efibootmgr vs rEFInd
efibootmgr
github.comrEFInd
rodsbooks.comSide by side
| Figure | efibootmgr | rEFInd |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | — | Yes |
| Windows | — | Yes |
| macOS | — | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Boot Manager Software | 7.4 (#17) | 8.3 (#8) |
| Network boot | It can create a network boot entry for a named interface, including a PXE entry. | Network boot options are available experimentally through iPXE and, in newer versions, through firmware network-boot entries. |
| Purpose | efibootmgr is a Linux user-space application for modifying the Intel EFI Boot Manager. | rEFInd is a boot manager forked from rEFIt that scans for boot loaders and helps users choose an operating system or utility at startup. |
| Support channel | The project directs bug reports, feature requests, and patches to the Red Hat bootloader team through its GitHub repository. | Official pages direct users to email the author for comments or problems. |
Plans
In their own words
rEFInd
rEFInd is a free boot manager, forked from rEFIt, that scans for boot loaders and lets users select an operating system or utility at startup. It is intended for EFI-based computers, not older BIOS-based machines, and works with EFI 1.1 and UEFI 2.x. It can find EFI loaders, BIOS/CSM/legacy loaders, and boot options saved in firmware NVRAM. For Linux, rEFInd can detect kernels with EFI stub support, locate initrd files, and read kernel options from a refind_linux.conf file. It supports text and graphical operation, with configurable resolution, backgrounds, icons, and fonts. It can communicate with Shim to authenticate boot loaders using valid UEFI Secure Boot keys, Shim keys, or Machine Owner Keys. Included filesystem drivers cover ext2/3, ext4, Btrfs, ReiserFS, HFS+, and ISO-9660; the NTFS driver is not compiled by default. Downloads include ZIP, RPM, Debian, CD-R image, and USB flash drive image packages. Installation scripts and manual procedures cover Linux, macOS, and Windows. The maker describes it as beta-quality, with uneven testing across architectures.