Rufus icon
Rufus icon

Rufus

 1510 likes

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.

Rufus screenshot 1
Rufus screenshot 2
+2
Rufus screenshot 3

License model

  • Free • Open Source

Application type

Country of Origin

  • FR flagFrance
  • European Union flagEU

Platforms

  • Windows  Windows 8 or later.
  • PortableApps.com
Rufus alternatives  
4.6 / 5 Avg rating (110)
1510likes
75comments
67alternatives
5news articles

Features

Suggest and vote on features

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
  13.  Bad Blocks checking
  14.  Install DOS to USB
  15.  Ad-free
  16.  USB to UDF
  17.  Works Offline
  18.  Support for UDF extension

 Tags

  • freedos
  • dos
  • usb-formatting
  • iso
  • NTFS
  • fat32
  • refs
  • efi
  • flash
  • bios
  • fat
  • usb-boot
  • bootable-iso
  • detect-image-format
  • exfat

Rufus News & Activities

Highlights • All activities

Recent News

Show more news

Recent activities

  • alexzeecomedy, EuP, u7741339 and idkydk liked Rufus
    •2 days ago
  • uhada, goriberdevelopers, thesuncitywitch and niksavc liked Rufus
    •14 days ago
  • nickthemanat liked Rufus
    •24 days ago
Show all activities

Comments and Reviews

   
 Post comment/review
Comment summary: Rufus is generally praised for its speed and ease of use in creating bootable USB drives. It is described as lightweight, portable, and reliable. Users value its open-source nature and support for multiple operating systems. However, some criticize the lack of EXT3/EXT4 formatting and its Windows-only compatibility. Negative feedback includes experiences with developer interactions and occasional functionality issues. Overall, Rufus is considered highly effective for its intended purposes.
Top Positive Comment
avert
★
★
★
★
★
•Jun 2, 2016
8

Pros:

  • Open source!
  • Great for creating bootable USB disks.
  • GPT/UEFI support is a lifesaver.
  • Quick, reliable and effective.

Cons:

  • Hash sum information for installation files are not provided.
c17s5qhu
★
★
★
★
★
•Apr 5, 2025
0

My savior for years. Has advanced functionality. is a solution for every flash

ITryOutnSee
★
★
★
★
★
•Jul 1, 2024
0

Simple, straight forward, easy to make bootable usbs. The only thing I dislike is in their latest update the iso download feature was removed specifically if you are on windows 7 but if you're on win 8, 8.1, 10, or 11 it's there. I don't think it's right to remove a feature specifically for one os to be a form of attempt to encourage people to upgrade their windows.

CatAT
★
★
★
★
★
•Apr 13, 2024
0

On Windows, Rufus is my go-to for making bootable USB sticks. There have been times the Microsoft Media USB Creation tool have failed, with afterwards Rufus doing the trick

Matthew Hart
★
★
★
★
★
•Feb 17, 2024
0

Best, easiest app to write ISO to USB

Hazard1nc
★
★
★
★
★
•Nov 4, 2023
0

Works best of all the windows versions of the same tools. Except, the actual windows tools xD

TBayAreaPat
★
★
★
★
★
•Apr 15, 2023
-3

Confusing options to burn a Windows bootable USB. If you refer to the internet, you see different options than what you get when you install. I went with Balena Etcher.. much easier.

Show more comments
7 of 75 comments

What is Rufus?

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

Features:

  • Formats USB memory sticks to FAT/FAT32/NTFS/exFAT/UDF/ReFS
  • Creates bootable USB drive from a wide range of ISOs
  • Creates MS-DOS/FreeDOS bootable USB memory sticks, with no external files required
  • Creates BIOS or UEFI bootable drives
  • Checks for bad blocks
  • Modern UI, with UAC elevation for Windows Vista and later
  • Fully Open Source (GPL v3)

It can be be especially useful for cases where:

  • you need to flash a BIOS or other firmware from DOS
  • you need to install an Operating System or run a Live CD from USB
  • you need to work on a system that doesn't have an OS installed
  • you want to run a DOS low-level utility

Despite its small size, Rufus provides you with everything you need!

Official Links

AppStores & Other Links

Rufus information

AlternativeTo Categories

OS & Utilities, CD/DVD Tools

GitHub repository

  •  31,297 Stars
  •  2,733 Forks
  •  10 Open Issues
  •   Updated May 14, 2025 
View on GitHub

Popular alternatives

View all

Our users have written 75 comments and reviews about Rufus, and it has gotten 1510 likes

Rufus was added to AlternativeTo by WhiteTiger on Jan 16, 2012 and this page was last updated Feb 13, 2025.