Clover Bootloader vs Ventoy
Clover Bootloader
github.com
Ventoy
ventoy.netSide by side
| Figure | Clover Bootloader | Ventoy |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Boot Manager Software | 8.0 (#9) | 7.3 (#20) |
| License | The repository is released under the BSD 2-Clause License, which permits redistribution and use in source and binary forms. | Ventoy describes itself as 100% open source and says its own developed code follows GPLv3+ while other components follow their respective project licenses. |
| Purpose | CloverBootloader is a bootloader for macOS, Windows and Linux in UEFI and legacy modes. | Ventoy creates bootable USB drives that can boot ISO, WIM, IMG, VHD(x), and EFI files directly. |
| Support | The project README points users to AppleLife, InsanelyMac and macos86.it support forums. | The site directs users to its forums or the maintainer’s email for general issues and problem reports. |
Plans
In their own words
Clover Bootloader
Clover Bootloader starts macOS, Windows and Linux systems on Macs and PCs with UEFI or BIOS firmware. It can launch through UEFI directly or use CloverEFI to emulate UEFI, and supports UEFI and legacy boot modes. Its graphical interface can be customized with themes, icons, fonts, backgrounds, animations and mouse pointers. Users can create boot entries for other operating systems, while the interface can save preboot logs, screenshots and OEM ACPI tables for diagnostics. Settings are held in an XML config.plist file in EFI/CLOVER. When firmware Secure Boot is enabled, Clover’s Secure setting limits booting to signed binaries. The repository links to a separate theme manager and theme collection, and its README points users to AppleLife, InsanelyMac and macos86.it forums. Build procedures are provided for macOS and Ubuntu 19.10. Clover incorporates OpenCorePkg libraries for kext injection and patching. It is free under the BSD 2-Clause License, which permits source and binary redistribution. The releases page lists version 5175 as latest, with six assets.
Ventoy
Ventoy creates bootable drives that start ISO, WIM, IMG, VHD(x), and EFI files directly. After installation, users copy image files to the drive and choose one from a boot menu without extracting them. The project lists support for Windows, WinPE, Linux, ChromeOS, Unix, VMware, and Xen, plus x86 Legacy BIOS and IA32, x86_64, ARM64, and MIPS64EL UEFI. MBR and GPT partition styles are supported, with FAT32, exFAT, NTFS, UDF, XFS, Btrfs, and Ext2/3/4 listed for the main partition. Features include Linux persistence, automated Windows and Linux installation, password protection, themes, and a plugin framework with GUI configuration. Ventoy can be installed on USB drives, local disks, SSDs, NVMe drives, and SD cards. It is open source under GPLv3+ for its own code and free at free.