Open Source Rufus Alternatives for Linux

Rufus is not available for Linux but there are plenty of alternatives that runs on Linux with similar functionality. The best open source Linux alternative is Ventoy. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 50 alternatives to Rufus and many of them are open source and available for Linux so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Linux alternatives to Rufus are UNetbootin, balenaEtcher, dd and WoeUSB.

filter to find the best alternatives

Rufus alternatives are mainly Bootable USB Creators, but if you're looking for Disk Imaging Tools or Linux Distros you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Linux, Mac, Windows, Android, Linux + Create bootable USB, Windows + Free and Mac + Create bootable USB. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to Rufus.
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Alternatives list

  1. Ventoy icon

    Ventoy

     383 likes

    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.

    55 Ventoy alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    Ventoy screenshot 1
     
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    8
    Comments about Ventoy as an Alternative to Rufus
    Top Positive Comment
    Barrett
    5

    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.

    Guest
    Positive
    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%.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Matheus Bastos
    Positive
    2

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

    3 of 8 comments
    Ventoy icon
    Ventoy icon
    • Ventoy is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  2. UNetbootin icon

    UNetbootin

     759 likes

    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.

    57 UNetbootin alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    Welcome screen
     
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    13
    Comments about UNetbootin as an Alternative to Rufus
    Top Positive Comment
    Kandi
    18

    Easy to use. Supports a huge variety of platforms

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    13

    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

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Negative
    1

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

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 13 comments
    UNetbootin icon
    UNetbootin icon
    • UNetbootin is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  4. balenaEtcher icon

    balenaEtcher

     654 likes

    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.

    55 balenaEtcher alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    balenaEtcher screenshot 1
     
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    36
    Comments about balenaEtcher as an Alternative to Rufus
    Top Positive Comment
    espectalll
    9

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

    Top Negative Comment
    Guest
    59

    Cannot select between gpt and mbr partition styles

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Sebastian
    Positive
    0

    I love this software! Easy to use and works great.

    3 of 36 comments
    balenaEtcher icon
    balenaEtcher icon
    • balenaEtcher is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  5. dd icon

    dd

     100 likes

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

    39 dd alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
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    6
    Comments about dd as an Alternative to Rufus
    Top Positive Comment
    Guest
    3

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

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    cvanelli
    Negative
    -15

    crappy command line only program.

    Guest
    Positive
    1

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

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 6 comments
    dd icon
    dd icon
    • dd is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  6. WoeUSB icon

    WoeUSB

     28 likes

    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.

    32 WoeUSB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    WoeUSB screenshot 1
     
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    6
    Comments about WoeUSB as an Alternative to Rufus
    Top Positive Comment
    Shampuan
    2

    It is the best of windows iso writer on linux.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    cvanelli
    Negative
    -3

    Does not have a GUI like Rufus

    Guest
    Positive
    2

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

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    3 of 6 comments
    WoeUSB icon
    WoeUSB icon
    • WoeUSB is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  7. MultiBootUSB icon

    MultiBootUSB

     73 likes

    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.

    44 MultiBootUSB alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    MultiBootUSB screenshot 1
     
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    1
    Comments about MultiBootUSB as an Alternative to Rufus
    NickFreeman
    Positive
    -2

    support for multiple live linux distros

    MultiBootUSB icon
    MultiBootUSB icon
    • MultiBootUSB is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  9. Deepin Boot Maker icon

    Deepin Boot Maker

     14 likes

    Deepin Boot Maker is a boot maker developed by Deepin Technology Team. It is simple in interface and easy to operate. It helps users to easily make deepin boot disk.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    Deepin Boot Maker screenshot 1
     
    |
    1
    Comments about Deepin Boot Maker as an Alternative to Rufus
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    easy to use and run perfectly on mac

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Deepin Boot Maker icon
    Deepin Boot Maker icon
    • Deepin Boot Maker is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  11. SUSE Studio ImageWriter icon

    SUSE Studio ImageWriter

     19 likes

    Utility for writing raw disk images & hybrid isos to USB keys.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    SUSE Studio ImageWriter screenshot 1
     
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    2
    Comments about SUSE Studio ImageWriter as an Alternative to Rufus
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Good but some cannot write some isos, including windows server

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Guest
    Positive
    1

    Excellent Image writer in USB

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    SUSE Studio ImageWriter icon
    SUSE Studio ImageWriter icon
    • SUSE Studio ImageWriter is Free and Open SourceRufus is also Free and Open Source
  13. mintstick icon

    mintstick

     8 likes

    Linux Mint's USB Image Writer (mintstick) is an easy to use and dependable means of creating bootable USBs.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Linux Mint
    mintstick screenshot 1
     
  14. Popsicle icon

    Popsicle

     3 likes

    Write an ISO or other image to multiple USB devices all at once. Easily preparing a bunch of flash drives of your favorite OS with just a couple of clicks.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Flathub
    • Flatpak
    Popsicle screenshot 1
     
12 of 26 Rufus alternatives