Best Rufus Alternatives in 2026
Updated
20 tools from bootable USB software ranked against Rufus on the same published basis.
- 1Rufus vs balenaEtcher
- 2Rufus vs Buddi
- 3Rufus vs UNetbootin
- 4Rufus vs YUMI
- 5Rufus vs Fedora Media Writer
- 6Rufus vs Easy2Boot
- 7Rufus vs TFLint
- 8Rufus vs Universal USB Installer
- 9Rufus vs Ventoy
- 10Rufus vs WinSetupFromUSB
- 11Rufus vs Boot-Repair
- 12Rufus vs RMPrepUSB
- 14Rufus vs Ultimate Boot CD
- 15Rufus vs SUSE Studio ImageWriter
- 16Rufus vs Unraid USB Creator
- 17Rufus vs USBImager
- 18Rufus vs LibreELEC USB-SD Creator
- 19Rufus vs MediCat USB
- 20Rufus vs SARDU MultiBoot Creator
- 21Rufus vs WindoWriter
Rufus alternatives compared
| # | Tool | Score | Free plan | From | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | balenaEtcher | 7.5 | Free plan | $143.33/mo | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 2 | Buddi | 7.2 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 3 | UNetbootin | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 4 | YUMI | 7.1 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 5 | Fedora Media Writer | 7.0 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, Windows |
| 6 | Easy2Boot | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 7 | TFLint | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Mac, self-hosted, Windows |
| 8 | Universal USB Installer | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 9 | Ventoy | 6.9 | Free plan | Free | Linux, Windows |
| 10 | WinSetupFromUSB | 6.8 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 11 | Boot-Repair | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 12 | RMPrepUSB | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Windows |
| 14 | Ultimate Boot CD | 6.7 | Free plan | Free | Linux, self-hosted, Windows |
| 15 | SUSE Studio ImageWriter | 6.6 | Free plan | Free | Linux |
| 16 | Unraid USB Creator | 6.3 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 17 | USBImager | 6.2 | No | — | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| 18 | LibreELEC USB-SD Creator | 6.1 | No | — | Windows, Mac |
| 19 | MediCat USB | 6.1 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 20 | SARDU MultiBoot Creator | 6.1 | No | — | Windows, Linux |
| 21 | WindoWriter | 6.1 | No | — | Mac, Linux, Windows |
Make your tool an alternative to Rufus
See the priceThe sponsored alternative slot on this page is labelled Sponsored.
Questions about Rufus alternatives
What is the best alternative to Rufus?
balenaEtcher, number 1 in bootable USB software with a score of 7.5 out of 10. The others here: Buddi, UNetbootin, YUMI and 16 more.
What is the best free alternative to Rufus?
balenaEtcher is the best-ranked alternative with a free plan. 14 of the 20 alternatives here publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
How are these alternatives ranked?
Ranked on what each maker publishes, the fullest spec sheet first: how deeply the product is documented, the platforms it runs on, a free tier or trial to test it, and its standing.