Rufus Alternatives

Rufus creates bootable USB drives from ISO images with support for both BIOS and UEFI boot modes. This lightweight, portable Windows tool handles formatting and bootable media creation efficiently.

Ventoy leads as the top-ranked alternative, eliminating the need for reformatting by letting users copy ISOs directly onto USB drives and boot them without extraction. Users report keeping 20+ ISOs on a single flash drive with its multiboot approach. balenaEtcher ranks third with cross-platform support and a user-friendly interface that validates flashing, though some users note it struggles with Windows ISO files. UNetbootin ranks second with built-in Linux ISO downloads but focuses primarily on Linux distributions.

WoeUSB targets Linux users who need Windows installer USBs, while iVentoy enables network-based OS deployment to multiple machines via PXE boot selection.

filter to find the best alternatives

Rufus is a bootable usb creator, and the alternatives landscape divides between simple image flashers and multiboot managers. For open source transparency, Ventoy, balenaEtcher, and UNetbootin are popular choices among the 42 open-source alternatives available.

Linux users have native options in Ventoy and balenaEtcher, while WoeUSB specializes in creating Windows installer USBs from ISO or DVD on Linux systems. Windows users can choose multiboot-focused tools like Ventoy, YUMI exFAT, and WinSetupFromUSB for building installer and utility collections. macOS users have UNetbootin and balenaEtcher support, with macUSB targeting legacy macOS bootable drives without Terminal knowledge.

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Rufus alternatives page was last updated

Alternatives list

  1. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    This tool simplifies the creation of bootable USBs, CDs, and DVDs through a streamlined three-step process. Compatible with Windows 10 32-bit and 64-bit, it supports virtual drive mounting, language management, and facilitates OS installations, upgrades, and reinstallation tasks efficiently.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  2. ISO2Disc icon
     9 likes
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    ISO2Disc is the best and free ISO burner software to burn your ISO image file to CD/DVD disc or USB flash drive. No skills required!

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  3. MeowUSB icon
     7 likes
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    Create Windows USB on a Mac MeowUSB simplifies the process of creating a bootable Windows USB on your Mac.

    8 MeowUSB alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
     
  4. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    WinUSB - simple, portable and lightweight tool, lets you create multiple Windows bootable USB flash drive using ISOs or DVDs. Formatting drive is not required when free space is enough. Boot with NTFS flash drive in UEFI system supported for most PC.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    1
    Comments about WinUSB - multiboot as an Alternative to Rufus
    Guest
    Positive
    0

    Easy to use and makes usb bootable for bios/uefi systems simultaneously.

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Rufus Icon
    WinUSB - multiboot icon
    • WinUSB - multiboot is Free and ProprietaryRufus is Free and Open Source
  5. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    UUByte ISO Editor is a full ISO toolkit for burning, creation, extracting and editing. Powered by a simple user interface, it is quite easy to make a bootable USB or DVD in a few clicks.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
     
  6. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    WintoUSB Pro is a dedicated program to create Windows To Go USB without limitation. It is easy to create a portable Windows drive so you can run Windows 10, Windows 8 or Windows 7 from external SSD or USB.

    Cost / License

    • Pay once
    • Proprietary

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  7. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool utility will format any USB flash drive, with your choice of FAT, FAT32, or NTFS partition types. You can also make the disk bootable by specifying a file location.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    1
    7
    Comments about HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool as an Alternative to Rufus
    Guest
    Negative
    0

    it wont create bootable usb flash

    Review by a new / low-activity user.
    Rufus Icon
    HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool icon
    • This alternative is disputed. HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is a legitimate Rufus alternative, but it might have issues that some users think are important.

    • HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool is Free and ProprietaryRufus is Free and Open Source
  8.  7 likes
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    Tuxboot helps you to create a bootable Live USB drive for Clonezilla live, DRBL live, GParted live and Tux2live. It is modified from UNetbootin and runs on both MS Windows and GNU/Linux. You can choose to download the latest version of Clonezilla live, DRBL live, or GParted live...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  9. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Piw is a software to create bootable media i.e USB disk. It is similar to UNetbootin or Rufus.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Ubuntu
    • Debian
    • Pardus
     
  10. Copy a direct link to this comment to your clipboard

    Flash disk images onto your drives with ease. Select an image, insert your drive, and you're good to go!

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Linux Mobile
    • Flathub
    • GNOME
     
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