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 alternatives are mainly Bootable USB Creators but 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.

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UNetbootin

730

Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator

Mac
Windows
Linux
PortableApps.com

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

Learn more about UNetbootin

Rufus
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator
Windows
PortableApps.com
63 alternatives to Rufus
Rufus is a utility that helps format and create bootable USB flash drives, such as USB keys/pendrives, memory sticks, etc.
Suggest and vote on features
Rufus Features
1. LightweightRufus consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. PortableRufus can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Burn iso
Windows To Go
UEFI Support
Write ISO to SD card
Create bootable Image
Create BIOS bootable drive
Create UEFI bootable drive
GNU/linux-libre
USB to FAT
USB to NTFS
Rufus vs UNetbootin opinions
Almost everyone thinks Rufus is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
Guest
Easy to use. I used it with tails 2.10 when unetbootin wouldn't work.
Positive comment•
12

Guest
it's also a USB formatter
Positive comment•
0
balenaEtcher
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator
Mac
Windows
Linux
48 alternatives to balenaEtcher
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.
Suggest and vote on features
balenaEtcher Features
1. PortablebalenaEtcher can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. LightweightbalenaEtcher consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
User friendly
Graphical User Interface
Write ISO to SD card
Burn iso
Create bootable Image
Validated Burning
Material design
Electron based
Persistent Storage
Support for S.M.A.R.T. data
balenaEtcher vs UNetbootin opinions
Almost everyone thinks balenaEtcher is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
all • positive • negative relevance • date
Guest
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•
5

cemagr
Actually seems to work under OS X unlike Unetbootin now
Top positive comment•
5

Guest
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•
0

Guest
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•
-1

onesnapp
Works on more operating systems. Better language support. Truly open source and free.
Positive comment•
2

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5 of 7 comments
Ventoy
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator
Windows
Linux
41 alternatives to Ventoy
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.
Suggest and vote on features
Ventoy Features
1. PortableVentoy can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. LightweightVentoy consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Multi boot
Multiboot USB
Create Multiboot USB
UEFI Support
Persistent Storage
Multi-windows
VHD Boot
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•
0
YUMI
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator
Windows
PortableApps.com
Wine
WineBottler
42 alternatives to YUMI
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.
Suggest and vote on features
YUMI Features
1. LightweightYUMI consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
2. PortableYUMI can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Create Multiboot USB
Multiboot USB
Can install to internal hard drives/ssds
Persistent Storage
UEFI Support
Multi boot
Multi-windows
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•
6
dd
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator
Mac
Linux
BSD
28 alternatives to dd
dd, that stands for ‘data duplicator’, is a command-line utility for Unix mainly used for copying and converting data.
Suggest and vote on features
dd Features
1. Command line interfacedd either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Burn iso
Write ISO to SD card
Create image
Add a screenshot

dd vs UNetbootin opinions
Most users think dd is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
Guest
It's easier than GUI if you won't deal with UEFI stuff
Top positive comment•
2

Guest
Not a full-featured GUI-application like the rest, but way more flexible, versatile and reliable for more tech-savvy users.
Top positive comment•
0

Guest
its not a burning iso software..
Top negative comment•
-3

PERCE_NEIGE
For the user who said that it's not for burning ISO, it's wrong.
Positive comment•
0

Guest
There's more to creating a bootable USB drive than moving blocks of bits.
Negative comment•
-2
Universal USB Installer
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator
Linux Distro
Windows
37 alternatives to Universal USB Installer
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. Simply choose a Live Linux Distribution, the ISO file, your Flash Drive and, Click...
Suggest and vote on features
Universal USB Installer Features
1. PortableUniversal USB Installer can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
No need to format
Portable Linux
Persistent Linux
Multiple languages
Universal USB Installer vs UNetbootin opinions
Almost everyone thinks Universal USB Installer is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
MultiBootUSB
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator
Windows
Linux
39 alternatives to MultiBootUSB
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.
Suggest and vote on features
MultiBootUSB Features
1. Command line interfaceMultiBootUSB either have CLI support or is a CLI-only app.
Multiboot USB
Multi OS
Create Multiboot USB
Install Syslinux
Boot HDD Partition
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.

MultiBootUSB vs UNetbootin opinions
Most users think MultiBootUSB is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
LinuxLive USB Creator
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Bootable USB Creator
Linux Distro
Windows
39 alternatives to LinuxLive USB Creator
LiLi USB Creator is a free software for Windows that allows you to create a bootable Live USB key with a Linux on it.
Suggest and vote on features
LinuxLive USB Creator Features
Create UEFI bootable drive
Portable Linux
USB to FAT
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).

LinuxLive USB Creator vs UNetbootin opinions
Most users think LinuxLive USB Creator is a great alternative to UNetbootin.
Win32 Disk Imager
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Disk Imaging Tool
Bootable USB Creator
Windows
36 alternatives to Win32 Disk Imager
A utility that can write a raw backup image of your hard drive to a removable device or vice versa.
Suggest and vote on features
Win32 Disk Imager Features
1. PortableWin32 Disk Imager can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
2. LightweightWin32 Disk Imager consumes less device resources compared to similar apps.
Disk to image file conversion
WinSetupFromUSB
Do you think this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Proprietary
Bootable USB Creator
Windows
43 alternatives to WinSetupFromUSB
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.
Suggest and vote on features
WinSetupFromUSB Features
1. PortableWinSetupFromUSB can be used from a USB stick or similar with no prior installation.
Multiboot USB
UEFI Support
Code Quality
Install Syslinux
Preinstalled Environment builder