Best Bootable USB Software in 2026
Updated
In short: balenaEtcher is ranked #1 of 39 as of 5 October 2026, ahead of Buddi and Fedora Media Writer. The best-ranked option with a free plan is Buddi. The lowest first paid tier on this page is balenaEtcher at $143.33/mo.
Making a USB drive bootable can help prepare it for an operating system or other boot image. Compare the available Windows, macOS and Linux apps, then consider image downloads, partition schemes and whether multiboot support or persistent storage matches your intended setup. Free plans and paid-from pricing give you cost details alongside those capabilities. Among the named options are balenaEtcher, UNetbootin and Ventoy. Check the listed platform support and drive features against the systems and images you plan to use, since the right combination depends on what you need the USB drive to do.
39 bootable USB software ranked on what their makers publish — plans and prices, free tiers, platforms and the facts on their own pages.
15 of the 25 here have a free tier you can use, 0 have open-source code on record, and 0 have full bars: free, open, on most of your devices and documented.
| # | App | Signal | Free tier | Open code | Devices | From | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | balenaEtcherWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | $143.33/mo | 6.6 | |
| 2 | BuddiWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 3 | Fedora Media WriterWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 4 | TFLintWindows · Mac · Linux · Self-hosted | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 5 | UNetbootinWindows · Mac · Linux | Three bars | — | 3 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 6 | VentoyWindows · Linux | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 7 | YUMIWindows · Linux | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.5 | |
| 8 | Easy2BootWindows · Linux | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 9 | RMPrepUSBWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 10 | RufusWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 11 | Ultimate Boot CDWindows · Linux · Self-hosted | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 12 | Universal USB InstallerWindows · Linux | Two bars | — | 2 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 13 | WinSetupFromUSBWindows | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.4 | |
| 14 | Boot-RepairLinux | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 15 | SUSE Studio ImageWriterLinux | Two bars | — | 1 of 6 | Free | 6.3 | |
| 16 | Unraid USB CreatorWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.4 |
| 17 | Deepin Boot MakerWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 18 | LibreELEC USB-SD CreatorWindows · Mac | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 19 | MediCat USBWindows · Linux | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 20 | SARDU MultiBoot CreatorWindows · Linux | One bar | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 21 | USBImagerWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 22 | WindoWriterWindows · Mac · Linux | One bar | — | — | 3 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 23 | WinToUSBWindows | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.3 |
| 24 | Boot-Repair-DiskLinux | One bar | — | — | 1 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
| 25 | Chromebook Recovery UtilityWindows · Mac | No signal | — | — | 2 of 6 | — | 5.2 |
Compare all 25 in a table
| # | App | Score | Free plan | From | Free plan | Paid from | Windows app | macOS app |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | balenaEtcher | 6.6 | Free plan | $143.33/mo | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 2 | Buddi | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | No | No |
| 3 | Fedora Media Writer | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 4 | TFLint | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 5 | UNetbootin | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 6 | Ventoy | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| 7 | YUMI | 6.5 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| 8 | Easy2Boot | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | — |
| 9 | RMPrepUSB | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| 10 | Rufus | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| 11 | Ultimate Boot CD | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 12 | Universal USB Installer | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| 13 | WinSetupFromUSB | 6.4 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| 14 | Boot-Repair | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | No | — |
| 15 | SUSE Studio ImageWriter | 6.3 | Free plan | Free | Yes | — | — | — |
| 16 | Unraid USB Creator | 5.4 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 17 | Deepin Boot Maker | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| 18 | LibreELEC USB-SD Creator | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 19 | MediCat USB | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | — |
| 20 | SARDU MultiBoot Creator | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | No |
| 21 | USBImager | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
| 22 | WindoWriter | 5.3 | No | — | — | — | Yes | Yes |
| 23 | WinToUSB | 5.3 | No | — | Yes | 29.95 one-time | Yes | No |
| 24 | Boot-Repair-Disk | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | No | No |
| 25 | Chromebook Recovery Utility | 5.2 | No | — | Yes | — | Yes | Yes |
Is your app on this list?
Numbered spots on this list can be sponsored, and a sponsored row is labelled as paid.
Questions about this list
Which bootable USB software is ranked first on Freedom251?
balenaEtcher is ranked #1 of 39 with a score of 6.6. Buddi is second and Fedora Media Writer third.
How many of these have a free plan?
15 of the 25 on this page publish a free plan on their own pricing pages.
Which is the cheapest paid option?
On this page, balenaEtcher has the lowest first paid tier we found: $143.33/mo.
How is this list ranked?
Ranked free-and-open first: a usable free tier and open-source code, then the platforms it runs on and its documentation.