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    UNetbootin Alternatives

    UNetbootin makes it super easy to create live USB drives for Linux distributions. It even lets you download various distributions right from within the app. Some users have unfortunately reported issues running it on modern systems so alternatives are helpful to have.

    Some alternatives focus on copying rather than creating ISOs. You can easily filter those out of the list with the burn-iso feature. Creating a live USB drive is typically a one-time affair so installing an app to use it just once isn't really optimal. You can filter the list for portable apps that don't need installation.

    These apps are overwhelmingly free, most being open-source. They're all desktop apps for Mac, Windows and Linux.

    UNetbootin is mainly a Bootable USB Creator but alternatives to it may also be Linux Distros or Disk Imaging Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of UNetbootin.
    This page was last updated Feb 19, 2022
    UNetbootin
      718
    • Free • Open Source
    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • PortableApps.com
    More ▼
    UNetbootin (Universal Netboot Installer) is a cross-platform utility that can load Linux and other distributions to a...
    Learn more about UNetbootin
    1. Rufus is a utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc.
      Rufus vs UNetbootin opinions
      Almost everyone thinks Rufus is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
      Easy to use. I used it with tails 2.10 when unetbootin wouldn't work.
      Positive comment • over 5 years ago

      12
      it's also a USB formatter
      Positive comment • over 6 years ago

      0
    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.
      balenaEtcher vs UNetbootin opinions
      Almost everyone thinks balenaEtcher is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
      Doing a Arch bootable key was a nightmare on a Mac with UNetbootin, no way to make it working. With Etcher one try and it was perfectly ok :)
      Top positive comment  almost 6 years ago

      5
      cemagr Actually seems to work under OS X unlike Unetbootin now
      Top positive comment  over 5 years ago

      5
      Very simple and effective, creates a bootable USB key almost in a single click (very unusual considering everyone is struggling with UNetbootin since many years!)
      Positive comment • almost 4 years ago

      0
      I have a 64GB USB key, and UNetbootin kept insisting on creating an odd FAT32 partition that always failed to boot properly. Also, Windows and Mac had trouble identifying and/or reading it. Etcher worked the first time. No confusing setup options, just select the .iso and burn. Simple like it should be!
      Positive comment • about 4 years ago

      -1
      onesnapp Works on more operating systems. Better language support. Truly open source and free.
      Positive comment • over 4 years ago

      2
      bl4ckf4ll Very simple, great interface, Awesome! :)
      Positive comment • about 5 years ago

      1
      ATShields934 Etcher combines the universality of UNetbootin with the functionality of Rufus and adds an incredible and simple interface.
      Positive comment • almost 6 years ago

      2
    4. 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.
      Ventoy vs UNetbootin opinions
      pros, cons and recent comments
      donateto_opensource This is the best tool to create a bootlable media, hands down.
      Positive comment • 8 months ago

      0
    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.
      YUMI vs UNetbootin opinions
      Most users think YUMI is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
      RogueScholar YUMI is the only app I've found that makes reliable USB installers for UEFI systems (GPT partition table, FAT32 partitions) and its multiboot features with persistence for the Ubuntu family of distributions is extremely useful.
      Positive comment • over 4 years ago

      6
    6. 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 UNetbootin opinions
      Most users think dd is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
      It's easier than GUI if you won't deal with UEFI stuff
      Top positive comment  almost 5 years ago

      2
      Not a full-featured GUI-application like the rest, but way more flexible, versatile and reliable for more tech-savvy users.
      Top positive comment  over 5 years ago

      0
      There's more to creating a bootable USB drive than moving blocks of bits.
      Top negative comment  almost 4 years ago

      -2
      PERCE_NEIGE For the user who said that it's not for burning ISO, it's wrong.
      Positive comment • about 2 years ago

      0
      its not a burning iso software..
      Negative comment • about 4 years ago

      -3
    8. 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.
      Almost everyone thinks Universal USB Installer is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
    9. 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.

      Most users think MultiBootUSB is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
    10. 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).

      Most users think LinuxLive USB Creator is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
    11. A utility that can write a raw backup image of your hard drive to a removable device or vice versa.
    12. 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.
    Showing 10 of 47 alternatives