stable secure less confusing Easy and Fast

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    0
    0DayExploit

    Easy to use , User Friendly Interface

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    0
    cvanelli

    It cannot write Windows ISO files.

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    2

    For installing Linux Distros, it just works

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    7 of 35 comments
  4. dd icon

    dd

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    • Free • Open Source
    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD

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

    No screenshots yet
    dd vs Rufus opinions
    Almost everyone thinks dd is a great alternative to Rufus.

    It's the only one that seems to be able to create BSD flash drives

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    2

    Considering this has been developed since 1974, it is very good at what it does.

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    0
    cvanelli

    crappy command line only program.

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    -9

    It works very well, only for the non Dufus.

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    -4

    allows use of the command line

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    0

    It's not flashing automatically

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    -25

  5. YUMI (Your Universal Multiboot Installer), is the successor to our MultibootISOs. It can be used to create a Multiboot Bootable USB Flash Drive containing multiple operating systems, antivirus utilities, disc cloning, diagnostic tools, and more.

    Screenshot
    YUMI vs Rufus opinions
    Most users think YUMI is a great alternative to Rufus.
    Lehuga

    It has all of it, support even Linux in one flashdrive

    Positive comment • ago
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    0

    Multiboot abilities that are useful in making a useful debugging bootable usb

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    0

    Has moltiboot option, persistent file with ubuntu, windows to go with other distros in the same USB

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    -1
    DiGiTaL_CORE

    YUMI now has (albeit alpha) support for UEFI. I have yet to need anything while making multiboot USBs. I love the fact I can make a single partition bootable without having to reformat my entire EHD.

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    10

  6. 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.

    Screenshot
    Ventoy vs Rufus opinions
    Almost everyone thinks Ventoy is a great alternative to Rufus.
     all • positive • negative      relevance • date
    onkoe

    I have over 20 ISOs on one flash drive because of this utility. It's my favorite software for multiboot USBs. Keep in mind, however, that it doesn't work on any Mac hardware.

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    3

    It allows simple drag & drop of ISO files to a USB drive and then offers a Grub-style menu to select which ISO to boot from, as opposed to having to outright "burn" the ISO to a drive.

    Not 100% compatible, but 99.999%.

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    1
    mblithium

    Create a separate partition for booting and a special one for placing OS ".iso" files easily.

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    1
    umitseyhan

    You don't need to reformat the stick every single time. Just a casual copy-paste operation of .iso files.

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    1
    Hau_Kai

    It offers the option to multiboot, whilst retaining other files. Add multiple ISOs, remove or update them, all the while other files are unchanged so you can use your fastest and largest USB pendrives, without affecting their use for other tasks.

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    2

    Multiple ISO image files on one drive

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    2
    ATShields934

    Allows you to easily create a multiboot drive by simply formatting a flash drive with the software and adding the .iso files. Incredibly simple to use, but a major breakthrough in simple boot drive making.

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    5
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    7 of 8 comments

  8. MultiBootUSB is a software to create multi boot live Linux on a removable media i.e USB disk. It is similar to UNetbootin but many distros can be installed, provided you have enough space on the disk.

    Discontinued

    The project seems no longer developed and the official website is no longer available. Last version, 9.2.0, released in April 2018, can be still downloaded from GitHub.

    Screenshot
    MultiBootUSB vs Rufus opinions
    Most users think MultiBootUSB is a great alternative to Rufus.
    NickFreeman

    support for multiple live linux distros

    Positive comment • ago
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    -2

  9. 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.

    Screenshot
    Universal USB Installer vs Rufus opinions
    Most users think Universal USB Installer is a great alternative to Rufus.
    checholin

    Very simple and easy to use. Supports Persistent Linux.

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    0

    It is complete, with all you need, to put an OS in yur USB

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    0

  10. 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.

    Screenshot
    WoeUSB vs Rufus opinions
    Almost everyone thinks WoeUSB is a great alternative to Rufus.
    shampuan

    It is the best of windows iso writer on linux.

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    1

    Perfect! It is the only one on linux that make bootable usb for windows iso files. Simple and easy to use.

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    1
    cvanelli

    Does not have a GUI like Rufus

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    -1

    Simple to use, even my grandma could figure it out, Not that she'd need to flash a iso to a USB.

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    6

    Well maintained and simple to use, it gets the job done

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    3

    Only create Windows ISO bootable USB!

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    2

  11. Flexible and configurable USB drive multiboot solution which also supports UEFI booting.

    Screenshot
    Most users think Easy2Boot is a great alternative to Rufus.

  12. LiLi USB Creator is a free software for Windows that allows you to create a bootable Live USB key with a Linux on it.

    Discontinued

    The program seems to be no longer updated. Last version, 2.9.4, released in September 2015, can be still downloaded from the official website. The project has officially been abandonned on December, 22nd 2020 (announcement on their blog).

    The GUI of the program
    Most users think LinuxLive USB Creator is a great alternative to Rufus.
Showing 10 of 54 alternatives